Prop 100

I know the old adage is that government officials, when funding issues arise, always decry what will happen to education, public safety and transportation. While I don’t generally disagree that many times it is more bark than bite I do know that if Prop 100 fails next week many agencies will indeed have severe cuts to these services.

The most recent example is from the Republic today, where the head of DPS states, “ability to quickly respond to accidents and disabled motorist calls would be significantly affected.” Now as an AZ voter you can pick your side on Prop 100 but I’m inclined to think that much of the “bark” from local and state agencies may well be “bite” as well.

A Room Full of Lawyers

Yesterday I attended a meeting with most of the city and town attorneys from throughout the state (Phoenix, Tucson, Chandler, Flagstaff, et. al.) regarding the recently passed SB 1070 immigration bill.

While I can’t go into the specifics of that meeting it was absolutely fascinating to hear that many municipal lawyers (I’d guess 20-25 attended in person or by phone) discuss the implications of the bill, the legal strategies forthcoming and the unintended consequences they envisioned.

Obviously time will tell if the concerns they raised will come to fruition but regardless this bill and its implementation will be interesting to watch.

You're Gonna Be a Star Baby!

Luige del Puerto of the AZ Capitol Times has written a pithy but well great summary of some of the bills did not get passed during the regular session. And while you can read his article on those bills one that he did not mention that nonetheless I thought was interesting was SB 1409, “motion picture production tax credits.”

This bill would have given filmmakers tax credits if they met certain employment and capital expenditure provisions (number of Arizonans hired, money spent in Arizona, etc.). While I have no opinion on the bill itself what I found interesting is that, by the end of the session, 4 of the most powerful lobbyists were in concert trying to get this passed.

In the end they failed, yet there is talk that if a special session is convened that this bill, or some form of it, could end up in the Speaker’s jobs bill. Again, I don’t particularly care if the bill passes or not but it will be interesting to see if it can get attached to another bill and passed in that manner.

Shakira

In my tenure as an intern with the City of Phoenix’s Government Relations department I have been able to see a lot of very interesting behind-the-scenes action as well as meet multiple U.S. Congressmen, State Senators and Congressmen, Phoenix City Council members as well as various high-level State officials.

Yet it is with great and profound sadness that I did not get to meet Shakira last Thursday during her visit with Mayor Gordon. Even though my office is only one floor above the Mayor I was not in the office on Thu. I’m sure it would have been a great experience but alas I just couldn’t be in the right place at the right time!

Anyone else get to meet or see her?

SB 1070 Keeps Going, and Going, and Going...

The much publicized immigration bill here in Arizona is seemingly taking on a life of its own now. Arizona is now in the media crosshairs nationwide and the range of opinion has been fascinating.

Perhaps an interesting manifestation of these wade ranging views are reflected in this recent Gallup poll. From the Arizona Republic:

“Eight in 10 Americans are concerned that illegal immigrants burden schools, hospitals and other government services, and 77 percent worry that they drive down wages, the poll finds.

Yet 77 percent are concerned that stricter laws would mean illegal immigrants and their families who have lived productively in the USA for years would be forced to leave.”

Cities from Boston to San Francisco want to boycott Arizona, and the Mayor of Phoenix has said publicly that he will do what he can, either as mayor or as a citizen, to stop the bill from being enacted.

If the temporary tax increase is approved in a few weeks it’s nearly certain the Legislature will convene for a special session to address the Speaker’s jobs bill. Perhaps further clarifications and tweaks will be added to SB 1070.

Benefits of Attending a Career Fair

Last month I attended the Downtown campus Career Fair and it was a great opportunity for students to interact with potential employers and to ask candid questions. I am specifically interested in federal employment so I talked with the representative from the FBI. She was very helpful in answering general topics with regard to federal employment as well as the best ways to get noticed when applying for a job through the federal employment clearinghouse, usajobs.gov.

The best piece of advice she gave me is that the HR system actually looks for keywords within an applicants answers to the questions during the application process. Specifically she mentioned that keywords in the “Qualifications” section of the vacancy announcement are what they aim for. Her advice was to incorporate those keywords from the qualifications section into my answers, that way I could get the HR system to flag my application for review by an actual human.

Even if I don’t get a job with the FBI this one piece of information could be the difference between my application being looked at versus being thrown in the trash heap with everyone else’s.

SB 1070

This afternoon SB 1070, the tougher of the two potential immigration bills before the legislature, was passed in both houses and is on its way to the Governor. This sets up an interesting political challenge for Gov. Brewer: on the one hand she signs it and deals with the political and legal headaches that will ensue from Democrats. Conversely, if she vetoes it, or refuses to sign it, it will be used against her in her primary challenge for re-election.

If I had to guess, and I’m not very good at guessing, I would say she doesn’t sign it. I don’t think she will veto it but I don’t think she will sign it. That way it will still become law but she will have enough wiggle room to express her concerns with the bill.

In the House

This past Tuesday I had the distinction to hang out in a room in the House that few people get to hang out in. Granted, I have no idea what the official name of the room is but it’s the room directly behind the floor of the House. This is the room House members are lobbied and cajoled. It’s basically a lobby (go figure) with some leather couches, comfortable chairs and the plushest carpet you can imagine.

I can’t speak to the specifics as to why I was there or who I was with but suffice to say it was very, very cool to experience.

Movie Industry Tax Credits

The failure of the film industry tax credit bill, SB 1409, yesterday was an interesting display on how quickly votes can change. Though it went down 11-16 in the Senate according to many of our sources this bill was virtually tied as of yesterday.

While I can’t divulge our sources, or the specific Senators that we believe flipped, it was interesting to see the cascade effect once it was known it was going to fail. Instead of being say 14-13, once Senators knew their votes would not be the “deciding” vote they could jump off (or on, depending on your perspective) the bandwagon.

With Senator Nelson’s vote against it he can now hope to have the bill reconsidered, but given the expiring opportunity to have it heard in a Senate committee (let alone a House committee if it left the Senate) it appears this bill is all but dead.

Civic Duty

SB 1404 would require that 8th graders in Arizona pass a United States civics exam in order to move on to the next grade. My first reaction was that it would never pass the Parliament.

Sorry, that was a bad joke. Still this is interesting. The test will be the same one required by immigrants to become American citizens (the questions are listed at the bottom of the article).

I realize that there is a seemingly ongoing debate about testing in schools, whether it’s regarding the effectiveness of tests results vs. being educated or the potential pitfalls of the construct of the tests themselves. Still, if you read these questions I do not believe this is an overly burdensome test of 8th graders.

Busy Week Down at the Capital

State legislatures are attempting to make this upcoming week the last week for committee hearings. The talk around the Capital is that they want to end this session around the 1st of May; I’m sure in part so many of them can start fundraising in earnest.

To that end, the committees have a busy, busy week. The committee agendas for both the House and the Senate are packed (especially Senate Finance). I feel bad for the staffers and interns down at the legislature as this will be a long, long week for all of them.

Why I Think Sam Bradford is the Worst QB Ever

OK, I don't. That said, as a Detroit Lions fan I need the St. Louis Rams to not select Bradford #1 overall this April in the NFL Draft. Detroit, who has the #2 overall pick, obviously won't draft a QB after dropping $41.7M in guaranteed money to Matthew Stafford last year, but there are teams who might trade up for Bradford.

Detroit has such a terrible team they need help at virtually every position and trading down for more picks would be perfect for Detroit. And that is why I fully anticipate the NFL commish saying this April, "With the first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams select Sam Bradford, Quarterback, Oklahoma."

This is a virtual lock.

General Funds vs. Bond Money

There was a report in the Arizona Republic last week regarding Phoenix's new airplane used for prisoner extraditions and surveillance. The plane cost over $4 million dollars.

 

While an obvious public relations issue this illustrates the complexity of general fund money vs. public bond money. While this is a way, way oversimplified explanation the bottom line is this: general city operations (salaries, etc.) can only come from the city's general fund, which is funded from (certain) tax revenue and shared revenue from the state.

 

Bond funds can only be spent towards the specific items that were articulated when the bond was proposed. This is why the city cannot use this $4 million dollars toward police or fire fighter salaries and must be spent on the approved item: the airplane.

 

Again, that is a very oversimplified explanation of general funds vs. bond money but it is key that voters understand that there is a difference between the two pools of money and how they are able to be spent. I'm not saying this airplane purchase is right, wrong or otherwise but the city is correct in its application of this particular bond money.

Sustainability Unsustainable?

The Arizona Capital Times published an article regarding state agencies being non-compliant with a 2003 state law that "required" these agencies, "to reduce their energy consumption by 10 percent by the end of 2008."

 

Among the state agencies that have not complied with this mandate is the Board of Regents, the entity that governs Arizona's three state universities (ASU, NAU and U of A).

 

I find it odd that in this report there is no comment from ASU's School of Sustainability. While I'm unsure if the reporters never contacted the school (my assumption) or if the school did not respond, I think it would be wise for the school to get out in front and release a statement as to why this has occurred.

Another Special Session

As reported in the Arizona Capital Times Governor Jan Brewer called the eighth special session this legislative session, "to secure the authority to sue the federal government over the health care law passed earlier this week."

 

The Governor wants Arizona to join the 14 other states that have sued the federal government over the newly passed health care reform bill. The argument of the Governor and these 14 states' Attorneys General is that it is unconstitutional to require Americans to purchase a product (health care), "simply on the basis that they exist and reside in the United States."

 

Regardless of the politics of this legislation it will be fascinating to see the evolution of these lawsuits. There does not seem to be definitive case law on this specific matter and given not only the unique machinations of this legislation but also the make-up of the Supreme Court this could become a decision as historical (and controversial) as Roe v Wade.

2010 Congressional Briefing Book

While I had a very (very!) limited role I was a part-time member of the team that put together the City of Phoenix's 2010 Congressional Briefing Book. This book is for both residents and lawmakers in Washington D.C. and its purpose is to inform the public what projects Phoenix is working on that have Federal implications.

 

It was very interesting to see the thought that went behind what message would be sent, from the use of pictures to the crafting of the messages on the individual pages. The book, which in years past was professionally published, is now distributed to a few key lawmakers and lobbyist via flash drive. Of course everyone else can access it on phoenix.gov but this has been yet another consequence of the dire budget environment.

 

It's a neat informational packet and I'd advise anyone in government affairs to browse through it.

Downtown Phoenix Career Services

This past Wednesday I went to a one-on-one session at the Downtown Phoenix Career Services office to review my resume. The entire staff was extremely nice, helpful and honest.

 

They provided me with some very helpful advice with regard to both the layout and content of my resume. It was also obvious with all of the staffers that they were there truly to help students in their search for jobs post-ASU. In addition to the personal help they have some wonderful guides that help in constructing a resume.

 

Thankfully my resume only needed a few tweeks but this is definitely a service that students should use sooner rather than later as building a resume from scratch can take some time.

Higher (Cost) Education

The recent and drastic tuition and fee increase approved by the state's Board of Regents is yet another symptom of the state's woeful budgetary cause. Current ASU students will see an increase anywhere from 11.9% - 12.7%, while incoming freshman will experience an astounding 18.8% compared to this year's freshman.

What's ironic, in my opinion, is that in economic time such as these it can be useful for people who cannot find employment to further their education, yet these increases, on top of previous increases, make it that much more unaffordable for these people to go to school. Granted student loans are available to many if not most prospective students, but these are (obviously) not without cost.

I'm a huge advocate of anyone furthering his or her education, yet when it becomes this costly to go to school I think it is wise for a prospective student to investigate other alternatives such as community colleges or even foregoing school for direct work experience.

A Good Reason to Tell Your Prof How Much You Like Them

Today the state's House Committee on Military Affairs and Public Safety passed SB 1014 which would allow Arizona teachers to carry a concealed weapon on campus as long as they have a conceal and carry permit.

In one of my classes this semester this issue was brought up in a group I was assigned to. This really seemed to be an issue where there is little to any compromise: it seems people are either for it or against it and will not budge their opinion. Perhaps the reason for such a dichotomy in opinion is best expressed in the arguments on both sides.

On the side for allowing guns on campus they believe that if a Virginia Tech style shooting is to occur at least professors with a gun could act as first responders and potentially stop a gunman early in his (or in theory her) rampage, thus limiting the extent of the violence. Also, and less possible to evaluate is that if it is known that professors may be carrying weapons gunman may be deterred from attacking a campus.

On the side of those who are against allowing weapons, aside from a general distrust of guns, is the issue that professors carrying weapons could drastically complicate public safety officer's ability to keep order in the event of a shooting. It may be difficult for officers to discern the good guys from the bad, and unintended injuries or deaths may occur. They additionally would not be swayed by the argument that gun carrying profs would deter crazed gunmen from opening fire on campus.

This should be an interesting bill to follow through the legislative process.

Behind the Scenes at Channel 11

This past Friday, after the amazing time I had at the Phoenix Police Academy, I went to Phoenix's Channel 11 for a taping of Phoenix City Council On the Issues with Phoenix Councilman Claude Mattox, State Senator Nelson and Phoenix's Government Relations Director Karen Peters. The topic was the proposed state budget and the effects it, along with the temporary sales tax vote this May, would have on Phoenix.

Dave (my co-intern) and I got to go in the studio prior to the taping. The set is actually a green screen and there isn't really a lot in the studio. It had the hollow feeling of an industrial garage. What was really fascinating was when we went into the control room prior to and during the taping.

Prior to the taping the three participants had to be "synchronized" with (I'm not sure what the technical term is) the green screen so that the colors they were wearing were matched with the green screen. Without doing this matching they people onscreen disappear into the green screen.

Since the show is basically unscripted it was really neat observing the production crew trying to both anticipate and react to the onscreen participants' comments. Whether it was changing cameras or figuring out which graphics to display it was almost like listening to the team communications for a NASCAR crew.

While the final product will undoubtedly look like a seamless conversation between three colleagues the behind-the-curtain viewpoint revealed something totally different.

Police Academy

This past Friday I got to have an amazing experience courtesy of the Phoenix Police Academy. The City Manager's office (where I intern) took some state legislators that represent Phoenix on a tour of the Phoenix Police Academy.

We started at 10:00 in the video simulation room where officers are presented with real-life scenarios and must decide when, or if, they are required to use deadly force. The video was projected on a large screen and participates were equipped with a laser gun, though it had a real trigger mechanism. If and when the participant shot the simulator read the laser to determine where the "bullet" would have hit and then changes the simulation accordingly. It really put a new, and sobering, perspective on police shootings.

From there we got to observe a real training exercise based on the famous Los Angeles bank robbery where two suspects were wearing bulletproof armor and carrying automatic weapons. The exercise took place in the academy's "Tactical Village" which is a couple of real houses and a convenience store designed to mimic real-life potential layouts. The participants used real guns and "simmunition", real bullets but with paint balls instead of lead.

We observed two, seven man squads run an unscripted exercise in trying to neutralize two heavily armed and armored bad guys (played by two Phoenix police officers). We were perched on the third story roof of one of the houses with full access to the police communications.

To say this was cool would be a grand understatement. In fact, this was probably one of the coolest experiences I have ever been a part of. To see the exercise unfold like a chess match was mesmerizing. Adding to the experience was the fact that for all intent and purpose this was real: real guns, real sounding ammunition, real confusion and real mistakes.

All of the officers from Phoenix PD were extremely kind, knowledgeable and instructive. It was a wonderful learning experience for me and I'm sure that the legislators would concur.

I once was Lost… but now am found…

I have a feeling that many Lost fans have conducted more research and spent more thought into decrypting Lost's final season than I have spent in my entire graduate experience at ASU. For the record, that wasn't a critique on my academic expenditures.

I am a bit conflicted with Lost. On one hand, the over-thinking dork in me loves the series and the multiple theories on what happens as posted by 42 Inch Television or EW's Lost blog. Think about it: a popular network television program that not only makes you think, but makes you rethink, debate with friends, conduct research and then come to your own conclusion. Economics aside, Lost is a sharp contrast from the myriad of reality shows that dominate the airwaves.

That said, I am not a master of subtlety. I have to read multiple episode recaps, plus exchange multiple emails just to get above water on Lost and its hidden meanings (assuming my research is correct). I'll grant you I'm not Einstein, but then again I'm not the village idiot. If I have to consult "experts" on the deeper meaning of a TV show…

Case in point:

"An extremely little known fact: the subtitle to the season 3 classic 'The Man Behind The Curtain' was actually 'Very, very loosely based on the novel Push by Sapphire.'"

Seriously? I enjoy thinking but that my friends seems a bridge too far.

In the end I'd prefer a TV show spark more thought versus less, yet I don't think I should have to take the GRE and prepare my application to ASU for a Masters in Lost.

Can't Tell Me Nothing…

Well, to take a phrase from Kayne West's aforementioned song, "La, la, la, la… wait till I get my money right."

That might well be a long wait in Arizona. The Governor's budget proposal is causing chaos throughout virtually every state and local entity. And this all assumes the state will pass a temporary sales tax this May. If it doesn't pass then all bets are off.

As my esteemed co-intern Dave posted, assuming the Governor's proposal passes, and the temporary tax is approved, this will still reduce the City of Phoenix's budget $6M. This doesn't even begin to address the issues that the more rural communities throughout Arizona will face (in terms of percentage of budget).

While fully understandable, it is depressing to watch each agency, city and town reduce itself to a survivalist nature. Perhaps more depressing is the fact that this budgetary crisis may not pass for years to come.

To go back to another one of Kayne's songs, "N- n- now th- that don't kill me… Can only make me stronger." Here's hoping for Arizona's sake.

Horrible News Out of Austin

A small plane has crashed into an office building that reportedly houses an IRS office in Northwest Austin. I drove by this office complex every day when I lived there and I'm hoping and praying for everyone in that office building.

Stimulating

Yesterday, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was in Phoenix touting the effectiveness of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), more commonly known as the "Stimulus" program. Perhaps the visit was a preemptive effort to get in front of the news that the City of Phoenix would not receive additional ARRA funding for the PHX Sky Train project that Mayor Phil Gordon has long been touting.

The PHX Sky Train is a people mover that, once completed in 2013 will connect all of the terminals at Sky Harbor Airport with the light rail and the parking lots. According to Scott Wong's Arizona Republic article, Phoenix will instead finance the project with "airline passenger fees, airport bonds and other revenue."

Perhaps adding insult to injury, Arizona "rival" Tucson was awarded $63 million yesterday for a transit project of its own. Mayor Gordon was quoted as saying, "Anyone who knows me knows I don't accept no for an answer." It will be interesting to see what Mayor Gordon is able to accomplish before he leaves office, either due to term limits or a potential bid for the US Congress.

It’s All About the Benjamin’s

I'm now of the assumption that this will be a looming topic throughout the semester: money, money, money. It seems that virtually every meeting I attend eventually circles back to the topic. The State of Arizona is broke, the City of Phoenix is broke, virtually every other city in the Valley is broke and the outlook for the near future does not offer much hope. And when there is a lack of resources the infighting begins, though typically it is behind closed doors and not in public.

And now cuts are coming. According to this article by Scott Wong of the Arizona Republic, "The City Manager's Office would face nearly a 30 percent cut, losing about $720,000. Meanwhile, Mayor Phil Gordon's office would be slashed by 25 percent, or $522,000, while offices for the eight other council members would see a 24 percent cut, totaling more than $1 million." And the most controversial cuts are those to public safety (police and fire).

Citing Scott Wong again, the proposed cuts to police and fire would be, "The Police Department would lose about 353 sworn positions, from patrol officers to assistant chiefs. The Fire Department would cut 144 sworn jobs." The City of Phoenix has never laid off sworn police or fire employees. It is in this context that the city proposed, and passed a 2% food tax on Phoenicians to help mitigate the budget shortfall and to help keep these positions.

One thing that is certain though is this will not be the last post from me regarding budgetary issues and their fallouts.

My Background and My Internship

This is the first internship experience I have had and it seems to be rather interesting thus far. My internship is with the City of Phoenix's Government Relations department. This department is part of the City Manager's office and works on behalf of the city's interests with regard to federal, state and local issues.

I am currently in my last semester of the MPA program at Arizona State. Prior to my internship I have worked exclusively in the private sector for US Airways, National Instruments and CVS/Caremark. All of my positions were some derivative of being an Analyst (Business, Pricing, etc) and my undergraduate degree is in Financial Management from Northern Michigan University (or as it is lovingly described "NMU: Where the 'N' Stands for Knowledge").

I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with the Government Relations department. My description above was intentionally vague: to describe the wide array of issues they work on would be near impossible. The behind-the-scenes view of governance will be an education in it of itself.