By Mark Carlisle
Twitter: @mwcarlisle

Glendale City Council’s legislative wish list for the state legislature in 2020 includes state funding for an infrastructure project at Luke Air Force Base and classifying peer-to-peer car sharing to be taxed as rental cars. City officials may also lobby to ban fireworks at late hours of the night.

Glendale’s Intergovernmental Programs staff lobbies state legislators to promote laws that will benefit Glendale, based on City Council’s direction.

Luke AFB wastewater project

One big priority for Glendale this year will be securing state funding for a project to connect Luke AFB to the city’s wastewater treatment facility. The base has been using its own wastewater facility but that facility, built in 1942, is reaching the end of its lifespan. Glendale has agreed to take on Luke AFB’s wastewater needs, but the base must be connected to the city’s existing infrastructure.

The project will include the design and construction of a lift station and about three miles of pipe to connect the base to Glendale’s existing wastewater collection system. The total estimated cost of the project is $10 million. Glendale is seeking state funding to cover some if not all of that cost. Staff is also exploring possibilities for federal grant funding, though those funds, if secured, would likely be less than $1 million.

Legislator Joanne Osborne has introduced a House bill for state funding for the project, staff explained these bills are mainly political opportunities for lawmakers to connect their name to an issue. Staff doesn’t expect the bill to pass and stakeholders shouldn’t get discouraged if the bill fails.

“It’s much more likely that it would become part of the broader budget negotiations,” said Jenna Goad, Glendale’s assistant director of Public Affairs.

Peer-to-peer car sharing

Glendale is eager to have the state classify a new transportation industry as rental cars in order to keep tax revenue flowing to the city. Peer-to-peer car sharing is a recently introduced industry where car owners can make their vehicles available to others to rent for a short time when they aren’t using it.

When Arizona residents or visitors use these services instead of a traditional car rental, the same rental fees and taxes are not applied. Glendale relies on these funds to pay off loans for the construction of its spring training stadium, Camelback Ranch, more than a decade ago.

“This essentially bypasses the rental car industry agency and that also means bypassing the taxes that are associated with our spring training facilities,” said Ryan Lee, Glendale’s intergovernmental coordinator.

Two competing bills were introduced last year: one to tax the industry as a traditional rental car industry, and another to tax it separately. Glendale staff will be lobbying for the former.

“We’re going to watch that very closely and make sure that we don’t have a threat or a change in what we’re expecting to receive for Camelback Ranch,” Mr. Lee said.

Fireworks

Yucca District Councilwoman Joyce Clark introduced an issue that she wanted to pursue with the state legislature: firework restrictions. Ms. Clark noted that while state law includes restrictions on what types of fireworks can be used, which days of the year fireworks can be used, but not what time of day fireworks can be used.

State law allows fireworks to be used only on select days around July Fourth, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Last year days around Cinco de Mayo and Diwali were also added.

Ms. Clark said on New Year’s Eve, people were setting off fireworks from about 6 p.m. until about 3 a.m.

“It’s become a really aggravating situation for a lot of people,” she said.

Barrel District Councilman Bart Turner also said he had several complaints of noise from fireworks in his district on New Year’s Eve, and that it was widely discussed the next day on Facebook and Nextdoor.

Ms. Clark suggested lobbying for a fireworks ban after a certain hour of the night, though she had not decided when.

Deputy City Manager Brent Stoddard said while the city has limited power around fireworks it can enforce things like the city’s noise ordinance. Mr. Turner noted that he believed illegal fireworks were being used in many of the complaints he received. Mr. Stoddard said the legislature is reviewing boosting firework enforcement efforts through the state fire marshal.

State Liquor Board

Ms. Clark also wanted to re-up a legislative change that failed at the finish line last year.

In 2019, Ms. Clark spearheaded a law change that would have required one of seven members of the State Liquor Board to be a current or former municipal elected official, to give cities and towns more of a voice in the approval or denial of liquor licenses.

The bill sailed unanimously through Glendale City Council, the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, the State House and State Senate but was vetoed by Gov. Doug Ducey. Mr. Stoddard characterized Mr. Ducey’s reasoning in a letter from Mr. Ducey as the governor not wanting to cede power in choosing who was appointed to the board.

Ms. Clark noted that Rep. Anthony Kern, who was the bill’s primary sponsor last year, was willing to try again with the bill this year. Mayor Jerry Weiers said if staff was going to restart its efforts on the bill, it should start where the bill failed last time.

“We need to be working with the governor’s office before Mr. Kern even really starts pushing this, because if the governor’s going to do the same thing, it’s a waste of effort,” Mr. Weiers said.

Mr. Stoddard noted that even though the bill didn’t pass last year, it had an effect on state government. When there was an opening on the Liquor Board, the governor’s office reached out to the League of Cities and Towns to all of the municipalities in area where seat was open to solicit interest for a municipal elected official to apply for the position.

“So, while it didn’t get codified into law… I also believe that we changed the way that they had approached filling those seats… That may be a secondary prize, but I think that we moved the needle on this issue.”

Mark Carlisle can be reached at mcarlisle@newszap.com or found on Twitter @mwcarlisle.

Mark Carlisle
Associate Editor | Daily Independent
@mwcarlisle

mcarlisle@iniusa.org

Mark is passionate about accurately informing his readers to what is happening in their community. He also loves reading and writing about sports. Mark has worked for Independent Newsmedia for five years. He married his high school sweetheart, adopted a boxer mix, and awaits his first child.