Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

During the past few years, Arizona has done more than any state to position itself for strong economic growth once the national economy recovers. In particular, the broad-based tax reforms and new economic development tools contained in last year’s competitiveness package laid a strong foundation on which to grow the state’s economy.

The Arizona Legislature is considering HB2789, which significantly increases government regulation by requiring every rule the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) makes that affects “public service corporations” (a.k.a. utilities) go before the full House, the Senate and the governor for approval ...

Nothing is more devastating than losing a child.

It’s like a bad re-run. A few legislators are trying to revive Arizona’s film production tax credit (SB 1170) that lapsed in 2011.

I’m not an environmentalist and I don’t understand all of the environmental issues, but I do understand that we get 5 million people coming to the Grand Canyon every year. Tourism is not compatible with mining or with the mining trucks transporting uranium to be processed in Utah, and generally running the risk of despoiling this national treasure.

Two bills last week took one more step down the path to bolstering our state’s reputation for enjoying a legal environment that is welcoming to business. One bill got the headlines, but they’re both an important component of Arizona’s ongoing civil justice reform efforts.

Five pieces of new legislation introduced by House Speaker Andy Tobin have taken power-grabbing to a whole new level, and would set redistricting back to a time of shadowy legislative deals. We could start by asking the now worn-out phrase, “What part of independent does the Arizona House not understand?”

Lawsuit lenders would prefer to remain beyond the reach of Arizona’s consumer protection regulations. An important bill now pending in the House would appropriately subject lawsuit loans to the same regulatory limits that are imposed on other consumer loans, and, not surprisingly, lawsuit lenders are fighting tooth and nail to kill it.

As Arizona celebrates its centennial, AAA Arizona also pauses to reflect on our 85-year legacy of advocating for safer roads.  And while we have enjoyed recent successes, unfortunately, more work remains to be done.

Arizona certainly needs property tax reform.  We have the most complicated and complex property tax system in the nation, one that produces unpredictable and inexplicable property tax bills for homeowners and businesses. With a “share of the pie” system driven not by what your property is worth, but rather how much money the taxing districts want to spend, you are always one tax bill away from an unaffordable property tax problem.