AZ News & Blogs 6/12/2010

• Police and Accountability 
• I have written before that the inexpensive handheld video camera is perhaps the most important innovation in police accountability in my lifetime.  So of course, the police want them banned.
• Clean Elections Candidates Advised to Return Public Subsidies 
• At an emergency meeting Wednesday, the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission declared that taxpayer-funded candidates who have accepted campaign subsidies cannot withdraw from the Clean Elections system and run with private fundraising. But the Commission is wrong, according to the lead attorney who convinced the U.S. Supreme Court to block the use of matching funds at this point.
• “There is nothing in the law that prohibits withdrawal from the Clean Elections system – provided taxpayer-funded candidates return their government subsidies and run with private financing,” said Nick Dranias, the Goldwater Institute’s director of constitutional studies. “No provision in the Citizens Clean Elections Act addresses the issue of voluntary withdrawal from the system. And no rule prohibits the Commission from allowing candidates to withdraw from the system if they return their subsidies.”
• Strange bedfellows 
• Mills' attorney told the commission that it should reject a request from Gov. Jan Brewer's campaign to invoke an emergency clause and release publicly funded candidates to raise private dollars. It's needed, Brewer's crew argued, because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that bars the distribution of matching funds to publicly funded candidates.
• Worries increase along with Arizona's debt 
• Paying off that debt will strain state budgets for years to come. For the fiscal year that starts July 1, the state must make a $232 million debt payment out of its general fund.
• Abramoff Released From Prison; close ties to Hayworth linger in the minds of voters 
• This cannot be a good week for Team Hayworth, with reports his campaign is losing steam and this ugly little reminder of just how low some people will go.  You would think after the whole Abramoff “thing”, taking a closer look at folks would have been a good idea.  But, then…I guess some people never learn.   

AZ Brief Blogs and News 05/07/10

Immigration 

• Mormons and Anti-Illegal Immigration Bill see also Comment on SB 1070 by a Mormon from Mesa
• Dan Carlin on the recent immigration bill in AZ and how it makes no difference or Show 175  
• Alianza Hispano-Americana (by W. Lane Rogers)  

Speed Cameras  

• Highway Cameras Contract Canceled see also Kudos to Camerafraud.com

Sales Tax Increase

 Yes On 100:  Support Schools and Public Safety

• My Thoughts:  It is interesting to see the signs every where.  When Chino Valley School District was trying to do the over ride they also had plenty of "yes for the over ride" signs but none against.  The over ride was still voted down.  I think that shows the great independent and anti-tax/government sentiment of rural Arizonans.  Let's hope the whole state feels the same when it comes to proposition 100 and that it is voted down.  The last thing we need is more money stolen from the people.  As the sign mentions the support of schools and public safety...these two things are already supported.  We don't need to pay more for things that already receive enough money. 

• Arizona needs tax cuts, not increases, to boost economy (Opinion by John Munger)  
• Tax Increase (Prop. 100) would create larger deficit according to Joint Legislative Budget Committee 
• Blog for AZ has this analysis link on AZ taxes (BFA says we need more taxes) 
• My Thoughts: Since the federal government makes up 36% of Arizona's budget you can say our tax burden is that much higher.  So adding in 36% we have x as the share of the federal government's tax burden on us, so x/(8.5+x)=36% (where 8.5% is the average Arizonan tax burden, including cities).  The federal tax burden comes to 4.78%.  Adding those two numbers comes to 13.28%.  I know I make a lot of assumptions that are false to come to this number but it gives a very rough estimate of what are true state tax burden is.  What is the right amount?  I'll post that later.  Also, see my previous post on taxes here.

Ethnic Bill

• More on ban of ethnic studies bill 

Climate Change 

• Ernest Hancock & Dr. Timothy Ball Talk on Climate Change & Politics

Sine Die 

• Sprint toward sine die
• Of the 352 bills approved by lawmakers in the 2010 regular session, nearly 40 percent of them got their final thumbs-up during the two-day sprint toward sine die that saw lawmakers work late into the night in order to wrap up the year’s work. 
•