May 12 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Stephanie A. Wilken The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.



With the stroke of her pen, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer gave the Yuma County Board of Supervisors what they wanted.

Late Tuesday, on the last day for the Governor to sign bills into law, Brewer vetoed House Bill 2502, a bill that would have provided for the valuation for utility-scale solar plants in the same manner as agricultural property.

Members of the Board were against the measure and wrote a letter of opposition to the governor May 3, citing a possible loss of revenue and that Yuma County was in a unique position to be affected because of the significant role that agriculture plays in the community.

The Yuma Sun reached County Administrator Robert Pickels for comment late Tuesday when news of the veto came through.

 "It's nice to know that when Yuma County speaks at the state capital our voice is heard, and when we take a position on something that has a significant impact to us, people at that level in the executive power take notice," Pickels said.

The letter, sent to the governor May 3, outlined two points: County revenues will suffer and Yuma County is uniquely impacted.

According to the letter, the county revenues will suffer because "like Arizona State Government, local and county governments are facing challenging economic times and significant reductions in revenues. By specifying how solar energy real property is to be assessed, county property taxes will be further reduced. "

Also according to the letter, "Because of its agrarian-based economy, Yuma County is uniquely impacted by this legislation. The provision of the bill that specifies that the income of solar energy real property shall be determined in the same manner as agricultural property will discourage solar development in Yuma County."

County Administrator Robert Pickels, in a previous interview with the Yuma Sun, said the measure could have meant a loss of jobs for Yuma County.

"There would be more agricultural jobs under the existing use of that property than there might be under a photovoltaic plant," he said.

Though there are jobs associated with the construction of renewable energy plants, the plants would not have a large number of sustainable jobs.

"So the concern is, if you take agricultural property out of production for use as a renewable project, then we might be, in the process, losing some jobs that are important to the community," he said.

Yuma County Tax Assessor Joseph Wehrle, in an interview with the Yuma Sun before the measure was vetoed, said the amount of revenue that could be generated under the law could be "very minimal."

"The law is specifically set forth to give these companies a huge tax incentive to build these types of plants," he said.

County officials were first notified of the bill by the lobbying firm contracted by the county, Dorn Policy Group, based in Phoenix.

Pickels previously told the Yuma Sun the legislation moved quickly and votes both for and against the bill changed at the last minute.

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Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.

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