PHOENIX — A Senate committee gave its approval Wednesday to a bill that would slow down plans for several railroad construction projects across Southern Arizona, most notably a controversial rail yard near Picacho Peak.
And some lawmakers used the opportunity to chastise Union Pacific for what they see as an unwillingness on the part of the railroad to listen to the concerns of property owners.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, would require the Arizona Corporation Commission to review railroad proposals that include acquiring land through eminent domain or at auction. That could affect projects Union Pacific is planning in Willcox, Yuma and the Picacho area.
The committee approval came after a long, heated debate about the benefits and impacts railroad expansions would have on agriculture and property values in rural areas.
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Farmers from Yuma and Picacho, where the railroad wants to build a large rail yard, complained that Union Pacific hadn't made an effort to listen to their concerns.
A potential line in Yuma, connecting Arizona to a new shipping port in Mexico, would cut through a farming region there.
"It doesn't really matter in the end," said Yuma farmer Paul Muthart of meetings between property owners and the railroad. "As long as they have the power of eminent domain with no oversight, all those meetings don't really matter."
Picacho's concerns are similar. The Pinal County Board of Supervisors in November voted to change the county's comprehensive land-use plan to accommodate the rail yard. The county sees the project as a major boon to the area, which will need jobs to employ thousands of new residents that housing developments are attracting. Property owners want more oversight.
"What you're hearing today is not that we should ban the railroad," Paton said after the vote. "The message was pretty clear that the public wants to have a dialogue and at this point that hasn't happened."
HB 2020 won bipartisan support in the committee, though some members questioned whether the Corporation Commission would be the best venue.
Sen. Chuck Gray, R-Mesa, said it looks as though Union Pacific "picked on the little guys."
"Man, we've got to do something," he said.
But the company's lobbyist, Chris Peterson, said he has reached out to the community and, if passed, the bill "will have a chilling effect" on adding needed rail capacity in Arizona.
The bill still needs to pass the full Senate before being transmitted back to the House.
