Summary of legislative bill activity (Exclusive of budget bills):
| INTRODUCED HOUSE |
INTRODUCED SENATE |
INTRODUCED TOTAL |
TRACKING BY PEOPLES LOBBYISTS |
REACTED TO BY PEOPLES LOBBYISTS |
| 1,027 | 775 | 1,802 | 482 | 146 |
Our 6th year, 7th week.
This week was rather subdued when it came to legislative activity. One may say that it was the calm between two storms. Last week there was a mad rush to hear bills in the committees of their original chamber, to beat the February 21 deadline. Next week there will be another mad rush. This time it will be to clear as many bills as possible from the original chamber and send them to the other chamber so that they may be scheduled for committee actions in the new chamber. Among the bills we are tracking, three deserve comment because of their high significance.
HB2683 – businesses; requirement to accept cash This bill applies to transactions of goods and services with an aggregate value of $100 or less. It requires that businesses accept cash for these transactions and prohibits them from charging a fee for accepting cash. This bill is important because cash transactions are the only transactions that can be made without leaving a whole lot of information about the customer. It is mainly a private issue. The only flaw in this bill is that the limit is only $100. It should be much higher.
SB1067 – community college districts; tax rate This bill was Strike-Everything amended. Now it appropriates $2,000,000 from the state General Fund (state GF) in FY 2026 to the Auditor General (OAG) for software to be used to conduct audits of state agencies and school districts. Considering the irresponsible behavior of some state agencies and school districts, this will be well-spent money.
SCR1003 – compensation; elective state officers; inflation A salary increase for legislators is introduced in almost every session, but this one is a bit different. Unlike the typical salary increase proposal, this one does not call for a specific amount. Instead, it calls for an ongoing, annual adjustment based on the consumer price index. Considering that salaries for legislators have been rather low, giving them a cost-of-living adjustment may be justified.
HERE IS THE LIST OF ALL THE TRACKED BILLS THAT SAW ACTION THIS WEEK
Next week, legislative activity will be dominated by issues that are most important to Arizona citizens, among them energy, elections, and discrimination. Here is a sample:
HB2738 – electric utility customers; carbon reduction When electric utility companies move to “green” and “renewable” energy sources, it is inevitable that shortages and blackouts will happen. This bill enables customers that are affected by this to seek other, more reliable providers.
HB2631 – election procedures manual; legislative approval It shifts the duty of approving the EPM from the attorney general to members of the legislature. This is a very important balance-of-power bill. Since the secretary of state, who is part of the executive branch, creates the manual, a health balance-of-power environment dictates that the manual be approved by the legislature.
HB2868 – preferential treatment; discrimination; policies / SB1584 – public employees; merit; hiring practices Both bills are aimed at terminating the practice of hiring or advancing employees based on factors other than their ability to do the job.
LIST OF ALL TRACKED BILLS SCHEDULED FOR ACTION NEXT WEEK