Article Image

IPFS News Link • Arizona Laws and Arizona Founding Documents

Valley cities decry bills aimed at curbing municipal authority

• azcentral.com

A spate of bills in the Legislature aimed at controlling city activities have led some municipal leaders in Arizona to cry foul.

The legislative session includes bills that would limit the ability of cities to tax rental homes, determine whether cities can charge water deposits to landlords and require Tucson and Phoenix to seek bids on city services that private companies might be able to provide more cheaply.

And many of the bills place the costs for new requirements on the cities.

Karen Peters, a longtime lobbyist who works for Phoenix, is frustrated by the sheer volume and scope of the legislation: About 200 of the more than 1,300 bills proposed this session addressed cities or counties. Although many of them failed to go anywhere, cities say some of the most onerous are still advancing.  

Home Grown Food