State Senate votes $10 million to buy land around Luke

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The following article can be viewed online at:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0319Leg-luke19.html

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Arizona
ARIZONA REPUBLIC
State Senate votes $10 million to buy land around Luke
Elvia Díaz
Mar. 19, 2004 12:00 AM

State senators on Thursday tentatively agreed to spend $10 million to
buy private property around Luke Air Force Base in the West Valley.

The legislation, Senate Bill 1039, authorizes taking the money from the
state's General Fund, which pays for daily government expenses. Senators
must still hold a final vote before sending the bill to the House for
consideration.

"An Air Force base that brings in $1.4 billion to our economy is
certainly worth a one-time appropriation of $10 million," said Sen. Jack
Harper, R-Glendale and the main sponsor of the legislation.

The legislation is part of a package of bills aimed at helping save the
military base from next year's planned closures. The money would be used
to keep land near Luke from being developed.

The initial proposal called to take $14.3 million annually from the
state's public conservation fund, but Harper changed his mind after
Phoenix and environmental groups opposed it.

Phoenix officials and Sandy Bahr of the Sierra Club contended it would
have meant less money to buy and preserve several hundred acres of
private land in the Valley. No one objected to the bill Thursday.

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