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- Creators: School of Public Affairs
Description
Arizona’s Dram Shop Statute, specifically ARS 4-311, was enacted in 1986 to hold liquor licensees financially responsible for any injuries or deaths that arise from the service and consumption of alcohol by customers of their establishment. The intent of such policies was to mitigate instances of driving under the influence of alcohol. However, evidence shows that such statutes have little to no effect on incidents of drunk driving in the State of Arizona, yet are detrimental to the viability of local restaurants and bars. The full liability that businesses in this industry face has an adverse effect on the following:
• The ability of establishments to obtain and maintain insurance coverage
• Limits the number of insurance carriers in Arizona, which increases the cost of such coverage.
• Expensive insurance directly affects business profitability:
o restricting their ability to make capital purchases
o limiting their ability to make local investments
o reduces state income tax revenue
o the need to reduce their staff or close their doors completely
o less money that any local business can bring to their bottom line is less money that they are able to
o reinvest in their community, their city, and in their state
In an effort to reduce the burdens imposed on Arizona’s restaurant and bar industry, I propose legislative changes to Arizona Revised Statute 4-311. These legislative changes would not only aid these small businesses in their efforts to be profitable and serve their communities, but would be beneficial to local cities and the State of Arizona alike. I would propose the following:
• Place a burden of proof on the plaintiff that a customer was served in an “obviously intoxicated” state as defined in A.R.S 4-311 (D), diminishing the ability to file suits based solely on the driver’s BAC of .08 or above.
• Strike all claims with basis on “known or should have known” judge made and judge applied common law standard that has not been incorporated in to the Arizona Dram Shop Statutes through legislation.
With these changes to Arizona Dram Shop Statutes, local restaurants and bars could contribute not only to their local economies, but also to support deterrence of the crime through a .5% tax on liquor sales generated through the sale of such in a liquor licensed establishment. This tax would amount to approximately $27* million dollars annually for the State of Arizona. This additional tax revenue would go directly to their local police departments to specifically fund increased efforts to deter instances of drunk driving. This deterrence could be achieved through increased police presence, hiring and training officers in the specialty of detecting drunk drivers, and/or conducting additional sobriety checkpoints throughout the state. Currently, a few other states (MD 9%, MN 2.5%, ND 7%, D.C 10%) have implemented a small tax on retail sales of liquor in addition to the various excise tax imposed at the wholesale and/or manufacturing level.
• The ability of establishments to obtain and maintain insurance coverage
• Limits the number of insurance carriers in Arizona, which increases the cost of such coverage.
• Expensive insurance directly affects business profitability:
o restricting their ability to make capital purchases
o limiting their ability to make local investments
o reduces state income tax revenue
o the need to reduce their staff or close their doors completely
o less money that any local business can bring to their bottom line is less money that they are able to
o reinvest in their community, their city, and in their state
In an effort to reduce the burdens imposed on Arizona’s restaurant and bar industry, I propose legislative changes to Arizona Revised Statute 4-311. These legislative changes would not only aid these small businesses in their efforts to be profitable and serve their communities, but would be beneficial to local cities and the State of Arizona alike. I would propose the following:
• Place a burden of proof on the plaintiff that a customer was served in an “obviously intoxicated” state as defined in A.R.S 4-311 (D), diminishing the ability to file suits based solely on the driver’s BAC of .08 or above.
• Strike all claims with basis on “known or should have known” judge made and judge applied common law standard that has not been incorporated in to the Arizona Dram Shop Statutes through legislation.
With these changes to Arizona Dram Shop Statutes, local restaurants and bars could contribute not only to their local economies, but also to support deterrence of the crime through a .5% tax on liquor sales generated through the sale of such in a liquor licensed establishment. This tax would amount to approximately $27* million dollars annually for the State of Arizona. This additional tax revenue would go directly to their local police departments to specifically fund increased efforts to deter instances of drunk driving. This deterrence could be achieved through increased police presence, hiring and training officers in the specialty of detecting drunk drivers, and/or conducting additional sobriety checkpoints throughout the state. Currently, a few other states (MD 9%, MN 2.5%, ND 7%, D.C 10%) have implemented a small tax on retail sales of liquor in addition to the various excise tax imposed at the wholesale and/or manufacturing level.
ContributorsRutten, Lori Ann (Author) / Novak, Shawn (Thesis director) / Herbert, Anne (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
City managers and policy makers are increasing looking to environmental systems to provide beneficial services for urban systems. Constructed wetland systems (CWS), highly managed and designed wetland ecosystems, are being utilized to remove pollution, particularly excess nitrogen (N), from treated wastewater. Various wetland process remove N from effluent, such as denitrification, direct plant uptake, and soil accumulation. Emergent macrophytes provide direct uptake of N and improve conditions for microbially-mediated N processing. The role of different macrophytes species, however, is less understood and has primarily been examined in mesocosm and microcosm experiments and in mesic environments. I examined the effects of community composition on N removal and processing at the whole ecosystem scale in an aridland, constructed wetland (42 ha) through: 1) quantifying above- and belowground biomass and community composition from July 2011 \u2014 November 2012 using a non-destructive allometric technique, and; 2) quantifying macrophyte N content and direct macrophyte N uptake over the 2012 growing season. Average peak biomass in July 2011 & 2012 was 2,930 g dw/m2 and 2,340 g dw/m2, respectively. Typha spp. (Typha domingensis and Typha latifolia) comprised the majority (approximately 2/3) of live aboveground biomass throughout the sampling period. No statistically significant differences were observed in macrophyte N content among the six species present, with an overall average of 1.68% N in aboveground tissues and 1.29% N in belowground tissues. Per unit area of wetland, Typha spp. retained the most N (22 g/m2); total N retained by all species was 34 g/m2. System-wide direct plant N uptake was markedly lower than N input to the system and thus represented a small portion of system N processing. Soil accumulation of N also played a minor role, leaving denitrification as the likely process responsible for the majority of system N processing. Based on a literature review, macrophyte species composition likely influences denitrification through oxygen diffusion into soils and through the quality and quantity of carbon in leaf litter. While this study and the literature indicates Typha spp. may be the best species to promote wetland N processing, other considerations (e.g., bird habitat) and conditions (e.g., type of wastewater being treated) likely make mixed stands of macrophytes preferable in many applications. Additionally, this study demonstrated the importance of urban wetlands as scientific laboratories for scientists of all ages and as excellent stepping-off points for experiments of science-policy discourse.
ContributorsWeller, Nicholas Anton (Author) / Daniel L., Childers (Thesis director) / Grimm, Nancy (Committee member) / Turnbull, Laura (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Graduate College (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The rise in urban populations is encouraging cities to pursue sustainable water treatment services implementing constructed treatment wetlands (CTW). This is especially important in arid climates where water resources are scarce; however, research regarding aridland CTWs is limited. The Tres Rios CTW in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, presents the tradeoff between greater water loss and enhanced nitrogen (N) removal. Previous research has suggested that water loss due to transpiration is replaced by a phenomenon termed the Biological Tide. This trend has been documented since 2011 by combining transpiration values with a nitrogen budget. Calculations were made at both the marsh and whole-system scale. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the Biological Tide enhances N uptake throughout the CTW. Results indicate that about half of the nitrogen taken up by the vegetated marsh is associated with new water entering the marsh via the Biological Tide with even higher values during warmer months. Furthermore, it is this phenomenon that enhances N uptake throughout the year, on average, by 25.9% for nitrite, 9.54% for nitrate, and 4.84% for ammonium at the whole-system scale and 95.5%, 147%, and 118% within the marsh. This paper demonstrates the Biological Tide’s significant impact on enhanced N removal in an aridland CTW.
ContributorsTreese, Sawyer Matthew (Author) / Childers, Daniel L. (Thesis director) / Grimm, Nancy (Committee member) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05