SB1440 delayed

SB1440 was not heard today because of a procedural error. We expect it to be heard next Tuesday after 2:00 PM.

More public support for the bill would be helpful. Speaking at the hearing is difficult because the hearings often have long delays, but supporters can send comments to the committee online. They will be read before the vote. Go to azleg.gov and click on "request to speak". You must login once at the Capitol to activate you account. After that, you can submit comments from your PC.

SB1440 hearing

SB1440 (mining and mineral museum transfer) will be heard before the Senate Appropriations Committee tomorrow, February 16^th.

The hearing will be held in Senate Hearing Room 109. The hearing begins at 2:00 PM, but there are many bills and the order in which they will be heard will not be determined prior to the hearing.

After registering on az.gov, Arizona citizen can provide comments on line. The comments will be read before the Senators vote.

Public testimony is important to inform the Senators of the urgent need to transfer the mineral museum to an agency willing an d able to reopen it.

Historical society obstructs science education

The following letter was distributed to 700 media contacts across Arizona:

Over 40,000 children visited the once top rated Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum in Phoenix every year. Most were brought by teachers or scout leaders to participate in structured earth science education programs. School buses arrived almost daily, and came from as far away as Yuma.

Then, the Arizona Historical Society gained control of it in 2010.  In early 2011, the AHS inexplicably locked the doors even as children were still scheduled for field trips. Every year since, the AHS has accepted and spent the full mineral museum budget, but has refused to operate the museum.

Now, Senate Bill 1440 would reopen the museum and restore the K-12 education programs by transferring all mineral museum assets to a state agency willing and able to operate the mineral museum. The AHS is now using public funds to hire lobbyists to oppose the bill. The AHS has no plans for the building, but does not want to allow others to reopen the mineral museum for students and teachers.

                                                                              Dick Zimmermann, Tempe

AHS defying the law

AHS lobbyists are currently lobbying against the mineral museum transfer bill (SB1440) and bragging about scattering the contents of the mineral museum across the state. This places the AHS in ovbious defiance of state law..

In 2010, the Allen amendment to the centennial museum bill specifically tasked the AHS with continuing the operation of the mineral museum and its K-12 education programs in the centennial / mineral museum building. The failure of the centennial museum project in no way relieved the AHS from that legal obligation  The AHS was at the table when the Allen amendment was drafted. Therefore, the AHS knowingly defied the law when they closed the museum and removed its contents. The AHS has also been accepting state funds to operate the mineral museum each year since, even though they are not. That might be considered misappropriation of state funds.

The AHS is now in the very curious position of lobbying to kill a bill that would extricate it from its illegal position by transferring mineral museum responsibilities to another state agency.

Let's fake history?

 The current motto on the Arizona Historical Society website is "Lets Make History". One letter in that motto may be in error.

The Senate hearing on the current mineral museum transfer bill (SB1440) was held on Wednesday afternoon. This year, instead of feigning neutrality and then lobbying for a veto, the AHS is actively opposing the transfer bill in public hearings. Their spokesperson opened their opposing argument with a worn out talking point from years past.

The AHS claims the closure of the mineral museum was not their fault, but the result of an economic downturn. They argue that their centennial museum project failed because the recession made fundraising impossible and the mineral museum is closed because the centennial museum project failed. This lame atempt at revising history is nonsense. The recession began two years before the AHS began planning the centennial museum.  The ongoing recession was certainly not a surprise in 2010, and the centennial museum really failed because  the people did not want it..
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When the AHS locked the children out of the mineral museum in early 2011, they knew the fundraising effort had failed. There was no reason to close the mineral museum, even temporarily, because there were no funds to begin construction of the centennial museum.

Furthermore, the AHS had a statutory responsibility to continue operating the mineral museum as part of the centennial museum, and was fully funded to do so. The fact that the centennial museum displays could not be built was no reason to lock the doors in front of children coming to visit the mineral museum .

SB1440 introduced

On Friday, State Senator Griffin introduced Senate Bill 1440 (Mining and Mineral Museum Transfer).  It is a reintroduction of SB1200 from 2015, and will transfer mineral museum responsibilities from the Arizona Historical Society to the Arizona Geological Survey.

In 2015, SB1200 passed both House and Senate with nearly unanimous votes.  However, the Governor vetoed it claiming that there was inadequate planning to implement the transfer.

Extensive planning is supporting SB1440.

The status of the bill can be followed on www.az.gov

Click on:

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Bill Information

Proposed transfer for state geologist

Governor Ducey’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2017 transfers the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) to the University of Arizona effective July 1, 2016.

In the last legislative session, Senate Bill 1200 attempted to restore the mineral museum by transferring its assets to the AZGS. The bill received nearly unanimous support in both the House and senate, but the Governor vetoed it.

How the proposed transfer of AZGS would affect attempts to restore the mineral museum is unknown.

Ref:

http://arizonageology.blogspot.com/2016/01/governor-proposes-transferring-arizona.html