Arizona House Republicans submitted their own version of a new toll tax for Maricopa County on Monday that does not align with Governor Katie Hobbs’ requests.
However, the proposal did not reach the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote on Monday, so it remains unclear whether it will be able to garner a vote in favor.
Hobbes and MAG claim bipartisan support for Maricopa County transit tax proposal
The House plan is to prepare for a referendum next year to determine whether the half-cent levy, first approved in 1985, should be extended for another 20 years, similar to what the governor negotiated with the Maricopa Government Association. will be arranged.
But the similarities end there. And a lot of the hang-ups are on the light rail.
Sky Shout/KJZZ
Passengers wait on a platform for a Valley Metro light rail train in June 2021.
All Hobbes wants is one vote for a package designed to raise $20 million over the next 20 years.
It’s not a blank check. Instead, her plan calls for 40% of the money to go to highway construction, another 22% to rural roads and highways, and 38% to transportation.
And Hobbes agreed that no transportation funds could be used to expand the light rail system beyond what is already built, under construction, or planned with existing funds. bottom.
What the House wants is two separate ballot questions.
The first is about 86% of the money raised will be used to fund highways, highways and buses, with nearly half of that going toward building highways in particular.
And the remaining 14% is for rehabilitating existing light rail lines and building extensions, depending on voter approval on a second, separate question.
Light rail animosity runs deep among some Republican lawmakers. In fact, the plan they moved forward Monday is to extend the system to the State Capitol, a project already funded in existing levies, regardless of whether one or both of the ballot measures are passed. will prevent it.
Avondale Mayor Ken Wise, chairman of the MAG, said he was blindsided by the new proposal.
“I didn’t expect it at all, so I felt like I lost a little bit,” Wise said of the new offer. “The division or dichotomy of this bill has not been addressed in any of the discussions we have had with Senate and House leaders.”
Funding for the light rail isn’t the only thing that separates the proposal submitted by the Republican leadership on Monday from Hobbes’ and MAG’s wishes.
Lawmakers want to shift about $1 billion currently allocated for bike lanes, pedestrian streets and air quality improvement programs to what they call “real road projects.” And they want an absolute ban on the “road diet,” which reduces the number of lanes on highways to discourage people from driving.
Arizona Department of Transportation
Cars on Loop 101 north of Phoenix.
The Republican plan also calls for Congress to appoint industry players to the MAG Board of Directors, which decides which projects to pursue within broad guidelines on how to spend the budget. The MAG is now made up of mayors and other elected officials,
The Republican bill would also require Valley Metro, the bus and light rail operator, to “achieve comparable benchmarks” with other cities in terms of what actual ridership costs.
This figure and which communities will be used for comparison were not defined in the information released on Monday. But Senator David Farnsworth (R-Mesa) said Valley Metro’s current figures show fares covering only 7 cents/2 cents of actual operating costs.
If the system cannot match other similar cities, Valley Metro will have to outsource operations to the private sector.
So far, Hobbes hasn’t let up on what he’s done with MAG.
“We stand firm on our negotiating position,” said Hobbes spokesman Christian Slater. But the governor said he was open to considering changes.
