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FRIDAY, AUGUST 19,
2016
AACo Bulletin
Advancing Arizona's Counties since 1968
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AACo Attends National Conference of State Legislatures |
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 Last week, AACo staff attended the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Conference in Chicago, Illinois. Much like NACo, NCSL is a national organization that represents all state legislatures and staff. With offices in Washington, D.C. and Colorado, NCSL provides representation in D.C. as well as frequent opportunities for members to convene and share legislative ideas.
The conference was packed with breakout sessions focusing on a myriad of topics, from law enforcement to elections to the impact of the Supreme Court vacancy. Staff attended a breakout session focusing on the growing popularity and use of body cameras by police departments around the country. Several panel members extolled the virtues of camera use; however, the conversation did not fully acknowledge the fiscal challenge associated with not only outfitting officers with body cameras, but also the challenge of storing the data and protecting the privacy of crime victims. There was an effort to require all law enforcement departments to use body cameras last legislative session and staff has no doubt the issue will be revisited next year. 
NCSL dedicated an entire morning to a session covering America's challenges with the growing opioid epidemic. As we know, opioid addiction is becoming a huge problem in all states, driving up crime, incarceration costs, child abuse and neglect cases, homelessness, ect. Panelists noted that treatment for opioid addiction has grown to encompass a wide variety of approaches, but states are increasingly authorizing medication-assisted treatment programs that combine behavioral therapy with medication that can relieve withdrawal symptoms and psychological cravings associated with addiction. It is believed that this method reduces relapse rates among users.
Staff attended a lengthy session covering recent, major Supreme Court decisions and possible state impacts. One case in particular caught the attention of staff. Birchfield v. North Dakota, pitted the scourge of drunken driving against a person's Fourth Amendment right to refuse a warrantless search. The court decided that refusing to take a blood test during a DUI arrest cannot be a crime, but refusing a breath test can be considered a crime. In effect, the court struck down a state law criminalizing refusal of a blood test. The panel pointed out that blood tests are important as a means of detecting other substances that may be responsible for a person's impairment. In light of the national surge of recreational and medical marijuana legalization at the state level, this was an interesting case to ponder.
 As always, election processes and emerging technologies were a hot topic. Staff attended a session on emerging election technology, where they learned that Los Angeles is now allowing voters to vote their sample ballots on their phones for practice. Ever the innovator, Colorado recently implemented Ballot Trac, a program that allows voters to track their mail in ballot up to the point it goes into the counting room. About 20% of voters are opted into Ballot Trac now, but Colorado officials believe that will continue to increase.
In addition to hearing what is on the legislative radar in other states, the conference provided an excellent opportunity for staff to spend time with several legislative staff members as well as several legislators including Senator Steve Farley, Senator Katie Hobbs, Representative Michelle Ugenti-Rita and Representative Kelly Townsend. Additionally, several top staff members from the Chief Clerks office were in attendance, as well as numerous private sector lobbyists.
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Now Accepting Applications for the 2016 Summit Awards
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The Arizona Association of Counties and the AACo Foundation invite you to enter the 2016 County Summit Awards competition!
These unique awards recognize the innovative and creative spirit of Arizona county governments as they find new and effective ways of providing services to their citizens.
Consider entering your county's most innovative programs and/or projects to win one or more of these awards. Winners will be honored at the 2016 AACo Annual Conference December 1-2, 2016 and presented their awards during the County Leadership Luncheon.
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AACo Attends Research Day at NACo |
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 Timely and accurate research is the hallmark of any effective advocacy program. This is why AACo decided to participate in the inaugural Research Day hosted by the National Association of Counties (NACo). AACo joined 30 people from 21 different state associations from across the country for an excellent day of research discussions.
The event began with a round table conversation about the challenges each state is facing and how they are using research and communication tools to assist their advocacy teams in sharing the county story in each state.
In addition, a variety of members of the NACo research team offered presentations on the types of research that they do and a behind the scenes examination about the
 different methods for gathering data, how to schedule a large-scale research project, technology tools for aiding in data analysis and the importance of being able to summarize the research to effectively reach a wide variety of audiences.
This meeting offered some great takeaways for a small association like AACo including some low-cost software to help create visually appealing reports, insight in crafting surveys to receive a high response rate and different options to help analyze data post collection.
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| Research Day attendees. Photo courtesy of NACo. |
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County Visits - Fall 2016 |
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Each fall staff at the Arizona Association of Counties travels to each of the state's  counties to share the work of the Association, learn about challenges in each county and share cost saving solutions for the county and for county residents. AACo works with our county representatives to coordinate meeting dates and format. Here are the County Visits that are currently scheduled:
- September 28 - Santa Cruz
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2016 County Primary Election Guide Now Available |
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Now available on the AACo website is the 2016 County Primary Election Guide. This year AACo decided to update the guide from a physical publication to a completely digital arm of the AACo website.
To make the guide more a
esthetically appealing to browse through, we've added pictures of the candidates with links to the candidate's campaign website or social media account.
After the primary election on August 30th, the Guide will be updated for the general election in November.
Check it out
and if there are any questions, comments, or suggestions please contact our Communication & Education Manager Gideon Wagner at
[email protected]
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Remember to Donate - Counties Care: Supplies for School |
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 Just a reminder AACo is accepting donations for our civic service project Counties Care: Supplies for Schools. The drive goes all summer long and any donation helps!
Our goal is to collect enough school supplies for 30 classrooms - two per county in each of Arizona's 15 counties. That's approximately 900 students that could benefit from our collective efforts!
You can help by donating:
#2 Pencils Paper (college & wide-ruled) Pens-Blue/Black/Red
Binders Dividers Folders (2 pocket style)
Spiral Notebooks Highlighters Scissors
Glue Backpacks Composition Books
Crayons Colored Pencils Erasers
OR
Donate a gift card (Target/Walmart/99 Cents Only/Staples), or cash and AACo will do the shopping for you! Gift cards or monetary donations can be mailed to our office 1910 W. Jefferson Street Phoenix, AZ 85009. You can also donate via PayPal to our account
[email protected].
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County Shadow Days |
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 In addition to our regular county visits, staff has been spending time shadowing various AACo members for the day. So far, staff has shadowed officials in Yuma and Yavapai County and will be shadowing members in Navajo and Coconino Counties next week.
Shadowing provides staff with an excellent opportunity to see what a typical day is like for an elected official and their staff. During a visit with the Yuma County Assessor, staff was provided with a tour of the community which facilitated a great conversation about how homes would be valued in various areas. Spending the day with the Yuma County Treasurer demonstrated the value of having excellent office staff who can keep their cool while discussing tax bills with constituents. Finally, a day with the Yavapai County Recorder illustrated how longer ballots can, literally, jam up the printing process. AACo thanks members for allowing us to spend time observing all that you do for your community.
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Federal Issues Impacting Counties |
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FCC Inmate Calling Rates: Earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted new rates for inmate calling services (ICS) in jails and prisons. The new rates followed multiple legal challenges filed in the Courts and two stays issued in March 2016.
There are several outstanding questions that we hope to provide more clarity on:
- Release date for full text of the new Order
- Effective date of the new rates for both jails and prisons
- Impact on current cases pending in the Court of Appeals
For more information, the FCC Press Release regarding the new rates can be viewed
here. To view a dissenting statement of Commissioner Pai, which relies on information submitted to the record by the NSA click
here and to read the rest of the FCC's statements click
here.
Fighting Zika: Earlier this month the White House shifted $81 million in existing funding from various accounts into programs that will help federal state and local health officials combat the Zika virus. Counties play a crucial role in minimizing the spread of Zika.
NACo Advocacy Toolkit: Between now and the end of the year, federal lawmakers will be back in their home districts and states more days than they are in Washington, D.C. These district or state work periods, particularly the one occurring in August, provide county officials with a unique opportunity to visit with members of Congress and showcase your county.
To assist you in making the most of this opportunity, NACo has prepared a toolkit that provides updated information on some of the most pressing federal legislative and regulatory issues facing the nation's counties. It also contains helpful tips for communicating with members of Congress and the media. If you do not already have plans to meet with your senators and representative(s) while they are home, we encourage you to reach out to their offices and request meetings. Download the Toolkit
here.
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Featured Program: U.S. Communities |
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