The Daily Agenda: Regulators finally stick it to the power company
The Daily Agenda: Regulators finally stick it to the power company
Campaign finance transparency is a state of mind ... The Capitol press corps deserves a European vacation ... And a conspiracy we can all believe in.
Most Arizona Public Service customers are going to pay a bit less for their electricity now, and it might be the end of an APS-dominated era at the Arizona Corporation Commission.
ICYMI, the Corporation Commission, often described as the fourth branch of Arizona government, oversees utilities. For years, allegations of regulatory capture have dogged the elected body after the state’s largest utility, APS, spent millions in dark money to help elect its own friendly regulators, a practice it abandoned after heaps of negative publicity. (Though it still spends gobsmacking amounts on backing politicians for basically every other elected office in the state.)
This week, though, the commission voted to order APS to decrease its base rates for its customers, something the commission hasn’t done since 1996, the Republic’s Ryan Randazzo reports. (In October, the commission decreased the company’s return on equity, a hit to the company’s profitability.)
The decision was a sharp rebuke to APS, which came in seeking a rate increase, but left with a decrease.
APS was defiant: The company said it will sue the commission over the decision, adding the rate decrease “will raise costs for customers in the long run and put our state’s economic future at risk.”
But after years of bad headlines about troubling practices at APS1 and investigative reporting about how previous commissioners were in its pocket, public sentiment and the commissioners appear to have shifted against the company — and commissioners finally said “no.”
Consumer groups like the AARP praised the rate decrease, though the Sierra Club said it didn’t go far enough.
In a column for the Arizona Mirror, progressive columnist Julie Erfle wrote that the decision could mark a turning point for the commission and its relationship with the utility.
“But now it seems the tide has finally shifted, and APS no longer has carte blanche at the Corporation Commission,” Erfle wrote.
One set of decisions doesn’t define a whole elected body and its work, but it’s hard to imagine this sort of decision could have happened five years ago. Still, with a lawsuit forthcoming, the end result here could look much different than the commission decided this week.
It’s not just mask mandates: The Arizona Supreme Court ruling unanimously striking down provisions in state budget BRBs included provisions that curtailed future governors’ emergency powers; created a special task force to investigate social media companies political bias; required ballots be printed on “anti-fraud” paper and so much more. The Arizona Mirror’s Jeremy Duda has the full breakdown.
Hold the special session in Europe: Some lawmakers are pushing for a special session to deal with the policies in the BRBs, especially after a separate court case from the City of Phoenix ruled against the legislative budget process. In that case, the judge ruled the provisions that handcuffed cities’ abilities to create citizen review boards of police violated the single-subject rule, reports the Republic’s Mary Jo Pitzl. Like we mentioned yesterday, a special session will be tough without enough Republican votes amid resignations, plus it’s nearing the political dead-zone of Thanksgiving to New Years. Oh, and the governor is currently in Europe.
“I would be more than happy to fly to Europe to ask him," to call a special session, Republican Rep. John Kavanagh told the Republic.
Wouldn’t it be nice: Arizona law no longer requires candidates to file campaign finance reports in non-election years. So it’s no big surprise that candidates for statewide office — including Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who voted against the law eliminating quarterly reports while in the legislature and ran for her current job on a platform of improving campaign finance transparency — wouldn’t voluntarily reveal their hauls to Republic reporter Stacey Barchenger (and two threw in some criticism of the reporter to boot). The lack of required reports until January is in contrast to most states and to federal elections.
Unlike politicians, we’re happy to show you our financials. We’re preparing a quarterly business update to celebrate our three-month anniversary. Subscribe now for just $70 per year so we can look semi-successful on paper.
Remember COVID?: Arizona’s COVID-19 cases remain at a high plateau, which is still straining hospitals. The percent of positive tests remains high as well, leading an Arizona State University expert to warn Arizonans about their activities.
"This is not a good time to be in crowds in Arizona. We're leading the country right now in transmission, so going out to crowded, indoor events without masks on would not be a good plan," Dr. Joshua LaBaer, executive director of Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute, said.
Lots of redactions in the reports: A Human Rights Watch report details complaints about abuse and misconduct by U.S. Department of Homeland Security workers, at least 10 of which happened in Arizona, the Republic’s Clara Migoya reports.
Still wanted, just not the most: Robert Fisher, wanted for allegedly killing his wife and two children then exploding his house after fleeing Scottsdale, was removed from the FBI’s most wanted list. The crimes happened more than 20 years ago, and Fisher’s inclusion on the list hasn’t generated tips that could help solve the cases, the FBI said.
OK, bud, see you later: After getting caught on tape dissing his colleagues and spreading election fraud conspiracies, Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Chucri attended his final board meeting yesterday, saying his resignation Friday is to take a stand “against the toxic nature of politics today."
Living in a big box: The City of Phoenix wants to tear down abandoned Toys “R” Us and Sears stores to make room for stuff we really need, like affordable houses, the Republic’s Jessica Boehm reports.
We’ve mentioned before that Arizona’s finances are looking very good, but the latest forecast from the legislature’s budget wonks really drives home the point. The top “key point” they made to lawmakers is that “General Fund revenues are growing rapidly.”
They now expect lawmakers to have an extra $1.7 billion in one-time funding to spend next year, and $700 million extra to spend on ongoing costs. To put that into context, the state budget is about $13 billion.
The economists and number crunchers delivered the good news to lawmakers during a meeting last week. It’s a semi-digestible primer if you’re trying to wrap your head around state finances.
With all the bummers the 2020 election conspiracies have wrought on our country — not to mention our personal schedules — it’s nice to remember conspiracies can be fun.
Enter the latest conspiracy sweeping Phoenix: Birds aren’t real.
The conspiracy achieved internet memedom a few years back with this short explainer video. And while Bird Truthers are a fun, harmless, bunch, they do have at least one thing in common with Stop the Stealers: They know how to turn bullshit into cash. Nothing like a $50 “I want to disbelieve” hoodie from BirdsArentReal.com.
The Arizona Democratic Party will hold a Zoom meeting tonight about the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission’s draft maps. It’s at 6 p.m. online.
Tomorrow, the Leadership Institute, a conservative training group, is hosting a workshop on school board activism. It starts at 4 p.m. at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort at 7200 North Scottsdale Plaza.
Remember when an older woman died in her home after APS cut off her power in the middle of summer over an unpaid bill of $51? Or the time APS said it was increasing rates by 4.5%, but the actual increase to some customers was much, much higher? Or the time it created a rate comparison tool that was supposed to help customers but gave incorrect data that cost them money instead? We could go on…