With Gov. Katie Hobbs signing the $17.8 billion budget bill, pressure from legislators has eased, and negotiations on critical housing and transportation issues will continue during the nearly month-long recess.

After voting about 100 bills allowing lawmakers to adjourn, on May 15, the House and Senate decided to adjourn for four weeks until June 12.

House Speaker Ben Thoma, Republican Peoria

House Speaker Ben Thoma (Republican, Peoria) said he was “under no pressure to return because we have cleared nearly everything that the House can do.”

Much of the bill passed on May 15, along partisan lines, and House Republicans were cut by just 31 on April 12 with the expulsion of former Rep. failed to pass these bills through most of the

Republican leaders also said lawmakers’ absences and vacations were reasons for the extended leave. Thoma said legislative leaders considered the schedules of the Senate and Senate and identified June 12 as the best date for their return.

House Minority Leader Lupe Contreras, D-Avondale’s House Minority Leader, said at the Democratic Caucus meeting on May 15 that only Republicans’ schedules would be considered during recess, the majority in their 11 years in Congress. He said the leadership had never asked him about his schedule. .

“We’ll be back on their schedule, not ours,” Contreras told the squad.

When the adjournment was announced, several Republican and Democratic congressmen groaned in disgust at the decision, with Democrats voicing their loudest “no” against the adjournment motion.

House Minority Leader Lupe Contreras

Before the House and Senate adjourned, they debated a housing bill introduced by Senator Steve Kaiser (R-Phoenix). The bill reformed municipal zoning with the aim of building more affordable housing.

For the past two years, Kaiser has faced strong opposition to his efforts to pass a bill to increase housing in Arizona. Prime Minister Kaiser’s broadest housing bill was defeated in the last parliament, and he chaired a housing supply inquiry committee on the matter over the summer.

During this legislative session, Kaiser attempted to pass another comprehensive housing bill, but it was rejected and opposed by the Arizona City Cities League. Undaunted, the Kaiser split the bill’s elements into several smaller bills, which are still in the legislative process.

Kaiser reached an agreement with the Democrats on Senate Bill 1161, and Rep. Oscar de los Santos (Democrat, LaVine) proposed amendments to his proposal to gain support for the bill from House Democrats. The measure requires cities to allow low-income multifamily rentals in existing commercial, mixed-use, or multi-family districts near light rail or streetcar stops.

De los Santos’ amendment would have adjusted the deposit to the Housing Trust Fund to 30% of unclaimed real estate income, and would have required 40% of that deposit to be used for rural housing development. He said this would add permanent funding to the fund without effectively raising taxes.

Not a single Republican member of the House supported the amendment, and the Kaiser bill did not make it to the floor.

Rep. Matt Gress (R, Phoenix) said he was concerned that the amendment would exempt Tucson from the bill’s zoning requirements. Rep. David Livingston (Republican, Peoria) also said he doesn’t like using unclaimed real estate as housing trust fund income.

“There was no spending. We didn’t go over budget. Tens of millions of dollars will be thrown[into the Housing Trust Fund],” Livingston said. “I’m sorry if this necessitates an effort to find a way to obtain 1161 in an acceptable format.”

In the Senate, another of Kaiser’s housing bills, House Bill 2536, was tabled and amended by the Committee of the Plenary, but had to be kept at the last minute because some of the “yes” votes fell, Kaiser said. rice field. .

“We had a vote, but at the last minute, a few people stopped voting for more changes. said in a text dated March 15.

The bill was put on hold before the report of the General Committee was adopted, so it will have to go through the committee again before it passes the Senate.

Some lawmakers are still undecided on Kaiser’s bill.

Senator Brian Fernandez (D-Yuma) said: Cities know their citizens, and I think the mayors and councils know their cities best. I generally want the government to be as close to the people as possible, but we are facing a housing shortage and need to find a solution. “

The Arizona City Cities League actually agreed with Kaiser on parts of the housing bill.

Highground lobbyist and league president Nick Ponder said he was fine with the short-term rental, duplex and triplex rules, and “almost fine” with shot clocks and attached units. Other parts of the housing bill remain strongly opposed, including the suspension of design review standards and drastic restrictions on parking requirements.

“They’re not really listening to the city, they’re dealing with this problem every day,” Ponder said. He said the dual-, triple-, and quadruple-family sections—the “lost middle ground,” as Kaiser called it—are fine because cities can still choose where to go. As for attached dwellings, Ponder said he wants them to be limited to the backyard, but otherwise he’s fine.

Thomas said lawmakers will use their four-week vacation to continue negotiating the Kaiser housing bill and another bill that many are eyeing.

One of the most talked about bills, still pending, would allow for an extension of Proposition 400, the Maricopa County transportation tax that has been used to finance light rail in the election.

Hobbes said on May 15th: And while that’s a very important priority for Maricopa County, it’s important not just for the region, but for the state as a whole. (Because the ‘E’ stands for ‘extension’ and this measure would extend the existing transport tax.)

However, there are some serious deadlocks in the ongoing negotiations, notably over how much of the tax revenue goes to different types of transport projects. The Maricopa Government Association has proposed to set aside 40% of his funding for mass transit such as light rail. Many Republicans are frustrated by this.

MAG Executive Director Ed Zurcher said the plan was the result of input from voters in Maricopa County and numerous public meetings over the past four years, so the association is on track to reach the 40 percent figure for public transit. said to be committed. He also said Hobbs is committed to using 40% on public transportation as well.

“We have been very flexible in different parts of the plan,” said Zurcher. “We even made concessions to the demand for light rail. Tax-financed light rail extension[not planned]. This was a big concession for the city.”

An extension of the 0.5 cent sales tax would raise an estimated $15 billion over 20 years.

Arizona Trucking Association President Tony Bradley said he was “optimistic” that the Proposition 400 agreement would eventually pass Congress. Bradley, who has attended most of the negotiating meetings this year, said about two weeks ago legislative leaders and the Maricopa Government Association (MAG) agreed on a plan to continue negotiations without lobbyists present.

“Now that we have key decision makers in the House, Senate, the Governor’s Office, and the MAG, and we’re working out the final details, I think we can get something across the finish line before we close.” said he.

Longtime Republican strategist Chuck Coughlin said Republican lawmakers cautious about supporting Prop 400 might be tempted to end the deal if the extension comes bundled with a removal of the rental tax. .

Republicans pushed for it again this year, but Hobbes vetoed the bill.

With a few tweaks to the details, “I feel like we could do something,” Coughlin said.

Arizona Capitol Times reporter Nick Phillips contributed coverage.