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ARIZONA STATE LEGISLATURE
Forty-eighth Legislature – First Regular Session
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND RURAL AFFAIRS AND
HOUSE COUNTIES, MUNICIPALITIES AND MILITARY AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE
Minutes of Interim Meeting
Senate Hearing Room 1 – 2:00 P.M. or Upon Adj. of Senate NRRA/House WA COR
Chairman Gray called the meeting to order at 2:26 p.m. and attendance was noted by the secretary.
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Senator Chuck Gray, Co-Chair |
Representative John Nelson, Co-Chair |
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Senator Marsha Arzberger |
Representative Marian McClure |
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Senator Karen Johnson |
Representative Tom Prezelski |
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Senator Amanda Aguirre |
Representative Manuel Alvarez |
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Senator Robert Blendu |
Representative Lucy Mason |
Opening Remarks
Chairman Gray announced that the meeting will begin even though a quorum is not yet present. He stated that no votes will be taken until a quorum is reached.
Arizona State Land Department Performance Audit
Megan Gnagy, Senate NRRA Analyst, informed the committee of the authority and mission of the State Land Department.
Presentation by Auditor General
Dale Chapman, Performance Audit Manager, Auditor General’s Office, presented the results of his performance audit of the Arizona State Land Department (Attachment 1):
1. the Department should enhance its selling and leasing process
2. the Department should improve state trust land management
Senator Arzberger asked if posting site studies on the website sooner was intended to market land that is planned to be sold; Mr. Chapman replied in the affirmative.
Senator Arzberger asked him to explain high-risk wells; Mr. Chapman replied that 650 of the 3,000 wells are deemed high-risk for reasons of age over 50 years, depth, or proximity to environmental sites.
Senator Arzberger asked if the wells were not considered a capital improvement and therefore owned by the lessee; Mr. Chapman explained that they are considered an improvement on the land and at the end of the lease would be owned by the State.
Senator Arzberger asked why it is important to inspect wells in use and under lease; Mr. Chapman replied that the Department identified these as in need of inspection.
Senator Arzberger stated that it is her opinion that it is the farmer’s obligation to fix the well and she is unclear why the State is spending its time inspecting these wells.
Chairman Gray asked for an example of “high risk”; Mr. Chapman explained that a well that is improperly capped would be high risk.
Senator Johnson asked about the gaps in the inspections; Mr. Chapman replied that in the case of mineral inspections, there are not enough staff members to do those.
Response by State Land Department
Mark Winkleman, Arizona State Land Commissioner, explained that the auditors did a very thorough job over many months, and that his department has begun to address their recommendations.
Representative Prezelski asked what has been done to improve comprehensive planning; Mr. Winkleman explained that the fourteen agencies on the growth cabinet meet regularly and the relationship between Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the Land Department is perhaps the best it’s ever been.
Representative Prezelski asked about the apparent eagerness of the Department to sell State Trust Land and inquired if leasing would ensure revenue flow; Mr. Winkleman replied that homeowners want to own their land, so a general rule is to lease commercial land but to sell residential land.
Representative McClure asked if they have started to implement the Auditor General’s recommendations; Mr. Winkleman replied that some recommendations will be difficult to implement due to resource constraints. He did indicate that the Department’s shortage of appraisers will be addressed immediately.
Representative McClure suggested that site studies be posted on their website immediately; Mr. Winkleman replied that they do now have a webmaster which will help.
Cochairman Nelson asked about the time frame required to sell or lease; Mr. Winkleman explained that this is not an easy process and his department tries to maximize the value, as a realtor would. He explained that they create a plan for taking property to auction and the many surveys and appraisals can take months, even years, prior to 2 ½ months of advertising.
Chairman Gray asked about conflicting renewal of a grazing lease and if the expense outweighs the value of the land; Mr. Winkleman explained that when a lease expires, someone else can come in to try to get the land and the result is conflicting applications; he added that this process is mandated statutorily.
Cochairman Nelson asked if the department has ever granted environmental leases with terms based on environmental responsibility or shepherding the land; Mr. Winkleman replied that there is one instance in Tucson with a mitigation lease that does not allow development to counteract a proximate problem. Discussion ensued about doing that with grazing leases and renewing without bidding.
Chairman Gray asked if, with regard to the term limits of legislators, the typical sunset extension of ten years might be too long, and asked Mr. Winkleman to comment on that; Mr. Winkleman replied that it takes most of the eight years of a legislator to educate them, but that with the constitutional requirements, his department will be in existence for awhile.
Debra Davenport, Auditor General, commented that her department has some difficulty keeping up with the sunset audits done every ten years, so a reduced interval would pose a hardship that would require an increased budget for her.
Chairman Gray asked the effect if the audit was not mandated for each sunset interval less than ten years; Ms. Davenport replied that it still would be tough to accomplish.
Mr. Winkleman pointed out that their audit took over a year and that his is not a large agency; he added that he prefers the ten year sunset.
Discussion ensued among the members about the sunset interval. Cochairman Nelson stated that it would be best to stay with ten years and that any agency can be pulled in at any time for review. Representative McClure and Senator Arzberger each stated that they concur.
Senator Johnson stated that she prefers shorter sunset intervals to ensure Legislative oversight. Chairman Gray echoed Senator Johnson, stating that the State Land Department is a trust which entails more oversight and in his opinion a five year sunset would be prudent.
Recommendations by the Committee of Reference
Cochairman Nelson moved that the Senate Natural Resources and Rural Affairs and House Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs Committee of Reference recommend the continuation of the Arizona State Land Department for ten years. The motion carried by a voice vote.
Chairman Gray directed staff to draft Legislation to implement the recommendation.
Without objection, the meeting adjourned at 3:28 p.m.
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Jane Dooley, Committee Secretary
November 8, 2007
(Original minutes, attachments and audio on file in the Office of the Chief Clerk; video archives available at http://www.azleg.gov/)
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SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND RURAL AFFAIRS AND
HOUSE COUNTIES, MUNICIPALITIES AND MILITARY AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE
2
November 8, 2007
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