State senator going all out in freshman year

Freshman legislator Don Shooter, the Republican state senator for District 24, jumped full force into state politics.

“I'm no tiptoer. I jump in,” Shooter said Friday while sharing how his freshman year in office is coming along.

It was his first weekend in Yuma since the beginning of the current legislative session in January. He's been busy, having introduced about a dozen bills, of which “six or seven are still alive. That's unusual for a first-year legislator,” he noted.

He declined to discuss specific bills, saying, “I don't want to tip my hand.”

But he admitted the bills are all budget-oriented, with a couple of bills addressing specific requests from agencies.

Shooter is also serving as chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Rural Issues, Education and Natural Resources and as vice chairman of Water, Land Use and Rural Development. He serves on the Natural Resources and Transportation and Veterans and Military Affairs committees as well.

He believes it's all part of doing his job. “We're not here to get re-elected. We're not here to be politicians, we're farmers, businessmen, housewives. We're here to do a job, so we're getting it done.”

He's trying to make good on his promise to create jobs, calling it his No. 1 priority. He supported the governor's economic development bill last month, which includes business tax cuts.

“It's a phased-in thing. It's like heroin. You can't just cut it out or you die. The tax cuts take place over four to five years,” Shooter said.

The new law makes it easier to do business in the state by offering financial incentives to businesses considering moving to Arizona, he said.

But the toughest issue has been the budget. “We're trying to bring sanity to the situation,” he said.

As an example of the “insanity,” he cites the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), which he says went from $134 million a year to $1.34 billion in 10 years.

“People say, ‘You can't cut AHCCCS,' but we have to. A 1,000 percent growth is unsustainable.”

Proposed measures — small co-pays, drug testing and $30 no-show penalty — are designed to make AHCCCS recipients more accountable.

“We're keeping in mind that this is about people's lives and people will be affected, but (the unbalanced budget) is not sustainable. We need to get it under control.”

Shooter acknowledged that AHCCCS cuts will affect rural hospitals, particularly in Yuma. “That's why we're putting in budget cushions to help them. When we cut the budget, there will be repercussions. We're trying to mitigate that.”

Some budget cuts might be considered tough, he said, but they are “ultimately good.” Agencies affected by cuts “need to take their medicine and get better.”

He also supports state pension reform, calling for bigger contributions, perhaps a 2 percent increase. “It's not a significant amount, especially if you think of the alternative: insolvency. We have to honor our commitments yet we have to restructure it in order for it to be sustainable.”

As chairman of the Yuma tea party, Shooter has no problem being considered a radical.

“People might think us radical, but we're giving the conventional politicians cover. They know it has to be done, and it takes guts to do it. They can point to us and say, ‘These crazy tea partiers,' but we're giving them cover. They're blaming us, but that's fine with us.”

He's still in love with the American government process. “There are lots of checks and balances. There are eight to 10 steps before a bill gets to a vote. That means there are eight to 10 chances to find it, correct it, change it. It keeps one person, one party from dominating.”

His first year in a state office has held a couple of surprises. Going in, his biggest misconception was believing the state government is full of political bureaucrats. “But there are a lot of good people. I like almost everybody from both parties — for the most part,” he quipped, laughing.

“The Democrats are good people — they are sincere — they just have a different idea of how to do things. We get along most of the time, but when it comes down to voting, we vote differently.”

Working together every day has bonded the state senators. “We're a small group, we got to know each other pretty quick,” he said, noting they work long hours, sometimes from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and occasionally finishing after midnight. They once finished at 2:30 a.m.

The biggest challenge has been “learning the system, how everything works,” he said. “In this job you have to learn a myriad of things. I've had to learn about mining, tax code, depreciation. I thank the people in Yuma — they're the ones providing my education.”

Shooter admitted he has a long way to go,” but experienced legislators and staff members “have helped me and taken me under their wings.”

His goals are to bring “fiscal sanity” to state government and protect the farming industry and military bases as they are “a big part of our economy.”

The best part of his job, Shooter said, is being able to help people who have a problem with state government.

“You could be a good legislator and a bad politician or a good politician and a lousy legislator. I think a politician is someone who helps people and provides community services. A legislator works to pass laws. I think I can do both.”

Mara Knaub can be reached at mknaub@yumasun.com or 539-6856.