Package of bills at the state legislature is bad for business

There’s a package of seven bills being considered by the state legislature that attack our public lands as we know them. The bills threaten our state’s $21.1 billion outdoor recreation economy, infringe on private property rights, and overlook the economic benefits of public lands.

Simply put – they’re bad for business and bad for our outdoor recreation communities.

Write your legislators and make your voice heard: our outdoor recreation economy deserves to be bolstered, not attacked.

The legislature is considering: 

• Urging the President to repeal the widely-popular Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument and oppose all National Monuments in Arizona in the future (HCM2007)

• Calling for the Antiquities Act, popularly used by presidents from both parties for generations, to be repealed, thus preventing any future National Monuments (HCM2008)

• Requiring approval from the legislature and governor for any sale of public or private land to the federal government, evaluating the property based solely on its property taxes rather than its economic potential or recreation opportunities (HB2376)

• Mandating the state auditor general to conduct a costly study of the annual price of managing all federal lands in the state. The study assumes the federal government would give the state our national taxpayer-owned public lands at no cost and does not currently take into account the expense of fighting wildfires and other natural disasters (HB2377)

• A resolution calling for the federal government to to give land or payments to the state or Arizona counties whenever it acquires or withdraws access to acres of federal public land (HBM2004)

• Calling on Congress to require even more red tape before any additional federal public lands can be declared in Arizona (HCM2006)

• A resolution calling for the federal government to transfer 30% of its protected public lands to the state (HCM2005)

Taken individually, each bill may appear like a mundane ideological argument. However, taken together they are a clear and coordinated attack on our public lands and Arizonans’ opportunities to recreate – threatening our state’s booming outdoor industry.

Many of the bills listed only view land in Arizona through the shortsighted lens of property taxes, rather than their potential as an economic driver via outdoor recreation. Others attack widely popular and bipartisan tools the federal government uses to protect the lands we all own as taxpayers. If passed, these bills would restrict our freedom to access our taxpayer-owned public lands. They would also increase the red tape around outdoor recreation while limiting what people can do with their own private property. Lastly, they would send a direct message to Congress and the President that Arizona does not want public lands or outdoor recreation in our state.

Does that sound like good business to you?

As local business owners, we can’t afford the risk these bills would pose to our bottom line. We need to make our voices heard: public lands need to be invested in, not attacked. They support our communities, our health, and our businesses – now it’s our turn to be their voice.

Take action today and tell the legislature: support Arizona’s outdoor industry!