By
Eric Swedlund
Arizona Daily Wildcat
PHOENIX - The Senate yesterday confirmed UA law student Matt Meaker to the Arizona Board of Regents, where he will be the first student regent to serve a two-year term.
The state Legislature last year passed a bill that created a second student regent position, serving for one year as an apprentice before gaining a vote on the board in the second year of the term.
The Senate also confirmed Myrina Robinson, a Northern Arizona University political science student, to the position of the voting regent.
Robinson and Meaker will begin serving on the board in July, taking over for Arizona State University student Mary Echeverria, the current student regent whose term ends June 30.
Red light runners won't face higher fines
PHOENIX - The Legislature approved a bill that will require people cited for running red lights to attend traffic school but dropped provisions that would have substantially increased fines.
The House passed the bill (HB2277) on a 40-14 vote yesterday. It now goes to Gov. Jane Hull for her signature or veto.
If the bill becomes law, people cited for red-light violations may attend traffic survival school or, if they qualify, a defensive driving school.
Legislature OKs new fee on big rigs to pay for emissions work
PHOENIX - The Legislature passed a bill that would tack a $10 fee onto annual registrations for big diesel trucks and buses to help pay for fixing polluting vehicles.
The House sent the bill (HB2449) to Gov. Jane Hull after voting 41-12 to accept changes made by the Senate.
The fee was suggested by a coalition of truck and heavy-equipment operators that successfully fended off a legislative proposal to require use of a cleaner-burning, but more expensive, diesel fuel.
The money collected will pay for grants to motorists under a voluntary repair and retrofit program established in 1998 for vehicles that fail emissions tests in the Phoenix and Tucson areas.
Money for the repair program has come from the state's Clean Air Fund, but that is expected to be drained by subsidies for alternative-fuel diesel trucks.
The $10 fee would apply to all diesel vehicles with gross vehicle weight ratings over 8,500 pounds.
Betting on video games still considered gambling
PHOENIX - Betting on video games is still against the law in Arizona.
Members of the Senate withdrew a bill amendment yesterday that would have taken games of skill out of Arizona's legal definition of gambling. Had the amendment passed, video games that incorporate no random chance in their play could have offered cash prizes for top scores.
The proposal was backed by a chain of restaurant/arcades targeted at adults and the manufacturer of a golf video game called Golden Tee. The Golden Tee machines can be linked so players in several locations can compete in virtual reality tournaments.
Currently, Arizona law allows people to play games of skill for small prizes as a form of entertainment gaming. Prizes cannot exceed $4 for a single win or $35 for a combination of several wins.
Operators needed a change in state law to offer larger cash prizes to the winners.
Yesterday's move effectively kills the proposal for this session of the Legislature.
House gives final passage to safe havens bill
PHOENIX - The House sent Gov. Jane Hull a bill yesterday that would allow parents or others to drop off newborn babies at churches, fire stations, hospitals and other so-called "safe havens" without facing charges of abandonment or neglect.
House Bill 2001 passed on a 32-18 vote. The Senate had already approved it.
The House vote was not enough to enact an emergency clause that would have put it into effect immediately if Hull signs it. The law would instead go into effect 90 days after the session ends.
Proponents say the law may save the lives of children who are born to parents in crisis situations by providing an alternative to abandonment in potentially dangerous areas.
Critics contend it is more likely to create a dumping ground for unwanted children.
"How long before we raise the age limit to 5 years or 7 years because those children are inconvenient too," said Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert.
