Arizona Legislative Wrap Up - 2009

Despite the Arizona Legislature adjourning on July 1st after enacting a balanced budget for FY 2010, Governor Jan Brewer vetoed large segments of the budget package in order to minimize the significant impacts on government services for education, public safety, healthcare and related programs.

Within days of the completion of the 2009 legislative session, the Governor called a Special Session to address the revenue shortfall of the now-current fiscal year (FY 2010).  The focus of the Special Session is to develop a new budget that will include appropriate program reductions, budget reforms and authorize a ballot election for a temporary sales tax increase.

Notwithstanding the practical challenges of a legislative session solely focused on state budget issues, progress was made on issues impacting the membership interests of the Arizona Automotive Wholesalers' Association (AAWA) and the automotive aftermarket industry.

In particular, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1026 will submit to the voters in the next general election an amendment to the Arizona Constitution that guarantees the right of individuals to vote by a secret ballot.  The legislation was in direct response to the proposed federal legislation known as the Employee Free Choice Act, informally referred to as the "Card Check" bill.  If approved by voters, unionization elections in Arizona would continue to be conducted by secret ballot, as opposed to the "Card Check" approach in which labor organizations can unionize without an election if 50% of workers at a facility sign a card in support of the union effort, thereby avoiding the traditional election requirement.

A coalition was formed by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry in which AAWA participated with other private sector interests that would be adversely impacted by a Card Check approach to unionization.

AAWA again teamed up with the business community in supporting the permanent repeal of the state equalization property tax, which had been suspended in 2005.   While the permanent repeal was successfully enacted this year, the provision was part of the Governor's veto of the budget package.  It is widely anticipated that the ongoing Special Session will include the repeal provisions as part of any budget compromise.

As the legislative focus throughout the 2009 legislative session was resolving the state revenue shortfall, AAWA began educating key legislators and legislative staff on the need to remove the statutory cap on automobile battery core deposits paid by consumers.  This change will address the inequity between retailers and manufacturers.  The outcome of AAWA's hard work was the increased understanding by elected officials of the importance to resolve the issue during the next regular legislative session, which is to convene in January 2010.

Throughout the 2009 legislative session, AAWA was effective in raising the political visibility of the automotive aftermarket industry in Arizona.  These efforts will increase our collective effectiveness in the years ahead.