The Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona is an independent entity authorized to finance the construction, rehabilitation and/or improvement of drinking water, waste water, waste water reclamation, and other water quality facilities/projects. As a “Bond Bank”, WIFA is authorized to issue water quality bonds on behalf of communities for basic water infrastructure. Generally, WIFA offers borrowers below market interest rates on loans for 100% of eligible project costs.

The Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona implements three types of technical assistance:
1. Project Technical Assistance – Planning and Design Assistance Grants assist an individual drinking water or wastewater system to conceive, plan, design, or develop an infrastructure project.
2. Policy Technical Assistance – Policy TA includes studies, surveys and other types of reports that provide benefit to a range of drinking water and wastewater systems statewide.
3. Operational Technical Assistance – The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality manages this program to provide assistance to individual drinking water and wastewater systems to improve facility operations.

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund IUP describes WIFA’s plan to utilize various sources of funds to finance drinking water infrastructure and support related program activities during the State FY funding cycle from July 1 through June 30. This plan is a required element of the grant application documentation to obtain the grant award. Arizona herewith submits its IUP for the funds available to Arizona for the purposes of continuing the development, implementation and administration of the DWSRF program in Arizona.

The Intended Use Plan describes WIFA’s plan to utilize various sources of funds to finance clean water infrastructure and support related activities during the State FY funding cycle from July 1 through June 30. This plan is a required element of the grant application documentation to obtain the grant award for the purposes of continuing the development, implementation and administration of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program in Arizona.

The Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona is an independent agency of the state of Arizona established to finance the construction, rehabilitation, and improvement of drinking water, wastewater, wastewater reclamation, and other water quality projects. WIFA operates as a “bond bank” and has the authority to issue bonds on behalf of communities for basic water infrastructure.

This appropriations limit calculation includes a brief history of the appropriations limit, a step-by-step narration of the process used in computing the limit, and the detailed calculation of the appropriations limit. Pursuant to the law, both the Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee staff are required to provide reports. However the ratio of actual appropriations or estimated appropriations to state personal income is likely to differ due to varying methodologies used by the two budget offices with respect to statutory appropriations. Statutory appropriations are grants of authority enacted by the Legislature and approved by the Governor that are continuous in nature and codified in the statutes. No authority is needed (e.g., in the annual appropriations bill) beyond the original enactment for monies to be expended.

Because of the urgency of workforce issues and the desire to begin a statewide discussion about workforce goals and choices, the Governor’s Council on Workforce Policy wanted to understand if, and how, program governance and organization are hampering progress and what changes might be beneficial. The council asked Morrison Institute for Public Policy (School of Public Affairs, College of Public Programs, Arizona State University) to: (1) Explore the strengths and weaknesses of the organization of Arizona’s workforce system, particularly at the state level (2) Review how other states have revamped their systems and connected workforce and economic development (3) Recommend options for improving Arizona’s system During the second half of 2003, Morrison Institute for Public Policy talked with more than 60 workforce professionals, business people, and workforce board members across Arizona either individually or in small groups, researched other states’ approaches through interviews with officials in other states and national organizations, analyzed responses to an online survey of selected local workforce investment board members, and reviewed a wide variety of materials on economic, workforce, and community development. This report is the first of many steps for Arizona to reflect and act on workforce development governance and its system, because as Thurgood Marshall said, "You can’t stand still. You must move, and if you don’t move, they will run over you."

The purpose of this brief report is to provide information about Arizona’s system of workforce development, the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), how the Act has been implemented in the greater Phoenix area and the program’s relevance to business. It is an update of a previous brief on the subject from February 2000. Prepared by Morrison Institute for Public Policy at the request of Greater Phoenix Leadership, the information contained in this report is intended for a business audience.

A study explored performance of the Arizona School-to-Work (STW) system in meeting the six goals established by the state STW Division. Goal 1 was to create a self-sustaining STW system at the state and regional levels. The state developed state policies and goals and provided implementation funding to partnerships, but no continuation funding. Goal 2 was to unite training programs with STW programs. Partnerships implemented STW with some success by expanding career-related programs, but were less successful at coordinating and integrating efforts with other workforce-related organizations. There was no comprehensive effort to implement Goal 3 to identify areas where STW needed support and meet those needs. The state and partnerships addressed Goal 4, community involvement, by recruiting local businesses and industries to STW through public awareness activities, promoting initiatives to businesses at STW conferences, and securing business representation on STW governing boards. Goal 5, to increase public awareness, was achieved through media, brochures, Web sites, and public presentations. Partnerships achieved Goal 6, system evaluation, by maintaining databases to provide information for evaluating the STW system. STW had a modest positive impact on stakeholders' involvement in career-related activities; its implementation varied considerably across partnerships; lack of funding severely limited its statewide potential; and strong leadership at the state level was critical.

This brief provides information about the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, how it will be implemented in the greater Phoenix, Arizona, area, and the program's relevance to business. The brief also discusses the current work force development system, including information on these five areas of interest: (1) what the literature says about work force development; (2) Arizona's current work force development system; (3) an overview of the WIA; (4) what's really new in the new system; and (5) what's in it for Arizona's business community. The report concludes that research and several prominent business organizations suggest that businesses can become involved in WIA in a number of ways that benefit companies as well as society, including participating on Local Workforce Investment Boards; using the one-stop career centers to fill employment needs; opening such centers; becoming approved training providers; suggesting potential board members; providing additional funds to boards; helping design and oversee local work force development programs; and providing information to the local boards and one-stop centers.