The AZ legislature is on break again: Here’s why

Republican lawmakers are lengthening their summer vacation after a failed attempt to curb transportation funding for Maricopa County sent them back to the drawing board. 

The extension of Prop. 400 was at the top of the legislative to-do list this week when lawmakers reconvened for two days following their fourth break of the session. First approved by voters in 1985, the half-cent sales tax has been used to fund myriad transportation projects, including light rail, State Route 51, State Route 24 and Loops 101, 202 and 303. But its funding expires in two years and legislative permission is required before Maricopa County voters can be asked to extend it, due to a law passed in 1999 by irate lawmakers who wanted more control over public transit spending in the county. 

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On Tuesday, Republicans, who hold a one vote majority in each legislative chamber, approved a deal they’d hammered out amongst themselves. Previous negotiations between the governor’s office, city officials and GOP leadership fell apart. Instead, lawmakers sent Hobbs a bill full of conservative goals, chief among them blocking any further light rail expansion and preempting future bans on gas-operated vehicles. A plan approved by voters in 2004 to add light rail routes around the state Capitol that drew particular criticism from Republicans was also axed. 

Hobbs, in a post on Twitter, immediately vowed to veto the measure. Having failed to make any headway, lawmakers are set to return to work on July 31, with the issue of Prop. 400 still on the agenda. 

In years past, the legislature was quick to close up shop after passing a state budget, this year’s version of which was finalized in early May. But this session has been marked by chafing over legislative responsibilities like Prop. 400 as the Republican majority legislature grapples with a Democratic governor. And Republican lawmakers are eager to keep the session open to thwart Hobbs’ ability to appoint agency heads. 

“We’re coming back July 31st to give the nominations committee time to do the rest of the governor’s nominees, and also take care of Prop. 400,” Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, told the Arizona Mirror. 

Nominations, usually not much more than a formality, have become an acrimonious process with Hobbs in office. The state Senate is charged with approving agency heads after the governor has nominated candidates, who in previous administrations underwent brief interviews from relevant legislative committees with little fanfare. This year, Republican Senate President Warren Petersen created a panel to vet candidates, headed by the leader of the legislature’s far-right Freedom Caucus, Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek. As a result, interviews have mirrored the hours-long interrogations carried out at the federal level, with a number of candidates rejected or put on hold for partisan reasons, such as pro-masking policies or pro-choice stances

It’s unclear how long GOP leadership intends to keep the session running, but the top priority for lawmakers when they return on July 31 is reaching a compromise on Prop. 400. 

Kavanagh told the Mirror that curtailing light rail and focusing on road development for Arizona drivers is key for Republicans. 

“This is about increasing roads so people can get around,” he said. 

Democrats, however, disagree. Minority Leader Mitzi Epstein advocated for increased funding for mass transit. 

“Public transit is a more cost effective and efficient way to move people,” she said. “We really need a Prop. 400 bill that recognizes the importance of public transit and the one (Republicans) passed is not.” 

If the legislature can’t come to an agreement on approving a Prop. 400 extension, city mayors have already voiced an intention to put the issue on the 2024 ballot. Unlike the transportation-tax election they’re asking lawmakers to allow, however, putting the question on the 2024 ballot would face greater obstacles. A legislatively referred election would go only to Maricopa County voters, while a ballot question could be thwarted by voters who don’t live in the county at all. And a law passed last year by the GOP majority requires tax related ballot initiatives to garner 60% of voters in support, instead of just a simple majority. 

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