[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6242548,"mediaKeyId","3247382-d5b5dafb6f6e1cd72a376345ba3b6e9e","parentId",3247382,"title","State Land nominee outlines audit response, staffing and tech plans to clear backlogs","audioSeconds",2232,"startMs",747000,"endMs",2979000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3247382-d5b5dafb6f6e1cd72a376345ba3b6e9e&start=747&end=2979","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3247382-d5b5dafb6f6e1cd72a376345ba3b6e9e/thumbnail_747000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6242548/Arizona/State-Land-nominee-outlines-audit-response-staffing-and-tech-plans-to-clear-backlogs","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6242548-093899341580cbc2a0b117e6aaacfd2c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770852551&Signature=RVKpRNs4AXCSbYx8yNEq3PqWagEpqGQ5IkIisual~Fc2SS3uqYFLawgqY1GhmkZTrTD3A68jHFulucbapcQO7Io-OfCzIa2tq030~wfa5U6ZXK5TrE-AbRR5bpdhS0SOVmCUCUv3Xp5ehe015s49RmmSyQWrKZAKjQwLdZs6b0LMEhvkmiBJ3ZrRAuTJqfZYlEd1ap1k~nXWoy2YC2BzPfezahZU~OqSwC348B-5FqMdc9OFdixrA6zHbk2L-43TrZ1VPRy2i-cs-sXeHqUpwcObKJAgaCZh6iZcVxcXGawhLqzgLT~wyDwevGxLpylhtFSI9XmmOh1MJGLi2bZlWA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Arizona Legislature","date","2025-05-08T00:00:00Z","article","At her confirmation hearing, Robin Sahid, nominee for commissioner of the Arizona State Land Department, described steps the department has taken in response to a February 2024 Auditor General special audit of agricultural operations and the department's broader reform plans.

Sahid told senators the audit produced eight recommendations; the department concurred with the findings and is working to implement them. \"We concurred with all the audit recommendations… we are still, currently in process of addressing six of those eight,\" Sahid said. She described most open items as internal procedural reforms and two recommendations as outward-facing: updating agricultural rental rates and ensuring lessee compliance with efficient water use.

To address rates, the department has contracted a consultant to perform a market-rent study and planned outreach to ag lessees for input. On water-use compliance, Sahid said the department is seeking subject-matter input from the agricultural community to design practicable approaches.

Sahid also told senators the department cleared a decade-long backlog of reviewing agency rules in a matter of months and eliminated roughly 10% of rules to increase transparency. She said the department is \"completely revamping our minerals program\" with stakeholder input and referred to a Kaizen process to streamline minerals permitting and processes that may require statutory cleanup.

On staffing and technology, Sahid said the department has about 100 employees on any given day, with about one-third eligible to retire in the next five years, and that succession planning and written procedures are priorities. She said the department is evaluating off‑the‑shelf technologies, including satellite monitoring for agricultural leases and third-party insurance‑management software to reduce staff time spent processing insurance instruments.

Sahid said these efforts are intended to improve application-processing times, make auctions and leases more predictable and position the department to better manage non‑urban trust lands. Committee members asked for updates and documents on specific property matters, and Sahid agreed to provide requested materials.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","05/08/2025 - Senate Director Nominations","oneSentenceSummary","Robin Sahid told senators she has implemented procedural reforms after a February 2024 Auditor General report, is conducting a market rent study for agricultural leases, is revamping the minerals program and is assessing staffing and technology needs including insurance-management software and remote monitoring for non‑urban lands.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature Arizona, Arizona","taxId",78572,"location","Arizona","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6242553,"Committee presses State Land nominee over canceled Scottsdale auction tied to Coyotes plan",566,2231000,2797000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3247382-d5b5dafb6f6e1cd72a376345ba3b6e9e&start=2231&end=2797","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3247382-d5b5dafb6f6e1cd72a376345ba3b6e9e/thumbnail_2231000.jpg","/articles/6242553/Arizona/Committee-presses-State-Land-nominee-over-canceled-Scottsdale-auction-tied-to-Coyotes-plan","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6242553-23cb31e29f6f90e27e881e018676687f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770852551&Signature=LENggiONTzzv07T3XIdN5KBJddN3TBgHmwA-U2dKHtXE3cNR-29waJps28p4T0BNbVmF~qkaCy2~k9lbxqrdrcKLRd3KL~2vxHIeci8q7GxrKCZxg5I4AGMWjKgP1Ss2JbPFHWTCjIDh1~22bRTThG9TbyxSdEFHCb6afOCsyXSG5HY6-pmqdDlF2GIEo0yqSI-xx7emX2LtnF3KZySnpvmINj3kt7ztldmyHRKf6m6omAq7wmKc9872q~9vo3EkzIlgqjgR-Oj0AqdofrIWOn0r2p8nLBQhjw~ZuZCdw-hBkmfxMZn6NLrpJfweYj8jiDlYpR~OrS0UqeZSaAopkw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senators on the Arizona State Senate Committee on Director Nominations pressed Robin Sahid over the department's decision to cancel a 2024 auction of a prime parcel near Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road that had drawn public attention because the Arizona Coyotes had expressed interest.

Chairman Jake Hoffman asked why the department canceled the auction roughly a week before it was scheduled and whether the move reduced proceeds to the state trust. Sahid told the committee the department paused because the potential developer (the Coyotes organization) did not have a required special use permit from the city to build an arena and because of uncertainties tied to infrastructure — notably a wash on the site that department staff said may require channelization to lift surrounding land out of the flood zone. \"We had posted the auction and then we got news that they had either sold the team or they had… that was news to us and then we heard that they would need a special use permit,\" Sahid said.

Senators pushed back on the special-use-permit explanation. Senator Hopkins and others noted municipal practice often requires ownership or a development right before a jurisdiction issues a special use permit and questioned why the department required the Coyotes to obtain such a permit before auction. Committee members highlighted the fiscal consequences: committee discussion cited that the parcel was later relisted as part of a 217-acre offering with a new minimum bid of $110,000,000 (about $507,000 per acre), down from an earlier per-acre figure discussed in committee of roughly $720,000 per acre for a smaller portion of the site. Members calculated that the change on the approximately 95‑acre portion previously in play could represent about a $19 million difference in proceeds if the earlier price had been realized.

Sahid said the department negotiated additional commitments tied to channelizing the wash and that an expected developer contribution toward the wash (discussed as roughly $30,000,000 in the hearing) would benefit the broader trust land holdings in the area; she said those factors altered the department's calculus. \"There is another factor here in that wash because… the successful auction winner will have to front somebody to help us with the construction of that wash, which will then increase the value of the rest of the state trust land in that area,\" Sahid said.

Senators asked Sahid to provide the committee with the appraisal reports and documentation used in negotiation. Hoffman requested the appraisal information so members could better understand the delta between appraisals and the negotiated figure Sahid said the department requested.

No formal action on the auction was taken by the committee; the issue was raised as part of the nominee's confirmation hearing and will remain an item of concern to several committee members.","Senators questioned State Land Department nominee Robin Sahid about the department's decision to cancel a high‑profile auction tied to the Arizona Coyotes and later relist a larger parcel at a lower per‑acre opening price, asking whether the cancellation reduced trust revenues.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6242558,"Senate committee recommends Robin Sahid to lead Arizona State Land Department",5729,126000,5855000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3247382-d5b5dafb6f6e1cd72a376345ba3b6e9e&start=126&end=5855","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3247382-d5b5dafb6f6e1cd72a376345ba3b6e9e/thumbnail_126000.jpg","/articles/6242558/Arizona/Senate-committee-recommends-Robin-Sahid-to-lead-Arizona-State-Land-Department","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6242558-9c66dea637626f38cde6f7f742ad63f3/orig.mp4?Expires=1770852551&Signature=nwjVpBY3Of1hMHpXgMuxmkCxobxdYC4ORmopfVpCU30IVid8bFiZ~wx1JHZQBvzvBL84GR0oFgbIFFt7mCQgJZ9jGQQU3CEpynQFkaBldgu5JWFf2K0xjo5FNDKKoolyl6-u-SiPgEg7Yc0lsf9gH3TueghuOJB1w4Jnem3ydgkZv-XkrxnFC15DGm~nXTNRy6VK3VT8iZcCjW~JAPPaQG9OMd66nrxqCI9qHNekgUpY7kF8KAFo401BXtwwVsHryYu83kwY7ueW3XrhKZZU6NhbKVEGXN8R4v-BqJbjqVCvDHdnsnelaCAXC-p282E2bQpiejRSTgI-8QsE8Ebw-A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Arizona State Senate Committee on Director Nominations recommended the confirmation of Robin Sahid as commissioner of the Arizona State Land Department after a confirmation hearing in which lawmakers questioned her management priorities and past agency decisions and heard her outline reforms.

Sahid, who has served in the department for about two years, told the committee she has focused on customer service, efficiency and transparency and said the department cleared a decade-long backlog of internal rule reviews and eliminated roughly 10% of the agency's rules. \"We have a new vision for the department, and it's simple: to become a model agency for modern times,\" Sahid said during her opening statement.

The committee chair, Senator Jake Hoffman, opened the hearing by describing the confirmation process as the statutory check on executive authority under ARS 38-211 and said nominees must demonstrate they will \"faithfully execute the laws of this state.\" Hoffman asked Sahid to affirm she would answer committee questions directly; Sahid replied in the affirmative.

Committee members questioned Sahid about vetting and hiring, the governor's role in her selection and how she would balance long-term trust stewardship with generating revenue for beneficiaries such as K-12 public education. Sahid described her vetting as interviews with a transition committee member and later the governor and staff; she said the governor's office did not direct daily operations: \"Day to day, I don't hear from them,\" she said.

Sahid described priorities she said she has pursued since taking the role: clearing the rule-review backlog, reducing application-processing delays, launching a market-rent study for agricultural leases and revamping the minerals program with stakeholder input. She told senators the department manages roughly 9,200,000 acres of state trust land and that the largest trust beneficiary is K-12 public education.

After public testimony was opened and no adversarial witnesses appeared, the committee's vice chair moved to recommend Sahid for confirmation. The committee recorded five ayes, zero nays and recommended confirmation to the full Senate.

The committee approved minutes of the April 24, 2025 meeting earlier in the session. The recommendation now goes to the full Arizona Senate for a confirmation vote.","The Arizona State Senate Committee on Director Nominations voted 5-0 to recommend the confirmation of Robin Sahid as commissioner of the Arizona State Land Department after a hearing that examined her background, agency reforms and management priorities.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

State Land nominee outlines audit response, staffing and tech plans to clear backlogs

Committee presses State Land nominee over canceled Scottsdale auction tied to Coyotes plan

Senate committee recommends Robin Sahid to lead Arizona State Land Department