Arizona lawmakers will return to work Monday to consider whether a $15 billion transportation funding tax gets on Maricopa County’s ballot in November 2024. But it is unclear whether Republican legislative leaders have enough support to pass a compromise bill they negotiated with Gov. Katie Hobbs over the last several weeks.
House Speaker Ben Toma announced last week that his chamber’s 60 legislators will consider Senate Bill 1102 when they return from vacation on July 31. The bill allows Maricopa County voters to decide whether to keep a current transportation excise tax, commonly referred to as Prop 400, in effect for another 20 years.
The tax is currently set to expire at the end of 2025.
But to get on Maricopa County’s 2024 ballot, SB1102 must pass the House, the Senate, and then get signed by Hobbs.
And to do so may require a lot of votes from Democratic lawmakers, as several Republicans oppose language in SB1102 which appears to permit the allocation of nearly 40 percent of the tax revenue for light rail and other forms of non-bus public transportation.
A similar bill, SB1246, which would have put a Prop 400 extension on the ballot was vetoed by Hobbs earlier this summer. It included two questions for Maricopa County – whether to leave the sales tax in place for highways, roadways, and buses, as well as whether to fund non-bus public transportation such as streetcars, trollies, and commuter rail.
The new bill, SB1102, combines the Prop 400 extension into one ballot item for voters. And that has many Republican legislators upset, as they want voters to have a chance to approve or reject funding for commuter rail options separate of the roads funding.
Among the lawmakers who expressed opposition to SB1102 is Rep. Austin Smith (R), who says he will be a no-vote on what he called “irresponsible policy.”
Smith’s displeasure was shared by Rep. Alex Kolodin (R), who decried the bill as a “shell game” that would take funds for highways and roads and divert it to expanding light rail.
Prop 400 is a shell game that will provide funds other transit project and allow existing funding streams to be redirected to pay for light rail extensions. But who will build the roads? IDK, maybe someone that doesn’t have to spend $1 on transit for every $1 they spend on roads!
— Rep. Alexander Kolodin (@realAlexKolodin) July 29, 2023
Rep. Joseph Chaplik (R) also announced his “strong no” position while taking a swipe at the bill for its potential impact on limiting how people can travel in Maricopa County.
“Calling this ‘Transportation Funding’ is just an attempt by a far left and feckless Hobbs to push a Trojan Horse into our cities unleashing anti-motorists policies and stripping away at our freedom of movement,” Chaplik wrote. “Hobbs wants us to bend the knee to the climate alarmist cult and I will stand and fight this.”
The Republican Liberty Caucus of Arizona also opposes the current SB1102 as drafted.
SB1102 would extend the Maricopa County transportation excise tax for 20 years, while allocating 39% of the revenue towards public transportation and light rail. Light rail is an incredibly wasteful, inefficient use of taxpayer money. We respectfully oppose this tax extension. pic.twitter.com/pgjGGxd9qL
— RLC of Arizona (@RLCAZ) July 29, 2023
Criticism of the new bill was also put forth by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, which noted SB1102 “rolls back many of the critical guardrails” included in the bill Hobbs vetoed. It also highlights the fact Maricopa County voters will not have a chance to say they want to support highways but do not support expansion of light rail.
Meanwhile, Toma and Senate President Warren Petersen appear comfortable moving ahead with a vote, given the strong support of SB1102 by several Democrats in the Legislature.
One lawmaker, Rep. Marcelino Quinonez (D) tweeted Sunday that “Democrats stand ready” to allow voters to make the choice on extending the Prop 400 tax.
Failure to send Prop 400 to the voters would impact the remaining 14 counties in Arizona to compete for transportation dollars from the federal government. The new Capitol light rail stop would be Van Buren, which is blocks from the Capitol. It’s time to send Prop 400 to voters.
— Rep Marcelino Quiñonez (@Marcelino4AZ) July 30, 2023
Toma has also stated he expects his chamber to sine die (adjourn for the session) on Monday, no matter the outcome of the SB1102 vote.
Meanwhile, no public calendar is showing on the Legislature’s website for the Senate on Monday. But Arizona Daily Independent has confirmed the Senate Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to meet during the day and the full 30-member Senate has been instructed to be ready for a Floor Session at 1 p.m.
