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Military Affairs Commission

The diverse network of federal military facilities located in Arizona provides the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) with unequaled access to high-quality, weather friendly, cost-effective training for American Armed Forces. More significantly, this network comprises an integrated array of bases, testing and training facilities, ranges, and airspace that operate within a physical environment that is uniquely suited to their individual and combined mission objectives and to the nation’s evolving defense posture. In short, Arizona provides DoD with unparalleled resources.

Since the late 1970s, the State of Arizona has been fully committed to and has taken significant steps toward ensuring DoD’s long-term partnership in Arizona.  In December 2003, the Governors Military Facilities Task Force put forth twenty-seven recommendations to ensure long-term retention of the State’s military facilities so that they may continue to perform their vital national defense functions and maintain their critical role in the Arizona economy.  On May 17, 2004, the Governor signed HB 2140, a comprehensive military bill that included a number of the recommendations of the Task Force, including the establishment of the Military Affairs Commission (MAC) and the Military Installation Fund (MIF).  In 2014, Governor Brewer issued Executive Order 2014-02 entitled Sustainment of Arizona's Military Installations that reinforces the Military Affairs Commission's mission and commitment to support the military in Arizona.

Purpose

The Military Affairs Commission (MAC) serves a critical mission in the State of Arizona to ensure that the missions of federal military installations located in Arizona are protected and can meet any future need that this country faces.  To accomplish this mission, the MAC monitors and makes recommendations on executive, legislative and federal actions necessary to sustain and grow Arizona’s network of military installations, training and testing ranges and associated airspace. Through the MAC, Arizona is able to keep issues impacting federal military installations in the forefront, balancing private property rights with insuring that state and local policy positions maintain and enhance military missions at the installation. Included within the jurisdiction of the MAC is the Military Installation Fund (MIF), the purpose of which is to ensure that private property rights are addressed as efforts are made to maintain and enhance military missions at the military installations located within Arizona.

The specific responsibilities of the MAC are to advise the Executive and Legislative Branches on pertinent issues relating to the military and installations throughout Arizona, to protect the ongoing strategic missions of federal military installations located within Arizona, and to prioritize property applications as part of the administration of the MIF.  MAC Membership is comprised of 18 appointed Commissioners representing expertise in military affairs, local elected officials, and private property interests; as well as four Advisory members comprised of the Arizona Adjutant General, the Arizona State Land Commissioner, a federal land use agency, and a military installation commander. MAC members can be viewed here.

Economic Impact of Arizona’s Principal Military Operations

In addition to the capabilities Arizona provides to our national defense, Arizona’s military operations are increasingly important to the state’s economy.  They create and support tens of thousands of jobs and generate nearly $11.5 billion in economic impact to our state economy, according to a recent study that details the economic contributions of Arizona’s major military installations.  Arizona has increasingly looked at the economic impact of the military, beginning first with the City of Glendale and other political subdivisions and then subsequent state sponsorship of the studies through the Military Affairs Commission and Arizona Commerce Authority.  The studies have looked at the impact of the facilities themselves, as well as other economic activity that is generated by their presence.

The study included ten military installations in Arizona, the six major Active Duty installations: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Fort Huachuca, Luke Air Force Base, Marine Corps Air Station - Yuma, Yuma Proving Grounds, and U.S. Naval Observatory - Flagstaff Station, as well as the four National Guard facilities in central and southern Arizona.

Click here to download the Military Economic Impact Study.

Purpose

The Military Installation Fund (MIF) was established to allocate monies as stipulated by ARS §26-262 in order to acquire private property, real estate, rights to real estate, property management, and infrastructure that is vital to the preservation of a military installation. Eighty (80) percent of fund awards shall be distributed as listed above, and specifically for purchase of, and projects on, private property owners, with the remaining twenty (20) percent awarded to cities, towns and counties for property enhancements, capital and infrastructure improvement projects, renovations, and management of property that is considered critical to the continued success of military installations.
 

*The Military Installation Fund is not accepting applications at this time.

 

Introduction

Arizona’s military facilities and operations should be treated as an industry that is a cornerstone of the state economy. The 2008 Maguire study on the Economic Impact of Arizona’s Principal Military Operations states that total employment impact equaled 96,328 jobs and the total economic output for Arizona’s military industry is over $9.12 billion for Tax Year 2008. The stable nature and high-pay-scale value of military jobs make them a fundamentally critical to the state economy. Recognizing the military industry as a separate economic cluster in Arizona is critical to the efforts to educate the public about its importance to the fiscal health of Arizona.

Arizona has provided tools to local jurisdictions to support the long-term mission sustainability and economic health of military facilities. Cities, counties, and towns should consider the following innovative approaches to preserve residential quality of life and ensure compatible land uses: 

  • Work with active military airports to establish noise and impact contours, as well as expanded approach/departure corridors; 
  • Utilize the Graduated Development Concept to graduate densities away from the high-noise contour areas and APZs; 
  • Incentivize developers to reduce intensity and density in areas that are mission critical; 
  • Purchase lands around military facilities that are most affected by safety and noise considerations and leasing them back to farmers for agricultural use; and 
  • Establish relationships with existing military facilities in order to raise awareness of environmental and growth issues, while minimizing impact to residents. 

In addition to these tools, the State of Arizona also created the Military Installation Fund.

Background

In December 2003, the Governor’s Military Facilities Task Force recommended twenty-seven actions to ensure the long-term retention and health of Arizona’s military installations and facilities – one of which was the Military Installation Fund. Receiving the first state appropriation in 2004, the core mission of the Military Installation Fund is to initiate projects and/or acquire lands and property directly impacted by the function of Arizona’s military installations in an effort to preserve the operational jurisdiction of the facility and protect residents from encroachment and negative environmental impacts.

The stability of employment and tax revenues produced by the Arizona military industry is indispensable to the fiscal health of the state. The long-term retention of Arizona’s network of military facilities and the sustainability of their missions are thus vital to the security of the nation and the strength of the state economy. Through the operation of the Military Installation Fund, Arizona is working to protect the equilibrium between military operational mission success, local economic health, and residential protection.

 

*The Military Installation Fund is not accepting applications at this time.

Click here to view the results of the 2015 Round of the Military Installation Fund. 

Arizona is home to several United States military airports and installations including Luke Air Force Base, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Yuma Proving Grounds and Yuma Marine Air Corps Station, Fort Huachuca, and the Barry M. Goldwater Range Complex in southwestern Arizona as well as several auxiliary fields. As issues of growth and development have moved to the forefront in many parts of Arizona, the bases and jurisdictions in which they are located are playing key roles in the dialogue.  Each military facility in Arizona has a mission to carry out in support of the nation’s defense. However, the sustainability of the installation to carry out its mission depends not only on the ability to maintain its own capabilities, but also on its linkages with a network of other facilities and installations in the state. Arizona has endeavored to provide the tools to address land use conflicts that might impact the ability of each base to conduct its mission.

The Arizona Military Regional Compatibility Project was conceived as a proactive endeavor to convene the stakeholders around each installation – the relevant jurisdictions, base personnel, landowners, and other interested parties – to address land use compatibility issues. The Compatibility Project is the result of legislation passed in 2001 (Senate Bill 1120) that appropriated funds to develop comprehensive land use plans in the noise and accident potential zones surrounding active military airports.  The project has grown now to include support and funding from the United States Department of Defense, Office of Economic Adjustment.

The Arizona Military Regional Compatibility Project Policy Guidebook can be downloaded here.

 

Completed Joint Land Use Studies:

 

Military and Restricted Airspace Maps

Information on territory located within the vicinity of a military airport can be found at the Arizona Department of Real Estate.

 

Other initiatives related to Arizona military facilities:

Senate Bill 1525 – This legislation was passed in 2001 to provide for open and effective communication between military bases, jurisdictions, developers, and the public so that safe and responsible planning could occur on lands in the vicinity of active military airports. Key provisions of the bill include enhanced notification and disclosure requirements for rezonings or new development proposals; noise attenuation requirements within noise contours; and definitions of High Noise and Accident Potential Zones. For more information on the bill and to view Arizona’s Revised Statutes visit www.azleg.gov.

Economic Impact of Arizona’s Principal Military Operations – This study was commissioned by the communities of Glendale, Avondale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Peoria, Phoenix, Surprise, Tucson, Wickenburg, and Yuma to document the economic impact of Arizona’s active military facilities, and was completed by The Maguire Company in collaboration with ESI Corporation. Released in May 2002, the study concluded that the military industry’s economic and fiscal impacts are substantial and represent a key component of the state’s economy. The State of Arizona sponsored the updating of the report in 2008 and 2017. Click here to download the latest Military Economic Impact Study.

Senate Bill 1393 – This bill was signed by Governor Jane Dee Hull in May 2002. This bill requires school districts in certain areas to adopt and enforce school district development plans for property that is located in High Noise or Accident Potential Zones of a military airport. For more information on the bill and to view Arizona’s Revised Statutes visit www.azleg.gov.