[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 25 (Thursday, February 11, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E225-E226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         ARIZONA STATEHOOD AND ENABLING ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. BOB STUMP

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 11, 1999

  Mr. STUMP. Mr. Speaker, Sunday, February 14, 1999, marks the eighty-
seventh anniversary of statehood for my home state of Arizona. On 
behalf of my colleagues in the Arizona House delegation, I am pleased 
to introduce the following piece of legislation to mark this historic 
event.
  Mr. Speaker, the proposed bill amends the 1910 act of Congress that 
granted the State of Arizona's entry into the Union. The bill makes two 
minor changes to the Arizona Enabling Act relating to the 
administration of state trust funds. This bill is supported by the 
Governor of Arizona, our State Treasurer, the Arizona State Legislature 
and most importantly the citizens of Arizona through their approval of 
this change through the ballot process.
  Mr. Speaker, on November 3, 1998, Arizona voters passed Proposition 
102 to amend the Arizona Enabling Act. The Enabling Act required the 
State of Arizona to establish a permanent fund for collecting the 
proceeds from

[[Page E226]]

the sale of trust land and the land's mineral and other natural 
products. The principal of the fund is not expendable, but rather 
invested in interest-bearing securities. The interest is used to 
support the financial needs of the beneficiaries. With this change in 
the Arizona Enabling act, the State of Arizona will be provided with 
the opportunity to maximize these funds. In essence, this amendment to 
the Arizona Enabling Act will allow the State Treasurer to preserve the 
real value of the fund by reinvesting an amount equal to the rate of 
inflation, thereby providing higher payments to beneficiaries over 
time. This would improve management in the State and assist in the 
generation of more revenues for the beneficiaries by gaining 
authorization to invest part of the fund in stocks and to invest some 
earnings to offset inflation.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation will also make a change to the Arizona 
Enabling Act to allow the state to expend monies from the Miners' 
Hospital Endowment Fund to benefit the Arizona Pioneers' Home. 
Inadequate funds exist in the Miners' Hospital Endowment Fund to build 
and operate a separate hospital for disabled miners. Since 1929, 
disabled miners have been cared for at the Arizona Pioneers' Home, but 
current law prohibits the commingling of funds associated with state 
trust lands. This legislation would allow the Arizona Pioneers' Home to 
expend monies from the Miners' Hospital Endowment Fund to continue care 
for miners who meet the statutory admission requirements.

                          ____________________