Your Online ASU Legislative Connection
Volume 2 Issue 3

Dear ASU Advocate Friend,

As you may have seen in the news, there has been a lot of action at the state Capitol in regard to higher education. Here is an update on the main ASU-related issues from Scott Smith, Director of State and Local Relations:

A lot has happened since I last wrote to the Sun Devil Advocate network, and I want to provide an update on the two most important outstanding items from the current session: the state budget and the proposed higher education reform.

Budget Update

In late March, the legislature approved a state budget in Senate Bill 1408 (general appropriations; 2005-2006), but the measure was vetoed by Governor Janet Napolitano. The vetoed budget provided the following net increases for universities:

	• $10.8 million for Arizona State University:
	• $550,400 for Northern Arizona University; and,
	• $277,800 for the University of Arizona.

However, please note these amounts do not include new monies for salary, health insurance and retirement adjustments. While the vetoed budget authorized $12.6 million for ASU’s enrollment growth, the new funding was offset by a cut in out-of-state travel and an increase in vacancy savings. These cuts resulted in the net increase of $10.8 million for ASU. (For comparison purposes, the recommended net increase for ASU under the Executive’s proposal is $11.9 million – again, minus salary, health insurance and retirement adjustments.) The main point, is that the level of funding authorized for enrollment growth in the vetoed budget was significant, equaling 75 percent of the request, and attests that the legislature is hearing our message.

Since the veto, the Governor and legislative leaders have been meeting on a regular basis to work out a budget agreement. The lone issue for ASU in the ongoing budget discussions is funding for the establishment of a Bioinformatics Department as part of the proposed downtown Phoenix medical school. As of this writing, these discussions continue and a resolution could be reached at any moment. We remain hopeful that the final outcome of the budget discussions will result in ASU receiving a sizable increase for enrollment growth, an investment in the establishment of the Bioinformatics Department, and additional dollars to address health insurance, retirement and salary issues.

House Bill 2079 (NOW: higher education; funding; reform)

This legislation proposed a comprehensive reform to higher education in Arizona. The bill would have established a statutory university funding formula in which the state’s future investments would be linked to enrollment growth, and authorized some community colleges to offer 4-year baccalaureate degrees in academic disciplines of law enforcement and fire services; health professions and teacher education. This measure was defeated earlier this month in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Senate Bill 1109 (NOW: higher education; reform; funding)

After the defeat of HB 2079, the House Appropriations Committee moved to revive the measure by replacing the contents of SB 1109 with the contents from HB 2079 through the committee amendment process. The new SB 1109 was approved in committee and subsequently by the full House. The measure currently awaits action in the Senate.

SB 1241 (universities; faculty powers)

Senator Linda Gray (R-District 10) introduced SB 1241 due to concerns about how the proposed university redesign would impact faculty governance, particularly at ASU’s West campus. Faculty leaders from ASU’s West campus recently met with Sen. Gray to discuss a host of issues, including faculty governance. The meeting was beneficial for all of the participants and as a result, Sen. Gray has agreed not to pursue SB 1241.

Conclusion

While we have had a number of successes, there are still a number of issues to keep an eye on at the legislature. If Arizona State University is to become the New American University as envisioned by President Crow, then we must convince state lawmakers to honor their commitment to our students and invest in their education to ensure the delivery of a quality undergraduate education. We will continue to keep you posted of our progress on these issues and we will expect your assistance in the very near future to communicate to your legislators that investing in ASU is a high priority for you as an Arizona voter.

Thank you very much for your interest and for taking time out of your busy schedule to keep abreast of how your alma mater is faring at the State Capitol.

We need your help – Please tell your friends about the ASU Advocacy Army!!

While our 862-member advocacy army is growing daily, we still need your help in recruiting new advocates! The more advocates we can recruit, the more powerful our voice will be at the state capitol. So please take a few minutes and email or call folks you know and give them our web site address — www.sundeviladvocates.org — tell them you’re an advocate, explain to them what it means and tell them they too can become an advocate in three easy steps:

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

For our advocates who are currently registered with an “asu.edu” e-mail account, you will need to update your contact information and use an alternate e-mail address by going to this link:

http://capwiz.com/azsu/mlm/

Once there, simply scroll down to the bottom of the page, enter your email address and hit the “Go” button. From there, you’ll be able to enter another email address (home, personal or alternate) and thus be able to send email messages to your legislators during the upcoming legislative session.

ASU strictly prohibits the use of their property for personal use — including the use of university e-mail accounts. To read more on the policy please access: www.asu.edu/counsel/brief/political.html.

If you do not have an alternate e-mail address, there are many free e-mail providers in which you can subscribe to. Some of these include Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) or Hotmail (www.hotmail.com) or Mail (www.mail.com).

Closing Thoughts

We are well on our way to the conclusion of a successful legislative session for ASU. This is largely in part to volunteers like you speaking out on in favor of the University and the value of higher education. Again, we want to thank you for signing up to be a Sun Devil Advocate. If you have any suggestions, comments or observations you would like to share with us, just click on this link advoteam@sundeviladvocates.org and let us know.

Jeff Grant, Director of Advocacy
ASU Alumni Association

P.S. If you want to become an active member of the ASU Alumni Association, one of the best ways you can give back is through membership in the ASU Alumni Association. The annual dues of $45 offer an affordable way to help build ASU’s reputation. Visit www.asu.edu/alumni/membership or call 1-800-ALUMNUS.

P.S.S. If you have a different e-mail address you would prefer us to use, just e-mail us at advoteam@sundeviladvocates.org with your new e-mail address and we’ll make the change.

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