Saturday, September 17, 2011
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer
Republican lawmakers in Arizona, including Gov. Jan Brewer, went beyond their authority when they diverted more than $50 million meant for public transit projects to other purposes.
In response to a lawsuit filed by the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest and two citizens, including a local Sierra Club leader, federal Judge David Campbell ordered the state to put $51 million back into the Local Transit Assistance Fund, which is supposed to supply $10.8 million annually for transit projects designed to cut down on automobile pollution.
Plaintiff Sandy Bahr, executive director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter, told Courthouse News Service that the GOP-led legislature was “arrogant” in its behavior for taking the funding away from a program intended to improve air quality in Maricopa County.
State officials defended their action by claiming the transit fund had done little to reduce emissions in the Phoenix area.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Judge Slams Arizona for Raiding Transit Fund (by Tim Hull, Courthouse News Service)
Kelly Paisley and Sandra Bahr v. Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (U.S. District Court, Arizona) (pdf)
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