I was supposed to be in California this week watching tennis at Indian Wells but the tournament was cancelled so instead I attended the next event on my list - the ASURA Board Meeting. 

 

March ASURA Board Meeting

A few comments from the meeting

• Board Member Elections - Tara Roesler
  
  Tara reported that one hundred thirty-seven ballots were submitted, fifty-two by US Postal Service and 85 by email and that all five candidates were elected. 
• Slate of New Officers - Carl Cross
  
  The Board approved Carl Cross' slate of Officers for next year; the new Officers will be introduced at the Annual Meeting in April.
• AROHE Innovation Award - Jan Thompson
  
  The Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE) is holding its annual meeting in Phoenix next fall. The Board approved nominating the Video History Project for the Innovation Award. Dave Scheatzle, Linda Van Scoy, Roger Carter, and John McIntosh have agreed to work up the application. 

Sun Devil Giving Day – March 21

ASU’s seventh annual Sun Devil Giving Day is when the ASU community celebrates and encourages gifts in support of Arizona State University. All members of the ASU community—alumni, parents, fans, friends, faculty, staff, former employees, and students—are invited to give to the areas of ASU they care most about.

Sun Devil Giving Day is a perfect time to boost ASURA's Scholarship Endowment Fund and help support our annual $10,000 scholarship for a returning student. The link to our giving page is:  https://givingday.asu.edu/colleges-and-programs/programs-and-centers/asu-retirees-association-scholarship-CA110541.html. 

You can also donate to any of ASURA's other worthy projects--Video History, Adopt-a-Family, Book Drive, and the Scholarship Endowment fund--at any time through our website. Look for "DONATE" on the top menu bar on our home page, or for the red "DONATE" button on pages describing the above projects. Go Devils and thanks for your donations!

Jan Thompson, ASURA President

ASU Budget Request

Kendra Burton, ASURA's University Affairs Liaison, told the Board that ASU was somewhat optimistic that the Board of Regents' request of $100M dollars for The New Economy Initiative: Enhancing Arizona's Competitiveness would get funded. This initiative replaces the Board's previous efforts to get funding for 50% of the cost of educating an in-state student. The money is shared with the other two state universities with ASU's share being $46M. Stay tuned.

Ad Hoc Committee on Abuse . . .

With the number of Arizona seniors growing exponentially in the next decade, and in response to the 2019 Hacienda incident, the Governor’s Office put together an Ad Hoc Committee on Abuse and Neglect of Vulnerable Adults. Jeri Meeks along with Tara Roelser attended a February meeting. There were twelve panelists. Jeri's full report can be found in the minutes of the March Board meeting. Several bills have been introduced in the legislature at least partially because of this committee's work.

• SB1505; nursing supported group homes; licensure.
• HB2549; adult protective services; audit; appropriation. 
• HB2550; DHS; long-term care facility surveyors.
• HB2793; group homes; monitoring; appropriation..  
• SB1283; appropriation; emergency shelter beds; seniors. 

Legislative Bills Impacting Voting

Tara Roesler brought the following bills to the attention of the Board and now our members. If you feel strongly about any of these bills contact your legislator; be sure to use an email other than asu.edu, e.g., gmail.com, cox.net, etc. Note: If any of the HCR bills actually get passed by the legislature they must be approved by the public in a state election before becoming law. 

• HB2054 allows a partisan, Governor-appointed, commission that requires no partisan balance, to review and revoke rulings by the Citizen’s Clean Election Commission. Has already PASSED the House.
• SB1020 – Puts a “warning label” on every citizen initiative or referendum. It is intended to discourage a “yes” vote. Has already PASSED the Senate.
• HCR2046 would require re authorization of every citizen-passed initiative or referendum every 10 years; ready for a vote in the House.
• HB2343 requires those who drop off early voting ballots on election day at the polls to have to stand in line, show ID, and sign a log; (long lines depress voting); ready for a vote in the House.
• HCR2039 – would require 1/30th of all initiative signatures to come from each of the 30 legislative districts!! This would make initiatives/referenda almost impossible. It has PASSED the House.
• HR2004 – Puts Arizona on record as supporting the electoral college whereas over the past decade there has been bipartisan support for the National Popular Vote Compact.
• HCR2032 - Restricts the subject of any initiative to one area so if multiple changes are needed, multiple initiatives and thus multiple signature drives would be required.