Arizona Legislature Week In Review – Week Ending Feb 02, 2025

arizona house

This third week of the legislative session provided a good amount of interesting activity. Some of it was good, some bad, but all entertaining.

The event that attracted the most attention this week was the resignation of Sarah Brown, director of the governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting. Her last day on the job will be February 12. Under most circumstances, the resignation of the governor’s top budget official during key budget negotiations would be quite disruptive and unwelcomed. However, those who suffered through one or more of her presentations in legislative committee hearings will likely agree that this is a resignation that was considerably overdue. She has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of knowledge about the budget process. The latest snafu coming out of her office was this year’s governor’s budget, which was nt balanced, except by omitting some mandatory expenses.

Among the bills that AZ Peoples Lobbyist is tracking, 38 were scheduled for hearings this week. Of those bills 33 passed, mostly along party lines. None failed, but 5 were postponed. Here are some highlights:

SB1128 – air quality; causation; state boundaries This bill is aimed at correcting a major problem with the way the federal government deals with pollution in Arizona. Our state has been saddled with standards that cannot be met because of two reasons. First, the standards keep on shifting. Once we meet a level of pollution control, the bar is raised. Second, we are being penalized because of pollution that is being produced outside Arizona and as such, out of our control. This bill passed 5-3, along party lines.

SB1058 – retirement; reemployment; school resource officers A very important challenge for schools is hiring school resource officers (SRO’s) because the pool of potential candidates has been dwindling. SB1058 aims to increase that pool by waiving the requirement that retirees forfeit some benefits if they are hired as SRO’s. This bill passed 6-1. The only NO vote came from Senator Hoffman. .

HB2227 – bond; override; contributions; contracts; prohibition This bill prohibits contractors from bidding on school projects that are funded by bond issues or overrides if they contributed to the campaign to pass the bond issue or override. This is as clear a case of conflict-of-interest prevention as any, yet it has failed every time a bill with this provision is introduced. This time it was held. It is very likely that it will be scheduled again soon.

Here is the list of the tracked bills that saw action this week.

BILL # and SHORT TITLE COMMITTEE OR FLOOR ACTION TAKEN RESULT
HB2001 – behavioral health; temporary licensure; graduates House Health & Human Services PASSED
HB2221 – law enforcement; defunding; prohibition House Public Safety & Law Enforcement PASSED
SB1058 – retirement; reemployment; school resource officers Senate Finance PASSED
SB1066 – foreign entities; land; legislative approval Senate Federalism PASSED
SB1068 – federal government; land acquisition; consent Senate Federalism PASSED
SB1069 – personal property exemption; increase Senate Finance PASSED
HB2056 – geoengineering; prohibition House Regulatory Oversight PASSED
HB2058 – school immunizations; exemption; adult students House Education HELD
HB2172 – parent training; schools; K-8 students House Education PASSED
SB1083 – appropriation; university of Arizona; agriculture Senate Appropriations PASSED
SB1119 – residential utilities; consumer office; definition Senate Natural Resources PASSED
SB1128 – air quality; causation; state boundaries Senate Natural Resources PASSED
HB2004 – voter registration cards; mailing limitation House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections PASSED
HB2005 – voter registrations; recorder; inactive status House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections HELD
HB2030 – impersonation; veteran; armed forces House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections PASSED
HB2099 – governor; attorney general; duties; immigration House Government PASSED
HB2227 – bond; override; contributions; contracts; prohibition House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections HELD
HB2276 – legislative ratification; rulemaking; regulatory costs House Government NO ACTION TAKEN
HB2515 – truth in taxation; bonds; notices House Ways & Means PASSED
HB2673 – early ballots; deadlines; foreign money House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections PASSED
HCR2013 – early ballots; deadlines; foreign money House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections PASSED
SB1002 – pronouns; biological sex; school policies Senate Education PASSED
SB1003 – public schools; restrooms; reasonable accommodations Senate Education PASSED
SB1014 – prohibited weapons; muffling device; repeal Senate Judiciary and Elections PASSED
SB1020 – disruption; educational institution; concealed weapon Senate Judiciary and Elections PASSED
SB1038 – aggravated assault; commission; certain officials Senate Judiciary and Elections HELD
SB1064 – voting; equipment; internet; custody; violation Senate Judiciary and Elections PASSED
SB1086 – transportation system performance; ADOT Senate Public Safety PASSED
SB1090 – schools; libraries; explicit materials; classification Senate Education PASSED
SB1091 – school districts; bonds; overrides; ballots Senate Education PASSED
SB1092 – vehicle mileage; tracking; tax; prohibitions Senate Government PASSED
SB1094 – business; discrimination prohibition; social criteria Senate Government PASSED
SB1099 – sexually explicit materials; government; prohibition Senate Government PASSED
SB1123 – watermark; paper ballots Senate Judiciary and Elections PASSED
SB1133 – history of communism; instruction requirement Senate Education PASSED
SB1142 – elections; foreign contributions; prohibition Senate Judiciary and Elections PASSED
SB1143 – firearms transactions; merchant codes; prohibition Senate Public Safety PASSED
SCR1004 – prohibit tax; monitoring; vehicle mileage Senate Government PASSED

Next week promises to be another interesting and exciting week, because many of the bills scheduled for hearings are quite controversial.

BILL # and SHORT TITLE UPCOMING COMMITTEE HEARING OR FLOOR ACTION
HB2703 – early voting; tabulation; ballot deadlines House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections
HB2109 – forced organ harvesting; insurance; prohibition House Health & Human Services
HB2133 – nurses; provisional licensure House Health & Human Services
HB2146 – Arizona border coordination office; appropriation House Public Safety & Law Enforcement
SB1007 – public school tax credit; purposes Senate Finance
SCR1009 – revenue increases; administrative fee authorization Senate Finance
SB1109 – designated countries; land ownership; prohibition Senate Military Affairs and Border Security
SB1164 – immigration laws; local enforcement Senate Military Affairs and Border Security
SB1268 – hospitals; patient immigration status; reporting Senate Military Affairs and Border Security
HB2058 – school immunizations; exemption; adult students House Education
HB2063 – parental notification; school immunization exemptions House Education
HB2434 – emergency response plans; charter schools House Education
HB2663 – classroom management; students; temporary removal House Education
HB2527 – corporation commission; electricity; reliability; management House Natural Resources, Energy & Water
HCR2038 – rulemaking; legislative ratification; regulatory costs House Regulatory Oversight
HB2440 – attorney general; election certification; prohibition House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections
HB2448 – voting locations; emergency designation; electioneering House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections
HB2521 – elections; foreign money House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections
SB1256 – diversity; equity; inclusion; training; prohibition Senate Government
SCR1008 – municipalities; counties; vote; fee increases Senate Government
SB1271 – ballots; count; identification number; appropriation Senate Judiciary and Elections