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Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, December 05, 2022 9:30 AM BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Maricopa County, Arizona (and the Boards of Directors of the Flood Control District, Library District, Stadium District, Improvement Districts and/or Board of Deposit) "The mission of Maricopa County is to provide regional leadership and fiscally responsible, necessary public services to its residents so they can enjoy living in healthy and safe communities” Board Members Bill Gates, Chairman, District 3 Clint Hickman, Vice Chairman, District 4 Jack Sellers, District 1 Thomas Galvin, District 2 Steve Gallardo, District 5 County Manager Joy Rich Clerk of the Board Juanita Garza Meeting Location Supervisors’ Conference Room 301 W Jefferson, 10th Floor Phoenix, AZ 85003 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Chairman Gates opened the meeting and asked the Clerk to call the roll. The Board of Supervisors of Maricopa County, Phoenix, Arizona, convened in an Informal Session at 9:30 AM on Monday, December 5, 2022, in the Supervisors’ Conference Room 301 W Jefferson, 10th Floor Phoenix, AZ 85003, with the following members present: Bill Gates, Chairman, District 3; Clint Hickman, Vice Chairman, District 4; Jack Sellers, Supervisor, District 1; Thomas Galvin, Supervisor, District 2 (remote); Steve Gallardo, Supervisor, District 5. Also present: Juanita Garza, Clerk; Joy Rich, County Manager; Andrea Cummings, Legal Counsel; Kelly Gardiner, Minutes Coordinator. PRESENTATION 1. FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE ISSUES UPDATE Presentation regarding Maricopa County federal priorities. Discussion will include a brief 2023 state legislative look-ahead. Michelle Hindman, Government Relations Director Christopher T. Cushing, Nelson Mullins Jennifer Pharaoh, Nelson Mullins (C-20-23-006-X-00) Chairman Gates introduced the presentation regarding federal legislation updates. He said on an annual basis, the Board reviews federal legislation as it pertains to Maricopa County, the fourth largest county in the country. He introduced the Government Relations team that represent the County: Michelle Hindman, Director, Danny De Hoog and Israel Kiyogera. At the federal level, Chris T. Cushing and Jennifer Pharaoh with Nelson Mullins from Washington D.C. were also present. Chairman Gates asked Mr. Cushing, Ms. Pharaoh, and Ms. Hindman to come forward. Ms. Hindman gave a brief overview and said the 56th Legislative session was due to begin on January 9, 2023. She said after the results of the 2022 midterm election, which will be certified by the Secretary of State of Arizona today at 10:00 a.m., there is very little change in the partisan make up. She stated the legislature is currently a Republican controlled senate and a Democratic governor, which has not occurred since 2009 when Governor Janet Napolitano was in office. Ms. Hindman thanked her team for putting together the list of legislative priorities prior to this meeting with the legal representatives from Washington D.C. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, December 05, 2022 Page 2 of 4 Mr. Cushing spoke and said it was great to be back in person and gave an overview of the Legislative Priorities as listed on the slide. He touched on several of the items and talked about ongoing appropriations and associated resolutions. He stated his hope that those would continue to move through the legislature particularly due to the resignation of key members of the partisan parties. The National Defense Authorization Act was mentioned by Mr. Cushing as having passed every year for the past 61 years and said with a lame duck session, he hoped things would continue to progress. He talked about priority eight, Water Resources Development Act, that requires authorization every two years, hoped to get it done this session. Mr. Cushing said each of the items need appropriate federal assistance. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, December 05, 2022 Page 3 of 4 Ms. Pharaoh stated it is not certain what will happen by the end of the year. She said there is a chance that pieces of legislation will hitch a ride on other items in the appropriations package, including some healthcare provisions and tax provisions. Ms. Pharaoh talked about priority number two dealing with elections. She said there is strong support in the House and Senate for reform in the electoral college process. It will define more clearly the role of the Vice President, so it is not subject to interpretation and more of a ministerial matter, and to create a higher threshold for objections for actions taken by the electors. She hopes this happens by the end of year due to the strong bipartisan support. Chairman Gates said we need more clarity on this process going forward. Ms. Pharaoh talked about how to protect poll workers/election workers with stiffer penalties when threats occur. Chairman Gates asked if there was any objection to this portion. Ms. Pharaoh said only the cost for training of workers but that grants are available. Mr. Cushing talked about priority 10, the Farm bill, which comes around every five years and has significant funding. He said it is important to get this through due to the five-year cycle. Ms. Pharaoh spoke about priority four, dealing with Medicaid and incarcerated persons and the long-standing policy of not allowing federal funds to be used for these individuals. The prohibition is broad and does not distinguish those with unique circumstances or conviction status. She said this priority has bipartisan support and is two pieces of legislation. The first part would exclude the policy for those being held on a pretrial basis. The second part would allow for Medicaid eligibility starting 30 days before release. Supervisor Hickman asked about prescription medication and coverage of these individuals under Medicaid. Ms. Pharaoh said if the person is eligible for Medicaid, then they would have medication coverage. Supervisor Sellers talked about his interest in infrastructure (priority six). He talked about a solution he heard that mentioned the water solution might involve the Verde River. He said the timing could be five years and the cost around $750,000,000. He asked if the federal government could speed up the process if there is money allocated to the project of water infrastructure. Mr. Cushing said they can talk with federal and state government to see if it can be worked out and added that the federal government likes to see all the stakeholders involved in the conversation. He said in conclusion it was important to make the decision based on the greatest good for Maricopa County. Chairman Gates asked if his colleagues had further questions. He said thank you to the speakers who were present. Mr. Cushing said he would look forward to working with the individual departments to hear what their needs are. ~ Presentation only. No action taken ~ 2. EXECUTIVE SESSION Vote to convene in Executive Session to consider the items on the Executive Agenda dated Monday, December 05, 2022, for Board of Supervisors and relevant Special Districts pursuant to the statutory authority listed for each item. Motion to approve by Supervisor Clint Hickman, seconded by Supervisor Jack Sellers Ayes: Bill Gates, Clint Hickman, Jack Sellers, Thomas Galvin, Steve Gallardo Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, December 05, 2022 Page 4 of 4 MEETING ADJOURNED After discussion on the Executive Session items and there being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. ___________________________ Bill Gates, Chairman of the Board ATTEST: ____________________________ Juanita Garza, Clerk of the Board