Legislative Update: A Busy Start at the Capitol

Monthly update from - Brian Tassinari, AMC's Legislative Representative.

Just six weeks into session, we have seen a remarkable onslaught of bills being introduced. For the 25 years I have been a lobbyist, every House bills started with a ‘2’ as in HB2001 and every Senate bill started with a ‘1’ as in SB1001. But for the first time ever, the legislature has run out of ‘1’s’ and ‘2’s’ and had to move the ‘3’s’ and ‘4’s’.  This logjam of ideas, some good and many not so good, has resulted in long nights at the capitol as House and Senate committees grind through hearings. 

But for the next week, committee hearings are on pause as the both the House and Senate work through this enormous logjam of bills coming out of committee.  They must be considered on the House and Senate floor by the entire body before they can cross over to the other chamber – when the whole process starts over again.

The most consequential issue taken up each year by the legislature is the state budget.  And this year, the news is not good.  Typically the state aligns itself with federal tax law changes to simplify accounting for personal and business taxes.  This year, the legislature sent a bill to Governor Hobbs to conform out laws to federal changes in the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’  The governor vetoed that bill. She prefers not to include the business tax breaks from the federal legislation, which would amount to $100 million in tax savings for Arizona businesses if they were to be implemented.

In addition to tax conformity, another legislative priority for AMC is H1241 municipalities; counties; private permitting providers. The proposed bill would update current statutes by allowing property owners or their contractors to utilize private permitting providers for building plan reviews and inspections for single-trade residential construction projects without requiring approval from municipalities or counties. This change is marked by the insertion of new provisions that mandate private permitting providers to issue private permits and certificates of completion, which must be submitted to the relevant municipality or county within 48 hours. Municipalities and counties would be required to accept and track these private documents in the same manner as their own, and they would be prohibited from imposing additional fees related to the review or processing of these private permits.

Finally, our meet and greet with Gubernatorial candidate Andy Biggs, which was scheduled for February 26 has had to be rescheduled.  Once a new date is selected, we will send out invitations to attend.