51黑料网

Locally, the questions are relatively clear: Did Pima County adhere to state law and Arizona鈥檚 constitution when passing the $20 million incentive package for this local near-space balloon company? That will be answered in court.

From a statewide perspective, the questions are bigger. Gov. Doug Ducey has made recruitment of companies to Arizona one of the highest priorities of his administration. Now, for the first time during his term in office, his putative allies at Goldwater are suing to stop an incentive deal.

鈥淭his lawsuit casts doubt on what can be done from an economic development standpoint,鈥� Steven Zylstra, the president and CEO of the Arizona Tech Council told me from Germany, where he鈥檚 attending the Hannover Messe technology fair.

Space travel and research, he said, 鈥渟eems to be an up and coming industry, and too often AZ seems to be left behind on these kind of things. Here we have an opportunity to be in the driver鈥檚 seat, and obstacles are put in the way.鈥�

Now, it isn鈥檛 the first time the Goldwater Institute has become an 鈥渙bstacle鈥� to incentive deals for private companies. Goldwater brought the successful suit, Turken vs. Gordon, by which the Arizona Supreme Court in 2010 established the current case law over the constitution鈥檚 gift clause and government incentives for private companies.

And in a visit to the 51黑料网 on Monday, attorney James Manley argued that Goldwater鈥檚 interest in the Pima County deal and the whole economic-incentive world is simply one of principle.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 think these sorts of deals are a good idea, period,鈥� Manley said. 鈥淭he better way to encourage business is to have a level playing field and have a good business environment for everyone 鈥� strong infrastructure, good education, good tax and regulatory policy.鈥�

So true, so true. And yet, so divorced from reality.

We live in a region where Nevada just gave a $1.25 billion 鈥� yes, billion with a B 鈥� tax-break to Tesla Motors to build a battery plant near Reno. In Texas, under previous Gov. Rick Perry, the that state gave out the equivalent of $19 billion per year in incentives to companies.

Certainly Goldwater knows that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e competing against.

I challenged Manley on this point, and he said incentives alone aren鈥檛 inherently illegal or unconstitutional in Arizona, even with the gift clause, which limits government aid for individual companies.

In the context of the World View deal, for example, he pointed to state law requiring counties to get an appraisal for properties they plan to lease and to hold an auction for the lease. That can be done even in the context of an incentive deal, he argued.

鈥淲e鈥檙e fairly confident the lease rate here is not anywhere near market value,鈥� he said.

But when I talked to him Tuesday, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said Manley and Goldwater are conveniently overlooking another law, which seems to give counties broad leeway.

ARS 11-254.04 says counties may 鈥渁ppropriate and spend public monies for and in connection with economic development activities.鈥�

The same law says the county may engage in the 鈥渁cquisition, improvement, leasing or conveyance of real or personal property or other activity, that the board of supervisors has found and determined will assist in the creation or retention of jobs or will otherwise improve or enhance the economic welfare of the inhabitants of the county.鈥�

Said Huckelberry: 鈥淚t sounds like Goldwater is attacking that statute. That statute is of statewide application. If you don鈥檛 like that statute, why don鈥檛 you go to the Legislature and get them to change it?鈥�

Huckelberry argues, essentially, that Goldwater is picking on Pima County. He pointed to several deals done in Arizona over recent years and months that are similar to the World View deal and that Goldwater has not sued over.

In 2015, for example, Scottsdale agreed to build $25 million hangars for Gemini Air Group, which is serving wealthy customers at Scottsdale Airpark. Gemini is paying back the construction cost via its lease, just as World View is scheduled to do with Pima County.

Manley said Goldwater isn鈥檛 picking on the Democrat-run county 鈥� it just got complaints from Pima County taxpayers and didn鈥檛 get them from other jurisdictions over their deals.

But his description of the Pima deal, in a piece he wrote for last Sunday鈥檚 Star and when meeting with us on Monday, often sounds more political than legal. Repeatedly, he and Goldwater have emphasized the space-tourism business that World View plans to engage in without mentioning its research business, which may end up being the more lucrative line.

He called the balloon rides 鈥渁 plaything for the rich,鈥� to which I said, 鈥淪o what, if it works?鈥�

I鈥檓 not convinced Goldwater isn鈥檛 picking on Pima County, when there are more cases it could have filed in Republican-dominated jurisdictions near Phoenix. And I鈥檓 worried that other economic development deals will be hindered by this conflict.

Pima County made itself vulnerable in January when it didn鈥檛 allow enough time for scrutiny in pushing the World View deal through quickly. As a result we鈥檙e paying the price of being Arizona鈥檚 next test case.

Even if Goldwater鈥檚 motive isn鈥檛 completely pure, government-incentive plans should be scrutinized. All you have to do is look at our neighboring states to see the scale of the tax breaks we鈥檇 be handing out if it weren鈥檛 for the Gift Clause and someone to enforce it.