Tucson voters will be receiving their ballots in the coming days for an upcoming special election, and the single proposition for their consideration is drawing passionate arguments from both supporters and opponents.
Proposition 412 would grant “a franchise to Tucson Electric Power (TEP) Company for the purpose of providing electric transmission and distribution services within the City of Tucson for which the City of Tucson will receive a franchise fee and other consideration.” The “other consideration” comes, in part, in the form of a “Community Resilience Fee” that will fund Tucson’s Climate Action and Adaption Plan, which is an effort to achieve “carbon neutrality for City operations by 2030.” If Tucson voters were to approve the proposition, the agreement would continue until June 1, 2048. (The current agreement ends April 2026.)
Tucson’s Democrat Mayor, Regina Romero, has endorsed Proposition 412, stating, “Please join me in voting YES on Prop 412. Tucson Electric Power is a valued partner in our community’s efforts to fight climate change, and Prop 412 will provide critical support for the City of Tucson’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. Prop 412 extends TEP’s service agreement for another 25 years with citizen oversight and opportunities to revise. Cleaner, greener and more resilient power for Tucson is important to all of us. Prop 412 is a smart investment in creating resiliency for Tucson.”
Joining Mayor Romero in support of Proposition 412 are Senator Rosanna Gabaldón and Representatives Andres Cano, Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, Consuelo Hernandez, and Chris Mathis – among others.
One of the main issues causing contention over this proposal is the insertion of a community resilience fee of 0.75% of all applicable revenues of TEP – in addition to the 2.25% Franchise Fee. This new fee would be collected and disbursed for “funding costs associated with the underground installation of new TEP Facilities or conversion to underground of existing TEP facilities currently installed overhead; and projects that support the City’s implementation of the City’s approved Climate Action and Adaption Plan.” Surprisingly, the fee has picked up opposition from both sides of the political aisle.
Steve Kozachik, a Democrat Tucson Councilman, recently wrote an opinion piece for the Arizona Daily Star, arguing that “we can do better than Prop 412.” He states that “TEP is not coming out of pocket with a single penny to support renewables in Prop 412. You are, in the form of a 0.75% resiliency fee. Let’s be clear. They’re collecting those new dollars from customers, not dipping into their own revenues in support of investing more heavily in climate mitigation and decarbonizing efforts.”
Councilman Kozachik argued that “for the first 10 years the new fee is being collected, 90% of it is earmarked for undergrounding utilities….And yet our climate reality demands much more than the aesthetic of undergrounding new utility lines. A financial commitment from TEP to partner in that larger renewable energy conversation is what’s lacking in the extension of their franchise agreement.” Kozachik suggested that it may not be such a bad thing for this extension to fall short of voter approval in the upcoming election as “it can be placed back on the ballot in either August or November.” He writes that “either date would give the city and the community time to meet and identify ways the utility can demonstrate a larger commitment to addressing extreme heat and how we safely provide electricity using renewable energy sources.”
On the other end of the political spectrum, the Pima County Republican Party urged voters to reject Proposition 412, stating, “There will be a special election May 16, 2023, where the voters will decide if they want to raise their Tucson Electric Power rates to remove some poles and somehow reduce climate change by throwing money at Tucson’s Climate Action Plan.”
Kevin Thompson, a Republican member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, weighed in on the community resilience fee, telling AZ Free News: “Franchise Fees are a routine component of a utility providing service to a municipality, but what isn’t typical is the coupling of a taxpayer supported slush fund to prop up pet projects for the city in the name of fighting climate change.”
The community resilience charge isn’t the only fee that TEP is attempting to pass along to its Southern Arizona consumers. Earlier last year, TEP submitted an application to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), proposing a rate increase of 11.8% to take effect no later than September 1, 2023. TEP informed the Commission that “the new rates are intended to result in an increase in retail revenues of approximately $136 million.” According to reports, TEP customers’ bills would increase more than $14 each month should the ACC sign off on the request.
The rate increase before the ACC has earned fierce opposition from the Sierra Club, which recently took a position against TEP’s attempted action. In a March 29th release, the Sierra Club warned “the rate hike would be catastrophic for low-income families who are already hard struck by inflation, and would hurt disadvantaged and frontline communities that often bear a disproportionate air pollution burden.”
Commissioner Thompson is closely watching as both the Special Election and ACC”s decision play out before him. When asked by AZ Free News for his thoughts on these unfolding issues affecting southern Arizona, he said, “Utilities should be approaching state regulators, not courting local governments, when promoting initiatives that may have an impact on the overall reliability and integrity of our power grid.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, multiple government officials seized the opportunity to grab more power. Perhaps chief among them were the Tucson city council and Mayor Regina Romero, who exploited the moment by declaring a “climate emergency.” Now, the city of Tucson has finalized its plan to solve this “climate emergency”—to the tune of an estimated $326 million. But it’s not just the cost that should concern you.
Tucson’s Climate Action Plan, titled “Tucson Resilient Together,” is ripe with Green New Deal mandates that are aimed at forcing citizens out of their cars, controlling their lives, and destroying the community. By 2050, they plan to force 40% of all people living in Tucson to commute by walking, cycling, taking public transportation, or “rolling” (whatever that means). And that’s just the start.
The city of Tucson has finalized its plan to solve its “climate emergency” declared in 2020, estimated at the low end to cost hundreds of millions. The plan could cost the city around $326 million, but noted that these costs were estimates. The city projected in its cost-benefit analysis (CBA) that the net present value created by its planning would be around $7.9 billion.
Included in the value added were nonmonetary items translated to have monetary value, such as quality of life. The city admitted that these estimated costs weren’t probable, but a rough estimate.
“When planning for climate mitigation and adaptation policies and projects, it is essential to consider, not only the upfront cost of a project or policy, but what benefits will society as a whole see from implementing these projects or policies,” stated the city.
CBAs are controversial for their unreliability. Oxford University declared in a 2020 report and Cambridge University declared in a 2021 report that CBAs tend to be inaccurate and biased.
The city council approved the 155-page plan to tackle climate change — or, the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP), titled “Tucson Resilient Together” — during Tuesday’s meeting. In a letter accompanying the CAAP, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero declared that the plan takes immediate, equity-centered action. The CAAP formed solutions based on four types of equity: procedural, meaning certain voices get elevated above others; distributional, meaning certain individuals or groups get more distribution of benefits or burdens than others; structural, meaning disparate treatment based on existence within perceived power structures or systems of privilege; and transgenerational, meaning greater burdens for current generations to ease burdens of future generations.
“Climate change is an existential threat, and our public health, economy, and way of life are on the line,” said Romero.
The plan outlines goals of carbon neutrality across city operations by 2030 and community-wide by 2045.
AZ Free News has outlined each action item within this plan, along with its potential cost range. The plan noted that the most expensive projects ranged over $1 million in cost, but didn’t disclose how high those costs could reach.
Establish a Climate Action Team (CAT) to implement CAAP — up to $100,000
Partnering with nongovernmental entities to make decisions about city purchases, programming, training, investments, etc. — up to $100,000
Offer climate change educational resources to the community — up to $100,000
Monitor and inventory GHG emissions — up to $100,000
Decarbonize city-owned and operated buildings and facilities — anywhere over $1 million
Electrify and decarbonize all existing and new residential and commercial buildings — anywhere from $100,000 to anywhere over $1 million
Move to renewables-based electricity in the city and community — $500,000 to $1 million
Install and promote distributed energy resources (DERs) like rooftop solar panels — $500,000 to anywhere over $1 million
Pursue renewable energy resources like geothermal heating and cooling, methane generated from decomposing waste, etc. — anywhere over $1 million
Develop more sidewalks, bike lanes and paths, seating, and shading infrastructure — anywhere over $1 million
Develop more public transit options and infrastructure — anywhere over $1 million
Create a “15-minute city,” essentially restructuring the community to enable only walking, biking, and public transit, while ridding the city of cars — $500,000 to $1 million
Establish more electric vehicle charging infrastructure and building codes — anywhere over $1 million
Make public agency fleets into zero-emission vehicles — anywhere over $1 million
Establish financial incentives and infrastructures for city employees to not use cars — up to $100,000
Hold citizens to a “Zero Waste Plan” to empty landfills — $500,000 to $1 million
Create a community-wide organic waste collection and treatment program — $500,000 to $1 million
Establish a sustainable procurement policy for city operations — up to $100,000
Divert waste from landfills — $100,000 to $500,000
Expand green infrastructure programs, regulations, and requirements – up to $100,000
Establish “resilience hubs” for climate-related emergencies — anywhere from no cost to over $1 million
Establish urban heat mitigation infrastructure — anywhere over $1 million
Establish more “green” spaces, like planting more trees — $100,000 to $1 million
Restructure community relations to arrange a new emergency response and resource-sharing system — up to $100,000
The CAAP was developed in five different study sessions over the past year, with input from over 5,000 community members. A draft version of the CAAP came out in January.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Biden administration gave the city of Tucson $900,000 to build a biking and pedestrian bridge. The city’s initiative is one of 45 projects nationwide to receive a portion of $185 million in funds, the only one in Arizona to receive this round of funds.
The bridge would provide a pathway over the I-19 highway to Nebraska Street, as part of the Atravessando Comunidades Project. The funds will cover approximately 56 percent of the total project cost: $1.6 million in total.
The funds come from President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds allocated to the Department of Transportation (DOT) Reconnecting Communities Program (RCP). In a press release issued on Tuesday, the DOT revealed that it prioritized projects it perceived as benefiting economically disadvantaged communities, as well as engaging in equity and environmental justice. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) assisted DOT in selecting which projects should get federal funding.
10 other Arizona cities, counties, and one nonprofit were denied the IRS funds.
The city of Winslow petitioned for $377,200 for a transportation study on railway-created barriers to mitigate lack of access and opportunities for impacted communities; the city of Eloy petitioned for $400,000 to plan for the revitalization of the Sunland Gin Corridor; Apache County petitioned for $1.28 million to reconstruct Stanford Drive (County Road 8235); Native Promise, a tribal advocacy nonprofit, petitioned for over $1.75 million to reconnect Navajo relocatees through the Pinta Project; the city of Buckeye petitioned for $420,000 for an overpass at Durango Street, over $1 million for road and bridge construction along Watson Road, and $724,000 to plan for Rooks Road and Baseline Road; the city of Bullhead petitioned for $1.6 million to improve a multimodal parkway; the city of Phoenix petitioned for over $5 million for a “cultural corridor”; the city of Kingman petitioned for over $40.8 million for a Rancho Santa Fe Parkway traffic interchange; and the city of Eloy petitioned for over $24.3 million for Sunland Gin Corridor construction.
The DOT explained that Tucson received the funding because of the project’s focus on equity. The project description stated that the predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods of South Tucson were cut off from the Santa Cruz River and the rest of Tucson by the I-19 highway in the early 1960s. The DOT claimed that these neighborhoods experienced over 60 years of air and noise pollution, surviving a food desert, and struggling from more limited economic opportunities.
This isn’t the first round of funding Tucson has received for a bridge. The Biden administration awarded the city $25 million to rebuild the 22nd Street bridge last August.
Today I welcomed @SecretaryPete and @SenMarkKelly to announce a $25M transformative investment in #Tucson's infrastructure. The re-envisioned 22nd Street Bridge will reconnect our communities and create safer ways for residents to drive, walk, bike, and move about. pic.twitter.com/EGOkWkp0om
Vanessa Gallego says, "the trucks from her family's business have to take a detour around it, wasting time." Our $25M investment in this Tucson bridge will make it easier & faster for trucks, school buses, & emergency vehicles to get where they need to go. https://t.co/bl7oSMMe7L
Last August, Buttigieg used the city of Tucson as the location for his major reveal of $25 million in funding through Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants. At the time, Buttigieg also cited equity as a reason for choosing Tucson as the recipient of these exclusive funds.
“It’s also important from an equity perspective because it connects the downtown Tucson and the communities and opportunities there to historically underinvested in communities to the east,” said Buttigieg.
Thank you @SecretaryPete for sharing the transformative work happening in #Tucson! With support from this $25M #RAISEgrant, the rebuilt 22nd Street Bridge will improve pedestrian/bicycle safety, allow access for buses/heavy vehicles & create economic opportunity. #BidenHarrishttps://t.co/Lk1cnyKh1p
Phoenix also received RAISE grants last year: $25 million for a bridge over the Rio Salado river connecting downtown Phoenix and South Phoenix, spanning along the river from Central Avenue to State Route 143 near the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) is violating state and federal law by making it too difficult for its employees to leave a labor union, according to a Jan. 18 letter sent to district officials by the Goldwater Institute.
Parker Jackson, staff attorney with the Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation at the Goldwater Institute, advised TUSD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo that a review of five collective bargaining agreements revealed “alarming restrictions” which infringe on the rights of district employees.
“We request that the District immediately act to bring these agreements and policies and practices made pursuant to them into compliance with federal and state law,” Jackson wrote to Trujillo and the district’s governing board.
At issue are memoranda of understanding (MOU) which TUSD has entered into with four labor organizations: the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 449, AFL-CIO (“AFSCME”); the Communications Workers of America (“CWA”); Educational Leaders, Inc. (“ELI”); and the Tucson Education Association (“TEA”) with which there are two agreements.
TUSD employees may freely join a union at any time, but an employee covered by one of the five agreements must receive authorization from union bosses before district officials will process a request to resign from the union. This is unlawful, Jackson wrote, as it restricts when an employee may terminate their union membership and halt union dues deductions from their paychecks.
And then there is the issue of deduction revocation windows and/or deadlines which Jackson’s letter says do not comport with federal or state law. District policies and practices further exacerbate the unconstitutional activity.
For instance, the MOU with AFSCME—which Jackson calls “the worst of the five agreements”—restricts membership cancellation and dues deduction revocations to only two weeks per year, from May 1 to May 15. Similarly, the CWA agreement only permits cancellation of membership and dues deductions in July, while the other MOUs have comparable revocation restrictions.
This often results in an employee revoking their consent to union membership, only to have TUSD continue to deduct dues from each paycheck until the next opt-out period commences or the current membership year ends.
“This is not only unfair and predatory—it is also unconstitutional,” Jackson contends. “An employee revocation is obviously evidence that an employee does not affirmatively consent to pay union dues.”
Jackson’s letter to Trujillo cites Arizona’s Right to Work laws, the U.S. and Arizona constitutions, and various court cases in making its arguments.
“In order to prevent ongoing and future unconstitutional activity, the District must immediately revoke or revise any MOU provision that includes a union dues opt-out period and any requirement that a labor union must approve an employee’s request to stop the deduction of union dues,” Parker wrote. “The District must also revise any policy and procedure that imposes these unconstitutional conditions.”
The Goldwater Institute, which is dedicated to upholding the constitutional rights of all citizens, is a public policy and public interest litigation organization. It frequently initiates lawsuits when government entities do not voluntarily change conduct.
“The Goldwater Institute will always defend the constitutional right of all citizens to associate—or not associate—with whatever private organizations they choose,” Parker said after making the TUSD letter public. “Restrictive dues deduction revocation windows and deadlines, of course, are designed to make it difficult for people to leave powerful labor organizations. Fortunately, the U.S. and Arizona constitutions protect workers and prohibit the school district and the unions’ money grab.”
Terri Jo Neff is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or send her news tips here.
