The Government Council is made up of all the Government Liaisons who act as agents of the Board to provide liaison and advocacy in relation to the Arizona State Legislature, the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) and such other agencies as the Board may designate. Per the ASURA Bylaws, the Liaisons are charged to exert influence on targeted agencies as approved by the ASURA Board and in consultation with the ASURA officers. The Liaisons serve at the pleasure of the ASURA Board.
While there are any number of different issues, the liaisons' chief concerns have been with legislation in the Arizona Legislature in three areas:
- ASU, usually its annual budget
- Protecting ASRS retirement benefits
- Various issues involving public education at the pre-university and community-college levels and senior care.
At least one of the council's liaisons is registered with the Arizona Secretary of State as a lobbyist. If there is more than one lobbyist, one is marked as the designated lobbyist and is the chair of the council. The chair is responsible for making the other liaisons aware of their responsibilities and for filing quarterly reports and certain other forms required from ASURA regarding its lobbying activities by the Secretary of State.
As a lobbyist, the liaison has legal authority to speak at various State agencies and the Arizona Legislature on behalf of ASURA. The advocacy is limited by the ASURA Bylaws and approval of their specific activities by the ASURA Board.
The liaisons do more than just monitor bills being considered in the Legislature; they also attend meetings of various Government Councils dealing with topics of interest to retirees, e.g., Council on Aging, or agencies, e.g., ASRS.
If you would like to:
- review Legislative bills.
- present to the a legislative committee.
- scan the ASU / Arizona Board of Regents / local news websites, etc. for pertinent information
- attend council or agency meetings and report back to the Board
then you are ready to become a Government Liaison and should contact the Government Council Chair.
