Co-chairs Richard Rosales and Rebecca Timmer introduced Craig McFarland, President/CEO of Pinal Partnership. Craig announced Pinal Partnership has engaged Liz Goodman of Rose Law Group for lobbying and introduced her.
- Liz Goodman and Cole Libera will lead the lobbying efforts along with support from their team members Amber Knapp, Destiny Ruiz and intern Makenna Trapini.
- Our 2025 Advocacy and Legislative Priorities are in process of getting approval from the PP Executive Board
- The Government Relations and Water Resources Committees will take the lead in monitoring the legislative issues that might be relevant to Pinal Partnership and the membership.
- Monitoring water bills will be top priority, and non-water related bills will be reviewed to determine impacts.
- Members can bring forward support/opposition to relevant bills by presenting them to either GRC or WRC. If there is a recommendation to act, that will then be presented to Craig who will then share with the Board, for approval.
- Time sensitive issues may be expedited to the Executive Board
- Water Resources Committee alternates weekly between smaller working group and full committee
Liz referenced the weekly status report that is being refined and will be distributed to both the Government Relations and Water Resources Committees. Craig reviewed most of the bill tracking report onscreen with the committee.
Rebecca suggested the lobbying team could expand on the relevance of each bill to provide additional data for committee members to better understanding and vetting of bills.
Cole will track CSA and League of Cities positions for comparison on water bill tracking. Liz added crossover week after February 21st will whittle down the list. Crossover week is the deadline for bills to be heard by the originating chamber. Friday February 28th is the last day for committees to hear bills.
Katy Proctor suggested the committee whittle down the list according to priorities for the committee.
Rebecca agreed and suggested narrowing the list of bills to track to streamline tracking.
Craig anticipates another couple of bills will drop this week relating to water.
Once a position is taken on a bill by the committee, Rebecca and Richard will communicate to Craig and he will contact the Executive Board and lobbying team to act. Craig may reach out to get committee support/letters as necessary.
Craig confirmed the appropriations for the Colorado River HB2103 and SB1113 are the only ones Pinal Partnership has taken a position on thus far.
Liz highlighted a few items from the current list:
- Summaries were reviewed as an example of what will be highlighted and reviewed at committee meetings
- HB2002 bill is directly tied to the PRTA funds held by the AZ Department of Revenue retains any monies not refunded to be spent in Pinal County for transportation projects.
- Federal Government funding is being reviewed after President Trump’s executive order on the I-10 widening
Matt Ligouri of APS suggested adding HB2201 and HB2679 on the tracking list relating to utilities.
The next Pinal Partnership Breakfast is February 7th at CAC Signal Peak featuring a Mayors Roundtable.
The next PPGRC Meeting will be on February 25th.
Visit https://pinalpartnership.com/meetings-and-events/ for more information.
