State SealARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 

HB 2753: environment; appropriation; 2019-2020.

PRIME SPONSOR: Representative Bowers, LD 25

BILL STATUS: Caucus & COW

APPROP: DP 7-4-0-0

 

Overview

☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal NoteContains budget reconciliation provisions relating to the environment needed for implementing the FY 2020 budget.

History

The Arizona Legislature adopts a budget for each fiscal year (FY) that contains general appropriations. Article IV, Section 20, Part 2, Constitution of Arizona, requires the General Appropriations Act (feed bill) to contain only appropriations for the different state departments, state institutions, public schools and interest on public debt. Statutory changes necessary to reconcile the appropriations made in the feed bill and other changes are drafted into separate bills known as Budget Reconciliation Bills (BRBs). These BRBs are prepared according to subject area.

Provisions

Arizona Department of Agriculture (ADA)

1.       Allows the Associate Director of the ADA to re-record a livestock brand that was issued without protest prior to August 3, 2017. (Sec. 1)

Arizona Department of Forestry & Fire Management (DFFM)

2.       Increases, from $10 million to $20 million, the maximum loan amount DFFM may receive from the Budget Stabilization Fund for wildland fire claims awaiting reimbursement from the federal government. (Sec. 2)

3.       Establishes the Nonnative Vegetation Species Eradication Fund for the purpose of funding specific nonnative vegetation invasive species eradication projects. (Sec. 3)

4.       Requires DFFM to:

a.       Coordinate with the State Land Department on projects conducted on state trust lands;   

b.       Coordinate with the Arizona Game and Fish Department on relevant projects;

c.        Monitor and oversee related projects;

d.       Provide grants to other state agencies, cities, towns, counties, Indian tribes, other political subdivisions and nonprofit organizations for projects that will assist in fire and flood prevention, conservation of water, replacing nonnative vegetative species with native vegetative species and restoring habitat; and

e.       Establish application procedures and qualification criteria for the grants. (Sec. 3)

5.       Requires grant recipients to follow state and federal laws to preserve endangered species when implementing a project. (Sec. 3)

6.       Requires DFFM to submit an annual report to JLBC and the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting by September 1 that includes:

a.       The total expenditures from the previous year for grants and projects;

b.       The expenditures of each project;

c.        The benefits of each project to the treated land;

d.       The status of each project; and

e.       The projected timeline for completion of each project. (Sec. 3)

7.       Requires the State Treasurer, on notice from the State Forester, to invest and divest fund monies and credit monies earned from investment to the Nonnative Vegetation Species Eradication Fund. (Sec. 3)

8.       Specifies that monies in the Nonnative Vegetation Species Eradication Fund are continuously appropriated to DFFM and are exempt from lapsing. (Sec. 3)

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ)

9.       Allows monies in the Permit Administration Fund to be used for all reasonable and necessary costs to provide staff support to the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. (Sec. 4)

10.   Allows ADEQ to use monies in the Emissions Inspection Fund for travel reduction programs. (Sec. 5)

11.   Continues to allow ADEQ to use up to $6,531,000 from the Underground Storage Tank (UST) Revolving Fund in FY 2020 for administrative costs and to remediate sewage discharge issues in Naco, Arizona. (Sec. 8)

12.   Continues to suspend the requirement to appropriate monies from corporate income tax revenues to the Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF) in FY 2020 and instead appropriates the following amounts to WQARF (Sec. 10):

Fund Source

Amount

Emissions Inspection Fund

$3,800,000

Air Quality Fund

$4,600,000

Water Quality Fee Fund

$1,000,000

Permit Administration Fund

$2,000,000

Recycling Fund

$2,152,000

Non-Appropriated (various license & registration fees)

$2,000,000

Total WQARF Appropriation

$15,552,000

13.   Continues to require the Director of ADEQ to charge the same fees in FY 2020 that were charged in FY 2019 for vehicle emissions tests conducted in Area A (Maricopa County and portions of Pinal and Yavapai counties). (Sec. 11)

14.   Continues to exempt ADEQ from the rulemaking requirements until July 1, 2020 to establish the fees. (Sec. 11)

Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR)

15.   Continues to allow the Arizona Water Protection Fund Commission to grant up to $336,000 of the unobligated balance in the Water Protection Fund to ADWR for administrative costs in FY 2020. (Sec. 7)

16.   Continues to allow the ADWR Director to increase fees for services in FY 2020, not to exceed $100,200. (Sec. 12)

17.   Continues to require monies collected from fee increases to be deposited in the Water Resources Fund and exempts ADWR from the rulemaking requirements until July 1, 2020 to establish the fees. (Sec. 12)

Arizona State Parks Board (ASPB)

18.   Requires ASPB to use $692,100 from ASPB's portion of the Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Fund in FY 2020 for repairs, maintenance and development of the Arizona-portion of the Great Western Trail. (Sec. 6)

Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission (ANSAC)

19.   Continues to allow monies appropriated to ANSAC from the Arizona Water Banking Fund to be used to pay legal fees in FY 2020. (Sec. 9)

Miscellaneous

20.   Makes technical and conforming changes. (Sec. 1,2,4,5)

 

 

 

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Fifty-fourth Legislature                               HB 2753

First Regular Session                    Version 2: Caucus & COW

 

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