Grand Canyon Times

The second regular session of the 55th Arizona Legislature adjourned sine die after 167 days that yielded significant wins for Arizona job creators – including the passage of priority business community legislation that will ensure Arizona remains among the most competitive and pro-growth states in the nation.

Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry President and CEO Danny Seiden released the following statement:

“This was a winning session for Arizona businesses and taxpayers, and one that will advance and solidify our reputation as the best state in the country for job creators to relocate, invest and expand.

“Whether securing priority personal and commercial property tax reforms, further slashing regulatory burdens and government red tape on Arizona businesses, improving our state’s legal and tort environment, or making vital and historic investments in education, workforce, water and other critical infrastructure, the work of this Legislature has well-positioned Arizona for a future of strong and sustained economic growth.

“On behalf of Arizona’s business community, I want to thank Gov. Ducey and the Legislature for coming together this session to address some of our state’s most pressing priorities – including adoption of a bipartisan, structurally balanced budget that funds Arizona’s immediate needs and prepares for the future – all without raising taxes on hardworking families and businesses.”

2022 Legislative Session Highlights

Tax Relief and Competitiveness

• SB 1093 enhances Arizona’s global competitiveness and builds upon decades of work – including the successful reduction last year of the commercial property tax assessment ratio from 18% to 16% – by further reducing the ratio to 15%. This reform moves the state towards a more equitable and sustainable property tax base, positively impacting economic development and advancing our competitive position.
• HB 2822 incentivizes business investment, reduces the tax rate, and removes regulatory compliance barriers to allow businesses to thrive. This priority legislation represents a historic reduction to business personal property valuation – saving Arizona businesses over $60 million annually and creating more than 3,000 jobs each year.
• Elimination of the State Equalization Tax Rate: saves property owners a collective $330 million.

Regulatory Reform

• HB 2599 is bipartisan legislation that makes various changes to the regulatory procedures on the state level. The Chamber championed the passage of legislation to ease regulatory burdens on job creators, allow businesses a fair and impartial appeal of government agencies’ actions, and recover attorney fees and costs. It streamlines, simplifies and modernizes regulatory policies while preventing government from adopting new rules that inhibit job growth and economic development.

Energy Infrastructure:

• HB 2101 repeals a defunct 1998 electric deregulation law to ensure the reliability, accessibility, and affordability of Arizona’s energy grid and keep our state off the problematic path of deregulated markets like California and Texas.

Tort and Legal System Improvement

• SB 1157 is commonsense legislation that addresses asbestos litigation abuse and the practice of over-naming defendants in asbestos cases. It ensures there is an evidentiary basis for the claims against each defendant named, protecting job creators from frivolous litigation and unnecessary associated costs. This legislation is an important step in improving our legal environment for current and prospective businesses.
• Major investments in Arizona’s judicial system, including expansion of the court of appeals and compensation increase for all judges to attract and retain a diverse, well-qualified and independent judiciary.

Education

• SB 1630 provides reforms to Arizona’s outdated student transportation regulations while giving schools flexibility to better serve students and families across the state. It modernizes our decades-old K-12 transportation laws by empowering interested local schools to provide and utilize additional transit options for students that are safe, reliable and efficient.
• SB 1159, which is awaiting the Governor’s signature, expands on previous efforts to reform the antiquated teacher certification system that limits the number of educators who are prepared to teach in high demand learning environments. This legislation recognizes that a one-size-fits-all approach limits our ability to recruit and retain quality educators, and expands pathways to bring more qualified teachers to Arizona classrooms.

Citizen Initiative Process Reform

• Last session, the Legislature adopted reforms that helped protect the citizen initiative process from out-of-state special interests to enhance the credibility of the system. Lawmakers this year continued this important work with the passage of HCR2015. If approved by voters in November, it will amend the state Constitution to require approval by 60% of the votes cast on ballot measures asking voters to approve a tax, instead of a majority of the votes cast.

Retiring our Debt and Preparing for the Future

• The FY 2023 state budget pays off $1.25 billion in various state debt obligations and restores the Rainy Day Fund with a deposit of $425 million – placing Arizona in a far better position to manage future potential economic downturns.

Investments in core areas:

• Education: Provides record-level funding while modernizing K-12 funding to provide equity to students and reduce funding disparities between schools.
• Infrastructure: Includes $1 billion in targeted investments to improve and modernize our states transportation infrastructure including the widening of the 1-10.
• Water: Provides a transformational $1.1 billion investment to secure Arizona’s water future. Arizona’s water resources are essential to industry, the economy and ecology of the state and this historic investment in rural water supply development and long-term water augmentation, reuse and conservation projects.
• Workforce: Supports workforce and industry needs by funding STEM Workforce Programs within our community colleges, Arizona universities’ New Economy Initiative, and new programs to grow Arizona’s adult workforce through new educational opportunities; Funds a public-private partnership designed to expand Arizona’s healthcare workforce by attracting, training, and retaining more Arizona nurses.

_{Source: https://azchamber.com/arizona-chamber-of-commerce-industry-statement-on-2022-legislative-session/}