Another Successful Environmental & Sustainability Summit

Last week the Arizona Chamber team packed our bags and headed for the cooler temperatures and greener hills of Prescott. While escaping the valley heat was a benefit, our real purpose was to host the 2013 Environmental and Sustainability Summit (ESS).

We had a packed house at this year's Environmental & Sustainability Summit

Each year ESS brings together the best and brightest from the environmental and sustainability community for two days of cutting edge information and conversations with industry professionals. ESS 2013 was no exception – in fact, this year was one of our best summits yet.

Summit attendees had the opportunity to hear a first-hand update from Director Henry Darwin and his team at the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). The ADEQ crew caught us up to speed on the department’s goals and plans of action for the future. The department’s adoption of LEAN standards is a fairly new way of business, one that they plan on continuing long into the future. As of late, the adoption of LEAN standards has allowed the department to reduce the length of the permitting process – in some cases reducing approval time from 550 days to 135.

The development of the My ADEQ project is a major effort to streamline the regulatory process. This new project, expected to be finished by next fiscal year, includes the development of an online account system for every member of the regulated community, allowing members to view and pay fees and permit renewals online. In addition, ADEQ is working to intervene quickly when stalled permit applications are identified. As the ADEQ panel put it, it’s not their mission to deny applications. Rather, they’re looking to move them forward as quickly as possible.

Director Henry Darwin moderates the ADEQ panel.

Touching on the complex navigation of federal and state environmental policy was a panel of experts from Polsinelli PC. Moderated by the state Rep. Karen Fann, the panel consisted of Andy Wright, Tracy Hammond and Amanda Reeve. The panel was quick to point out that the last time Congress passed energy legislation was in 2007. Since then, three major issues have arisen, creating a need for a changed energy agenda. The development of natural gas and renewable energy, cybersecurity threats and infrastructure problems are all on the radar as Congress formulates new energy policies. It’s worth nothing that cybersecurity threats, although a fairly new concept, have become an increasingly pressing issue. Unfortunately, the Senate and House can’t seem to agree on the proper action to take, increasing the likelihood that action will only be taken in response to a series of unfortunate events.

For attendees looking to promote sustainable development practices within their company or to add LEAN methods to their already-established programs, the Summit had valuable information to offer. Adam Hawkins of Polsinelli PC stressed the importance of keeping economic matters at the core when attempting to communicate the necessity of a sustainable development program. Keeping in mind that key decisions are often made by people who don’t understand the reasons behind the program, Hawkins urged attendees to communicate in a way that the finance and engineering departments understand. Ben Chandler of Haley & Aldrich, Inc. emphasized the four key steps for implementing LEAN methods:

1. Identify what you’re aiming to achieve

2. Identify what doesn’t support your goal and remove those items

3. Identify what will really help

4. Implement a pilot program, measure your results, and adjust as necessary

Chandler also pointed out that using your employees’ ideas is key, as they’re more likely to implement ideas they’ve personally developed.

Rep. Karen Fann moderates the Environmental Policy panel featuring a team from Polsinelli, PC

In addition, the Summit highlighted the sustainability overhaul of Taliesin West – Frank Lloyd Wright’s lab for organic design – and took a look at successful recycling methods from Raytheon, Intel, and Mayo Clinic. For those of you looking to clean out your office and do something good for the community, the recycling panel recommends making donations to Treasurers 4 Teachers. They’ll accept your company’s discards and turn them into classroom treasures. Your leftovers could be used to encourage creativity and innovation in Arizona classrooms. You can’t beat that!

ESS 2013 was a great event, bringing together some of the industry’s best and brightest for insightful discussions. For those of you who missed the event, head over to the events page on the Arizona Chamber website to view the Summit presentations. We hope to see you next year for another great event!

Sen. McCain comes to the Chamber, urges business to speak up for immigration reform

Sen. McCain addresses a full board room at Tuesday's roundtable

Sen. John McCain stopped by the offices of the Arizona Chamber earlier this week for one of his occasional roundtables with the business community. As usual, all of us in the room learned something from the senator, who is always generous with his time and insight.

If you’ve ever had the occasion to see the senator at one his town halls, you know that the senator’s energy is infectious. When he joined us Tuesday afternoon, he had just come from a similar roundtable, he had more meetings on tap and to top it off he had just been released from jury duty that morning. But the Energizer bunny of the U.S. Senate was fired up and ready to talk about the top issues of the day.

Immigration was on his mind. Sen. McCain made an impassioned plea to the state’s business community to urge the U.S. House to take up immigration reform when Congress returns to Washington after the August recess. A prominent member of the Gang of Eight who helped advance an immigration package out of the Senate, the senator told our group that he believes the time is now to reach out to House members and let them know that immigration reform must be a priority.

As Sen. McCain pointed out, this issue does not have to be surrounded in controversy or vitriol. He reported on polling figures that show that over 70 percent of Arizonans support a reform package that would require immigrants who aren’t in a legal status to learn English, pay back taxes and go to the back of the line for legalized status.

He’s right. We’ve seen similar figures in our own polling at the Chamber, making clear that Americans and Arizonans are ready for positive action on immigration.

The senator also discussed the economic benefits of immigration reform, citing analyses by the Congressional Budget Office and REMI showing the positive impact on the budget deficit and the country’s employment picture.

Sen. McCain also reminded the audience that before the summer is over we are bound to read of yet more deaths in the desert by migrants seeking to improve their economic prospects. That we would tolerate these deaths by men and women who are seeking to work and provide for their families is not consistent with the ideals of the Land of Opportunity.

The Arizona Chamber has heard Sen. McCain loud and clear. We recently worked with businesses from across the state to write to our U.S. House delegation and urge action on immigration reform. 

As we wrote in our letter, “we need to fix the legal immigration system so it serves America’s interests, delivering the workers and the brainpower we need to sustain a vibrant and competitive economy.”

Sen. McCain meets with Arizona Chamber and Phoenix Chamber members

Sen. McCain meets with the media following Tuesday's roundtable

Rep. Salmon touches on health care, taxes, and trade

The Arizona Chamber this morning hosted a great discussion with Rep. Matt Salmon as part of our regular Eggs and Issues breakfast series. As someone who has worked for him on two occasions, it’s great to see Rep. Salmon back representing Arizona in Washington. His comments this morning reminded us how fortunate we in the business community are to have someone with Rep. Salmon’s insight into issues foreign and domestic working for us.

On health care

Like most Americans, Salmon is extremely skeptical of the federal government’s ability to implement the Affordable Care Act.  Doubts surrounding the health care law aren’t constrained to one political party, as the congressman reminded us of Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus’ characterization of the nearing implementation of the law as a “train wreck.” Rep. Salmon shared with the audience that several of his colleagues on the other side of the aisle have expressed their concern to him that the law could prove harmful to them politically.

On the chances for a deal on taxes

Rep. Salmon said that all of the Maalox moments over the Affordable Care Act’s implementation could actually lead to a deal on tax reform of all things. The congressman is hopeful that the president, looking for a win, could be ready to negotiate on a big tax package that would mark the first significant tax reform since 1986. He said he’s looking forward to House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp introducing tax overhaul language soon.

On trade

A committed free trader, the congressman - who in his first stint in the U.S. House was Congress’ only Mandarin speaker and who was a staunch advocate of Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with China – made the case that engagement with China through trade presents us a great opportunity to influence reforms in that country.

Rep. Salmon is also chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. He called for the adoption of a free trade agreement with Brazil, and spoke to growth opportunities for Arizona as Mexico continues to be seen as a more attractive location for foreign investment versus Asia, where rising wages and concerns over intellectual property protections and rising labor and transportation costs have caused manufacturers to look closer to home.

On the Arizona delegation

Rep. Salmon returned to Capitol Hill after a 12 year absence that he described as “nastier,” and lamented the lack of inter-delegation communication among Arizona’s representatives. He spoke of his re-launch of regular delegation breakfasts and said he was encouraged by our representatives’ cohesion on issues of importance to the state like unmanned aerial systems and the EPA’s regulatory overreach in places like the Navajo Generating Station.

I’d like to thank Rep. Salmon for taking time out of his busy schedule to address this morning’s crowd. His remarks were timely, astute, and well received. With his unique wit and balanced perspective, Rep. Salmon’s return has proven to be a great addition to Arizona’s delegation.

Republic's Robb of great service in understanding Medicaid debate

If you’re trying to unpack Gov. Brewer’s plan to restore the Proposition 204 childless adult population and expand the state’s Medicaid program, you need to check out Arizona Republic columnist Bob Robb’s writings on the subject. He’s putting on a clinic and making clear why the restoration/expansion plan is the best route for Arizona.

In his Apr. 12 piece, Robb writes, “Overall, the plan will spend less in state and local public resources to bring in considerably more in federal funds and provide far more extensive health care coverage to far more low-income Arizonans.”

His May 14 column on the risks to the state’s budget if we don’t adopt the governor’s plan was right point when he wrote, “Opponents of Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion proposal are recklessly minimizing the risk to the state’s fisc of not participating.”

And we have to remember that looming over this entire debate is a voter mandate under Proposition 204, passed 13 years ago. Robb reminds us of that vote, writing, “If the state isn’t going to ignore the Prop. 204 mandate, there are no options that are better than Brewer’s proposal. “

Robb warns opponents not to put too much stock in an appeals court decision regarding how closely the Legislature must hew to Prop. 204’s mandate. He writes, “Some say the mandate can just be ignored due to a state Court of Appeals decision upholding the freeze. That’s a very high-risk assumption. The Court of Appeals decision, written by Judge Patricia Norris, frankly makes no sense.”

Robb is not only one of the state’s best conservative columnists, he’s one of the best columnists period. His work of late has been a great service to the Medicaid debate.

Column debunks groundless rumors surrounding Common Core

If you’re interested in the debate surrounding heightened educational standards in Arizona and other states, I urge you to check out MichaelGerson’s latest column.

I’ve been mystified by some who have mischaracterized the governor and business community’s desire to improve our economic climate as something driven by bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. or even connecting these standards to the U.N.

As I’ve written about previously, the country’s brightest stars in public policy and business are backing the adoption of Common Core standards. I’ve cited retired Intel Chairman and CEO Craig Barrett’s involvement, and Gerson cites former Govs. Mitch Daniels and Jeb Bush, and current Govs. Bobby Jindal, Chris Christie and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “A plot this vast,” Gerson writes, “is either diabolical or imaginary.”

As Gerson writes, “The conservative reformers who helped shape the Common Core are trying to make incremental improvements in a deeply flawed system.”

While we have some of the very best K-12 schools in the U.S. and these schools can compete with our friends abroad, our system as a whole is not keeping pace with our international competitors.

We can keep looking for conspiracies where they don’t exist, or we can do the right thing for Arizona’s students and economy and back a pro-growth agenda that includes higher standards for our students and tests that match these more rigorous standards. Gerson’s column is a thoughtful piece that captures what is at stake in this debate.

My DEQ portal ready to bring environmental compliance into 21st century

As I’ve written about before, one of the reasons Arizona is moving up the business-friendliness rankings nationwide is because of the state’s commitment to a streamlined regulatory process. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and its director, Henry Darwin, are embracing that ideal with their innovative My DEQ concept.

Gov. Brewer last January made the case for a modernized regulatory environment when she said,

“The next step in the transformation of State Government will be in leveraging E-technology…I will point to ADEQ in this case for its initiative in transitioning from the needless inefficiency and waste of paper transactions…When complete, the portal will allow…paying fees and submitting permits applications and reports. The portal will also provide customers with important information, including permit conditions, upcoming compliance and reporting deadlines, inspection results, permit expiration dates, and upcoming changes in environmental requirements. The completion of this project, with its cost savings, convenience, and compliance assistance, will be a boon to business regulated by ADEQ and help attract new business to Arizona.”

Moving DEQ permitting online will save taxpayers and business time and money. Only three permit types are currently available online. But with the establishment of the My DEQ portal, transaction times can go at light speed. For example, a Hazardous Waste Facility Registration can go from 82 days to one day.

And convenience will mean compliance. Ohio saw a 90 percent drop in violations when that state put its self-monitoring report online.

My DEQ is good government. It’s good for taxpayers, good for business and it just makes sense. It deserves support in the fiscal year 2014 budget.

California takes on candy

The California Attorney General is waging war against several popular grocery and candy retailers over candy?  AG Kamala Harris has filed suit against retailers such as Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and other retailers and candy manufacturers for failing to properly label ginger and plum candies according the Proposition 65.  We have written before about the Prop. 65 warning signs in California coffee shops like Starbucks about the dangers of their products. 

 Who knew that candy and coffee could be so dangerous?

Prop. 65 requires businesses to issue warnings about even the very smallest amount of chemicals that are deemed “harmful” by the state.

California has gone off the deep end, joining Big Gulp Bloomberg in nanny-state excess.

The primary sources of lead exposure in the U.S. according to the CDC are old paint, contaminated drinking water and soil tainted by leaded gasoline – not candy.

Every day, California is sending a clear message to business: we don’t want you here. 

While California and AG Harris might not want the business of Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and Target, neighboring states like Arizona want to send an even louder message:  Come on over ! The weather - that is to say, the business climate – is great!

These retailers are opening up shop in neighborhoods all over the U.S., injecting money in to the revenue stream, creating jobs and providing families with more and better choices when it comes to where to shop.  If California wants to alienate these businesses, dig a deeper deficit in their budget and turn away jobs, that is their prerogative, but in Arizona we are not in the business of killing business.

California’s Proposition 65 is too far reaching and is proving to be more harmful than helpful to their citizens.  It’s going to turn away business and hurt their bottom line.