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Arizona
Gov. Napolitano Calls for ''Robust'' Rail Solution, New Statewide Construction Standards
Seeing Arizona's advance ''toward a new, dynamic time of transition'' as ''a story with five interlocking chapters'' -- on education, economic prosperity, security and public safety, transportation and growth, and health care, Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano pointed out in chapter four of her State of the State speech that ''Arizonans need relief from the 'time tax','' that they ''need to get from work to home, to their places of worship, to the store, and to school to pick up their children, without constantly having to sit, breathing bad air, stuck in a traffic jam.''
With the state's population of some 6.8 million expected to almost double in the next few decades, the governor asked lawmakers to act on ''a statewide plan to create functional new transportation corridors,'' a plan which must ensure ''not just necessary freeway construction, but also transit options, including a robust rail element -- because we simply cannot out-freeway the problem.''
Such a long-term transportation plan should be placed on the ballot either this year or next, she said, calling also for action on her forthcoming energy package and for measures to secure water supply.
The state, she continued, should make sure that 15 percent of its electricity comes from renewable sources by 2025, that at least 10 percent of fuel has low carbon emissions, and that ''the current crazy quilt of local energy conservation rules'' is replaced with real ''minimum standards for new construction,'' standards enforceable statewide.
In addition, she noted the need for new energy efficiency for appliances, new opportunities to generate and use renewable energy, and cuts in harmful pollutants such as diesel exhaust.
''Population growth, combined with climate change and its resulting drought, will make water an ever-present factor in Arizona's future. Through our laws, ordinances and building codes, we must emphasize conservation, as well as preservation of riparian habitat, as we develop new water infrastructure for our state,'' the governor said. ''From transportation to state trust land to energy to water, we have a statewide vision for our future. Our statewide growth policies will encourage planning that is comprehensive and includes all levels of government -- town, city, county and tribal.'' -- Arizona Office of the Governor 1/14/2008
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