This was the last week to hear House bills in House committees, so there were some marathon sessions.  We met in Appropriations on Wednesday from 2:00 to 9:45 p.m., hearing 35 bills -- including mine on amateur radio, which passed 16-1.

Thursday morning I flew to Las Vegas with three members of the Corporation Commission, then drove with them to Beaver Dam.  We had a tour of the area (fast growing as is all of Arizona) courtesy of two local citizens.   The Commission held a public meeting regarding the possible transfer of water from AZ to Nevada and heard testimony from about 30 people.  The folks in the area are rightfully concerned about the potential for loss of water.  I've been up several times to show support and let them know we're doing everything possible to prevent the transfer. 

The actual hearing on the issue is scheduled for March 2-4, so I'll be making the same trip this coming weekend.  After the administrative law judge makes his recommendation, the final decision will be up to the Director of the AZ Dept. of Water Resources.  We hope he does the right thing.

HB 2321 which would allow Bullhead City to become a water provider to the Laughlin Ranch development passed the House last week.  All of my other bills have passed through the committee system and are still waiting to be heard in Rules and Committee of the Whole before the final vote.  I expect another busy week as we finish up with our bills and start hearing the Senate bills that have been passed over to us.

I had a nice evening in Kingman at their Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday.  Treasurer Dean Martin gave a great talk about a few of Lincoln's notable quotes and how many of them pertained to the war in Iraq.  Dean also talked a bit about his duties as Treasurer and how much money his office is responsible for.

Unfortunately, I'll be in the north part of District 3 so will miss the Bullhead City Dinner on the 3rd.  I hope they have a successful meeting.  I will be able to attend the Lake Havasu Dinner on March 10th.  Congressman Trent Franks will be the speaker.

Until next week,


Nancy McLain