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Legislative OverviewActivity in committee and the floor picked up this week as legislators finished their third week of session. To date, 943 bills and 64 resolutions and memorials have been introduced. There is still only one bill signed, HB 2064, graduation requirement; civics test.Residential RentalThe House Ways and Means Committee will be considering HB 2254 (municipal tax exemption; residential lease) Monday afternoon. Sponsored by Representative Darin Mitchel (R-Litchfield Park), this bill prohibits municipalities from imposing a residential rental tax and requires those that already have this tax to reduce the rate by 25% each year until the rate is zero. This will be a tremendous revenue loss to many of our cities and towns, with a local budget impact of more than $87 million. We encourage you to register your strong opposition to the bill, both in committee and with your legislative delegation.License AccountabilityThe House Judiciary Committee approved HB 2212 (licensing; accountability; enforcement; exceeding regulation) with a 5-1 vote. Current law prohibits municipalities from basing licensing decisions in whole or in part on licensing requirements not specifically authorized by statute, rule, ordinance, or code. This bill, sponsored by Representative Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert), expressly states that violating this statute can be enforced by private civil action and requires that the language of this section of statute to be printed on license applications. The sponsor agreed to amend the bill to address the League's concerns about opening the door to frivolous lawsuits.Alarm InstallersHB 2504 (board of technical registration; alarms), removes alarm installers from the Board of Technical Registration and also eliminates the requirement for alarm installers to have criminal background checks. The League opposed the bill and believes that alarm installers should be fingerprinted and checked for serious crimes before being allowed access to citizens' homes. The bill passed the House Commerce Committee by a vote of 6-2. The sponsor Rep. Warren Peterson (R - Gilbert) did say he would be willing to amend the bill to return some level of criminal background checks for the installers. The bill now proceeds to the Rules Committee.Inclusionary ZoningOn Wednesday, the Senate Government Committee passed SB 1072 (local planning; residential housing; prohibitions) by a vote of 4-2. Sponsored by Sen. Steve Smith (R - Maricopa), the bill prevents cities and town from requiring developers to set aside a portion of their new apartments as low income housing. The League opposed the bill as there are no current municipalities that do this and there are current state laws that prohibit rent control and regulatory takings. SB 1072 now goes to the Rules Committee.Waste ManagementSB 1079 (solid waste collection; multifamily housing) passed the Senate Government Committee on Wednesday by a vote of 5-1. The bill, sponsored by Senator Gail Griffin (R - Hereford), seeks to treat multi-family housing the same as commercial properties, therefore allowing private waste haulers the ability to provide service without having to serve single family homes in the same area. The League opposed the measure based on the need to ensure proper service provision and not require the municipalities to be the provider of last resort. The proponents of the bill did state that they would be willing to work on some of the League's concerns. The bill now moves on to the Rules Committee.Legislative Bill Monitoring(All bills being actively monitored by the League can be found here.)HB 2212: licensing; accountability; enforcement; exceeding regulation HB 2504: board of technical registration; alarms SB 1072: local planning; residential housing; prohibitions SB 1079: solid waste collection; multifamily housing |
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Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Forward your comments or suggestions to league@azleague.org. |
