LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Governor's Advisory Council on Aging's

Legislative Update for 2007!  

This electronic update will be sent once each week (some time between Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon) and will provide you with a wealth of information, resources, and tools to help you -- older Arizonans, professionals in aging, and senior advocates -- stay informed about the activities of the Arizona State Legislature.  The Council hopes that the information and tools provided through this Update will assist you in being more involved in the policy making process in Arizona and help shape legislative action as it relates to older adults.

In each Legislative Update you can expect to receive the following:

   Links to two regularly updated web pages that display information about the status and progress of various bills, as well as info about upcoming hearings, on the bills that the Council is tracking. There will always be two lists - a "short list" which are those bills that could seriously affect the health and welfare of seniors, and the "full list" which is a complete list of bills that may have some affect on seniors.  The web pages will be available throughout the legislative session and are automatically updated, so feel free to refer to them in between receiving our Updates.

  Information on how to contact your legislators and Governor so that your ideas and voice can be heard. 

  Key items, such as the Governor's State of the State speech, the Executive and JLBC budgets, a list of enactments and vetoes, and other educational information will routinely be attached or linked to the Update.

  Info about the Council on Aging's Local Senior Action Days.

 And NEW this year - info on Federal legislation that we will be tracking as they make their way through Congress!

We hope you enjoy the additional information and the format of the report.  Should you wish to be REMOVED from or know someone who would like to be ADDED to the Update list, please send an email to :  gaca@azdes.gov and ask to be unsubscribed from or subscribed to the Legislative Update.

Thank you for your interest and support.  We look forward to a good legislative session!

~Governor's Advisory Council on Aging

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INFORMATION & RESOURCES

We'd like to start this first update by providing you with some key background materials that will be important as we move through the session. 

State of the State Speech & the Executive Budget  - click on the following link to view the Governor's State of the State speech, which highlights some of her priorities for the coming year.  The Governor's website is:  www.azgovernor.gov   The Executive Budget is also known as the Governor's budget.  Next week we'll provide more details about the Governor's budget as it relates to seniors.

For the budget put forth by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC), click on the following link www.azleg.gov/jlbc.htm  The JLBC budget is also known as the Legislature's budget.

The Arizona Legislature's website can be found at:  www.azleg.gov/  On this public website, you can read the text of any particular bill you are interested in (just write down the number as you will search by number), see the calendar of meetings for all committees and bills, find contact info for your legislator, print district maps, and find information about the actual bill to law process (lower left hand column). 


 

STATE LEGISLATION

Visit the links below to view the Council's web pages and the list of bills the Council is tracking.  New bills will be added as appropriate.

FULL LIST:  http://www.azcapitolreports.com/webreport.cfm?webreport=85&listid=10243

SHORT LIST:  http://www.azcapitolreports.com/webreport.cfm?webreport=84&listid=10244

You'll notice from the full list, that there are 3 hearings next week on bills that the Council is tracking, including one about the expansion of the Kinship Foster Care Program (informally known as the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program). 

Contact Your Policymakers:  If you have a particular perspective about anything in the Governor's or Legislature's budget, or piece of  legislation that is being considered, you may voice your thoughts by contacting the Governor's Office of Constituent Services at 602-542-4331  or toll-free at 800-253-0883. 

You may also contact the legislator from your area.  If you do not know how to reach your local legislator, start at this page on the Legislature's website and follow the instructions: www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp


 

FEDERAL LEGISLATION

Currently we are looking at tracking the work of five committees in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate as it relates to aging.  The committees are listed below, along with the chairman of that committee.

House of Representatives
Speaker of the House-Nancy Pelosi D-CA

Committee       Chairman       
Appropriations  Dave Obey D-WI 
Budget  John Spratt D-SC       
Education and Labor     George Miller D-CA     
Energy and Commerce     Joe Barton R-Texas     
Judiciary       John Conyers Jr. D-MI  
 

U.S. Senate

Committee       Chairman       
Appropriations  Thad Cochran R-MS      
Budget  Judd Gregg R-NH
Commerce, Science and Transportation    Ted Stevens R-Alaska   
Health, Education and Labor     Michael Enzi R-WY      
Judiciary       Arlen Specter R-PA     
 

A few of the federal bills that we will be tracking include:

    • Elder Justice Act
    • Lifespan Respite Care Act
    • Appropriation bills that could impact seniors and the aging network. 
       

Contact your Congressional Member:  To share your thoughts with your federal representatives, visit the Library of Congress at www.thomas.gov/ and click onto House of Representatives or Senate on the left side column of the web-site. That will take you to their respective web sites where you'll find contact information for individual members of Congress.


 

Thank you!
~Governor's Advisory Council on Aging