AZ SB1507 - The Coming to Jesus Moment

AZ bad SB1507 will be back on the House floor tomorrow.  This is it.  Here's my latest letter to the House of Representatives.  Ugh.  Oh, and here's video from the press conference I pulled together in about 10 hours on April 17th in opposition to SB1507 along with the help of Sandy Bahr, Exec. Director of the Sierra Club.


Dear State Representatives,

I write to you yet again to urge you to please use your common sense when voting on SB1507.  The League of Arizona Cities and Towns opposes this bill, the Arizona Chamber opposes this bill, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton opposes this bill, and at least 574 people who have taken the time to sign this petition oppose this bill.  SB1507 has the ability to hurt our economy, our people and our environment.  It's really that simple, and deserves a NO vote from you, regardless of your party affiliation.

This bill has now been covered by msnbc, Huffington Post, Gawker, TriplePundit (my story), the AZ Republic, AZ Capitol Times, Tucson Citizen, and various well-read political and environmental blogs.  Can you please stop making a mockery of our state to the rest of the world by inflicting your extremist conspiracy theories held by a minority, on us, your constituents - the majority.  If I were a moderate Republican within the AZ State Legislature I would like to think I'd be embarrassed by these sorts of bills...

Let common sense rule your world for a moment as you step outside your box and view things from a human being perspective.  Do you not want clean air for your families to breathe?  Clean water to drink?  Less pollution and smog?  Less poverty?  Healthier buildings for our children to learn in?  Savings on your energy bills?  Healthier food to eat?  Progress in solar technologies?  More jobs in Arizona?  A decrease in healthcare costs?

If you answered "No, I don't want any of those things for my constituents who voted for me" then by all means go ahead and vote yes for this bad bill.  If on the other hand, you agree that the items listed above are at the very core of our future and survival as humans (which they are) a yes vote on this bill will be a testament for your complete and total disregard to the health and well-being of every constituent you serve, as well as the planet you call home, and I promise you all that I will do my best to make as many people as possible aware to the way you vote on this bill.  And I'm quite tenacious.

So again, please vote NO on SB1507.


Sincerely,

Stacey Champion

P.S. Teri Proud - Energize Phoenix is a program, not a company as you indicated in your constant contact blurb.  You also had several other facts wrong in that memo, and I would highly encourage you to fact check before flipping things out into the public in the future.  I can also promise you that the sustainability community will never force you to buy organic or ride a bike.  You have my word.

Senator Burges - Who Do You Work For? Are You a Lobbyist for the Mining Industry???

Here is another HORRIBLE anti-environmental bill by Senator Burges (who WORKED for a mining company) that is being voted on in Senate TODAY. It too was a strike everything bill. This MUST stop. Please sign the action letter for it and sign into the AZ Legislature to state your opposition to this bill immediately!

TAKE ACTION - Say No to Polluter Protection

Ask Your Senator to Vote NO on HB2199.

HB2199 NOW: environmental audit privilege (Burges) allows companies to do internal audits, to keep the information, including violations of law, secret, and the information in the audit cannot be used to prosecute them for violations of law. What a deal! It rewards the most irresponsible industries and gives bad actors a shield of secrecy. HB2199 is being pushed by the Arizona Mining Association and Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold.

Anti-environmental zealot Senator Burges - protecting the mining industry - not US!

Senator Judy Burges is Hell Bent on Killing Sustainability in Arizona with SB1507

Anti-Sustainability Senator Burges

Did you know that sustainability isn't about the environment or trying to make sure we have a livable planet for future generations???  According to Arizona Senator Burges, sustainability- and AGENDA 21- is just a covert operative to "hurt the middle class and working poor by controlling what we eat and where we live."  It's a game of world domination where the Europeans are surely poised to pounce on us at any time to start demanding we live more sustainable lifestyles.  Sustainability is BAD BAD BAD.  Maybe this anti-environmental bill from Senator Burges shouldn't come as such a big shock though, given her past employment with Cyprus Bagdad Copper Company, a significant violator of the Clean Air Act.

I wish I was joking.  I wish our extremist and crazy state legislators would stop giving daily fodder to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.  But they don't...  And I live here.  And not only do I live here, I've worked as an environmental consultant for 10+ years and have been a sustainability activist for much longer than that.

Watch testimony (and votes) HERE for yourself (and cringe).


This is a bill that has slipped through the cracks unnoticed.  Like a cockroach.  In this instance, the building is infested with them.  They are scurrying on the inside of the walls, multiplying, crapping their allergenic crap everywhere.  SB1507.

How did this bill slip through the cracks for so long unnoticed and without any input from the environmental community?  Well, it's a little thing called a "Strike All Amendment."  The original title of SB1507 was "unemployment insurance; technical correction."  Sounds fairly harmless, right?

This was then changed with the Strike All Amendment to now be: "United Nations Rio declaration; prohibition."  Not so harmless anymore. 

The following excerpt from the Arizona Republic sheds light on this phenomenon:
Sometimes called the “Hail Mary Pass” of the political process, here’s how Strike-All amendments work:
1.)  A bill fails in a House or Senate Committee or Floor Vote or is arbitrarily held by a committee chairman.
2.)  The stalled bill’s sponsor takes another unrelated bill assigned elsewhere that is still moving and, with permission of its sponsor, guts it and replaces the wording with the contents of the stalled bill.
3.)  “Stikers” can be a useful method to introduce new ideas, or to put stalled bills that might otherwise enjoy majority support to a vote.  But, they can also be used to by-pass the committee hearings where the public might testify.
Without doubt, “Strike All” amendments lead to public confusion about pending legislation.

I simply like to call this total bullshit.  This is a sneaky, awful way to pass bills without public input or concerned party testimony and should not be allowed, in my opinion.

I could list at least 1000 reasons why sustainability is good.  Good for our economy, good for our households, good for our cities, good for our State, good for our PLANET.  We are just finally starting to make some good progress, which this bill serves to instantaneously try to destroy.  Sustainability is not a party line topic.  It just makes sense.  This bill is simply about conspiracy theories and extremism and does nothing to create jobs (which the green/sustainability movement does) or serve to protect and improve our environment (which is a necessity).

Anyway, we don't have time to hear all of the reasons about why sustainability is good - because this bill will be heard in the House Committee on Rules TODAY (March 26th) at 1 p.m. and we need a small ARMY of people who care about sustainability to SIGN THIS ONLINE PETITION, CONTACT the Rules Committee Members, write to your Representatives and Senators telling them you OPPOSE SB1507, come to TESTIFY at committee, and help us stop this insulting bill.

We must stand together for change.