Casa Grande Dispatch Story 8/31/10: "Cities face private competition on commercial waste accounts"

09/02/2010 08:18 AM

Frank Pratt Receives Award from Arizona League of Cities and Towns

08/27/2010 09:49 AM

The Arizona League of Cities and Towns presented State Representative Frank Pratt with the “2010 Friend of Cities and Towns” in recognition of service and dedication to the Arizona Cities and Towns.
You can see the copy of the award by clicking this
link: Frank Pratt 2010 Award League Of Cities And Towns

The Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona are proud to endorse Frank Pratt

08/26/2010 08:46 AM

PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS of Arizona
61 E. Columbus Avenue,
Phoenix, AZ 8501


Honorable Representative Frank Pratt
Dear Representative Pratt,
The Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona are proud to endorse Frank Pratt for the House in Arizona legislative District 23. Frank Pratt understands the need for core government services like public safety, education and health care. He has demonstrated his ability to deal with difficult problems and arrive at the best solution possible.
We need more people like Frank Pratt in the Arizona State Legislature.

Tim Hill
President, Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona
Representing Over 6,000 Professional Fire Fighters and E.M.S. Providers Throughout Arizona

You can see the copy of the award by clicking this
link: Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona

Frank Pratt August 2010 Mailer

08/23/2010 10:37 AM

The Arizona Highway Patrol Association Endorses Representative Frank Pratt

08/21/2010 03:23 PM

In their endorsement of State Representative Frank Pratt they write:

The Arizona Highway Patrol Association is the only group that represents only Department of Public Safety employees. We are proud to be able to have positive relationships with those that have influence over DPS, both administratively and financially.

Please use this endorsement as you see fit in your campaign.

Sincerely,
Jimmy Chavez
President

www.ahpa.com

Frank Pratt represents Arizona at major educational conference

08/20/2010 12:26 PM

• WHAT STATE LEADERS CAN LEARN FROM HIGHER EDUCATION REFORMS IN OTHER COUNTRIES
• DOES RACE TO THE TOP PROVIDE A TEMPLATE FOR THE ESEA OF THE FUTURE
• COMMON CORE STANDARDS
• THE LUMINA FOUNDATION'S BIG GOAL TO INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF AMERICANS WITH HIGH QUALITY DEGREES AND CREDENTIALS BY 60% BY THE YEAR 2025

Letter from ACOVA

08/13/2010 07:30 AM

ACOVA

July 26,2010

Dear Rep. Pratt,

The members of ACOVA, the Association for Career and Technical Education Administrators, would like to thank you for your support of Career and Technical Education during the recent budget crisis. Your timely response to this emergency saved the opportunity for over 100,000 Arizona high school students to participate in quality Career and Technical Education programs. The 38 million dollars combined state and federal funds provides resources for our students to engage in rigorous and relevant learning.

The leadership and personal development skills combined with the classroom and laboratory based instruction prepare our students for continuing education and Arizona's workforce. Career and Technical Education continues to be the premier delivery system for learning.

We thank you once again for supporting the Career and Technical Education students of Arizona.

Sincerely,
Cathie Raymond and members of ACOVA
President

Summary of Endorsements To Date

07/21/2010 10:34 PM

Representative Pratt has received the following recognition and endorsements:

• Arizona Association of Realtors
• Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Arizona Farm Bureau
• Arizona Highway Patrol Association
• Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association
• Arizona Medical Political Action Committee
• Arizona Multi-Housing Association
• East Valley Chamber - 100% voting record.
• Family values - 100% voting record.
• Fraternal Order of Police
• National Rifle Association
• Professional Firefighters of Arizona

Topics Posting April 11, 2009

04/11/2010 07:23 PM

Even though the activity is at a very high pace at the Capitol right now, the session is winding down. The budget-fix for FY’10 and FY’11budget have been passed, and last Thursday (April 8) was the last day for committee meetings.

If you have been keeping an eye on a bill and it has not passed through committee it is most likely done for this session. This is also when we as legislators try to make sure that our bills get the votes to be sent on to the Governor.

A legislator must take special care to keep watch on bills and how they might have been changed while in motion. Bills you may have sponsored or voted for or against may come back to the House with Senate amendments that drastically change the original intent. These may be in the form of a regular amendment or a “strike everything” or “striker” amendment.

A striker is when a legislator “strikes” the original language of a bill and substitutes language on another bill that has been stalled. This technique can be useful to get around a committee chairman who has held a bill they don’t like but is commonly used to bring back a bill for another try at passage. Sometimes it may be bad bill that has been narrowly defeated. Another common use for strikers is to address issues that come up after the bill deadline passes.

The important thing is to read everything carefully and pay attention to every vote. That is unless you want to be like United States Speaker Pelosi of the House who will pass a bill and then see what is in it!

FAQs on Prop 100 and the FY'11 Budget, March 22, 2010

03/22/2010 08:13 PM

Preface:  Please understand that these are very complex issues and I have condensed these into my own words. The numbers are rounded and approximated for brevity.

FAQ 1- What is Proposition 100? Proposition 100 (Prop. 100) will ask the voters to approve a 1 cent, or 18%, sales tax increase at a special election to be held on Tuesday, May 18th . If approved this tax increase would take effect on July 1, 2010 and sunset in 2013.

FAQ 2 - Why didn’t the legislature enact this tax increase? Many believe that an increase of this size should come before the people. Arizona statute requires a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature, and the Governor’s signature, to pass a tax increase. When a temporary tax is approved by the voters, permission to extend that tax beyond the sunset date requires a voter reauthorization. Future legislative sessions cannot extend that tax by a simple majority vote.

FAQ 3 – Why didn’t the legislature cut the FY’11 budget by the funds requested by Prop. 100? The budget includes many “Maintenance of Effort” (MOE) requirements by the Federal Government. It also includes funding directed by voters of Arizona that requires their approval for cuts.

FAQ 4- What are the implications for the FY’11 budget? There are no budget cuts written into the language of Prop. 100 however, the budget adopted for FY’11 was written based on the assumption of the approval of a 1 cent sales tax. The FY’11 budget contains an unprecedented initial $1.1 billion in cuts that will have to be increased by an additional $900 million in cuts (total $2 billion) should Prop. 100 fail.

FAQ 5 – Where will the additional cuts be made to the FY’11 budget should Prop. 100 fail? The majority of the cuts will be made to K-12 and higher education (universities and community colleges) but cuts will also be made to public safety, healthcare, other state agencies, counties and cities. In general, the size of the reduction by agency and policy area is 10% of each entity's approved budget.

FAQ 6 – What other provisions are built into the FY’11 budget? Also included in the budget package were two propositions referred to the November ballot. They are the repeal of two programs and the redirection of those funds to the General Fund. The programs in question are “First Things First Program” and “Growing Smarter.”

First Things First is an early childhood development program approved by the voters in 2006. It is funded by an 80 cent per pack tobacco tax. The Growing Smarter fund provides participating municipalities matching funds to acquire land for preservation. Between these two programs is a potential of $450 million for the General Fund.

The FY’11 budget assumes that the voters will authorize the redirection of these funds to the General Fund. Should that not be the case, there are no contingencies in the FY’11 budget to make up that shortfall and a special session of the legislature would likely be called to fix the budget.

Frank Pratt “Topics of the Week” March 14, 2010

03/14/2010 04:07 PM

After weeks of tough budget sessions, I look forward to a more regular routine of doing the people’s work in committees, drafting legislation, and advancing these matters through the legislative process.

This first edition of “Topics of the Week” will outline some of the important issues and bills that are in the works. Future posts will add to this list and/or expand on relative communication.

HB2653 is and Intergovernmental Agreement Bill that will allow smaller electrical distribution companies to form separate legal entities for the purpose of cooperating in the acquisition, generation and transmission of power. This will be of great importance to the future of Pinal County and rural Arizona.

Coolidge Public Schools and 11 Mile Accommodation School (Mary C. O’Brien) have sought my help to intercede with assistance in school budget procedural issues to better manage their budgets in this era of declining revenues. Last year I championed and secured legislation to assist Eloy’s Santa Cruz Unified School District.

There is also work-in-progress for the Town of Superior, the Alarm industry, and veterinary regulatory reform.

On the topic of affordable access to higher education, I am gathering research and drafting a bill to permit some Arizona community colleges to offer 4-year degrees in certain majors. Recent announcements of double-digit tuition hikes among Arizona universities have underscored the importance of this issue. I believe that the time is right to work with community colleges to help students, especially in rural Arizona.

Many constituents have asked me to explain what prompted me to run the “Milk Bill.” I have deep agricultural roots and respect for farmers in Arizona. Henry Kibler, Jr. of Casa Grande asked me to propose this bill.

Some persons portrayed this bill as frivolous when in fact its purpose was to underscore the importance of an industry that generates more than $5 Billion in economic impact annually. Those dollars are in turn multiplied through other agriculture suppliers and retailers to enhance our local economy. There are more than 20 dairies in Pinal County who provide Arizona with affordable, high quality and safe food products.