The Arizona Chapter of NAIOP, otherwise known as the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, has released its 2022 legislative public policy agenda which seeks to continue the momentum of recent sessions, NAIOP Arizona’s CEO Suzanne Kinney announced this week.
“With the monumental changes of the past two years, 2022 presents a unique opportunity for our market to break away from the pack,” Kinney said. “We will aggressively pursue legislation that will help accelerate our movement towards Tier 1 status for business attraction and job creation.”
Leading NAIOP Arizona’s legislative efforts will be its 2022 Executive Committee comprised of Kinney; Board Chair Rusty Kennedy of CBRE; Board Vice Chair Cathy Thuringer of Trammell Crow Company; Treasurer John Orsak of Lincoln Property Company; Programs Chair Phil Breidenbach of Colliers International; and Secretary Derek Flottum of Irgens. The group’s immediate Past Chair is Danny Swancey of ViaWest Group, who was preceded by Jim Wentworth of Wentworth Property Company.
NAIOP Arizona’s guiding principles involve supporting policies that drive demand for commercial real estate in Greater Phoenix and throughout Arizona, promote legislation that positions Arizona to be the preferred choice for corporate locations and expansions, and encourage “organic business growth through public policies that encourage entrepreneurship and new business formation.”
According to Kinney, the Arizona Legislature made significant progress this past year to blunt the impact of income tax increases imposed on small businesses and other taxpayers through Proposition 208. Another achievement was a two percent reduction of the commercial property tax assessment ratio, which remains a top policy priority in an effort to achieve parity with other types of property owners.
Kinney also said NAIOP Arizona will continue to oppose legal efforts and new ballot initiatives that would reduce Arizona’s economic competitiveness. And in response to recent lawsuits about economic development incentives, NAIOP will work to refine the system so that complicated development projects which bring value to the community can avoid time-consuming and costly litigation.
On the federal front, NAIOP will work with Arizona’s Congressional delegation to prevent damaging tax policy proposals from going into effect. Of particular concern are restrictions on 1031 like-kind exchanges, the taxation of carried interest as ordinary income rather than capital gains, elimination of the stepped-up basis for inherited assets, and removal of tax deductions for qualified pass-through entities.
The 900-member NAIOP Arizona is part of the main 19,000-member NAIOP, considered the leading association for developers, owners, and related professionals in office, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate. The state chapter is the fifth largest out of 53 chapters across the United States and Canada.
“The growth of our chapter underscores its importance and relevance in Arizona’s commercial real estate industry,” said Kinney. “We’re extremely proud of what the chapter has accomplished considering the economic challenges of the past year and a half. We are a resilient industry.”
In 2021, NAIOP supported the development of CRE leaders through Diversity Student Scholarships for those pursuing a graduate degree in commercial real estate. One of the four scholarships was awarded to NAIOP Arizona member Margarita Effron, a graduate student in Arizona State University’s Master of Real Estate Development program.
Other members of the NAIOP Arizona board include Jenna Borcherding of VanTrust Real Estate, LLC; Matthew Krause of Krause Architectural & Interiors; Chris Anderson of Hines; Chris Burson of Alliance Bank of Arizona; Danielle Feroleto of Small Giants; Jeff Foster of Prologis; Tom Jarvis of Willmeng; Jeff Moloznik of RED Development, LLC; Kate Morris of Transwestern; Michael Olsen, of Globe Corporation; CJ Osbrink of Newmark Knight Frank; Darren Pitts and Velocity Retail Group; and Candace Rosauro of Layton Construction.
Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) has announced the addition of former Monsanto Company CEO Hugh Grant to its 11-member Board of Directors. Grant, who was named CEO of the Year in 2010 by Chief Executive magazine, served as Monsanto’s CEO and Chairman of the Board from 2003 to 2018 when the company merged with Bayer AG.
Grant’s appointment was made shortly after Ryan M. Lance, the Board Chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips, was named a director on Freeport-McMoRan’s board.
It was also recently announced that Freeport-McMoRan will have a new Chief Financial Officer as of March, when Maree E Robertson assume responsibility for the company’s accounting, finance, and tax functions. Robertson, who will also hold the title of senior vice president, will report to Kathleen L. Quirk, who was named President of Freeport-McMoRan earlier this year.
Freeport-McMoRan operates large, long-lived, geographically diverse assets with significant proven and probable reserves of copper, gold, and molybdenum. The company is one of the world’s largest publicly traded copper producers, with assets and mining operation across the globe, including Indonesia, South America, and multiple locations in the United States, many of which are in Arizona.
A Prescott couple is suing the state of Louisiana for its sales tax overreach into their small business, Halstead Bead. The National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), the Pelican Institute, and the Goldwater Institute will represent Brad and Hilary Scott in the case Halstead Bead v. Lewis, et al. The Scotts’ lawsuit asks that Louisiana provide a single point of contact for their tax collections, rather than requiring businesses to collect taxes for every one of Louisiana’s parishes.
The law permits states to enforce their tax laws and regulations on Arizona businesses — but it wasn’t always that way in the recent past. The national burden on small businesses came over three years ago with the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair. SCOTUS ruled that states could charge sales tax to out-of-state sellers, with or without a physical presence in their state. The ruling empowered over 11,000 jurisdictions nationwide at the cost of an additional burden to small businesses like Halstead Bead, a small crafts and jewelry supplier based in Prescott.
Halstead Bead owners, Brad and Hilary Scott, reported investing nearly 7,700 hours over the last three years to ensure compliance with the over 11,000 districts nationwide. That amounted to over $297,000 spent on sales tax compliance while only collecting $127,000; or, $2.28 spent for every dollar collected. However, the law doesn’t allow for mistakes with local tax requirements — even unwitting ones.
“I’d rather just send the blank check to the states and not do the collection,” said Brad. “It’s one thing to say, ‘You’re not complying correctly.’ It’s another to be effectively called a criminal for failure to comply with something that is so complex that you can’t do it reasonably.”
The Scotts bear their fair share of burdens in their 28-person company. Brad alone takes on many rolls: payroll, HR, benefits administration, finance, and accounting, to name a few.
“I don’t have this vast team of departments that answers to me. I don’t oversee anything— I’m neck-deep in it on a daily basis,” explained Brad.
In addition to the great financial burden, the Scotts reported other, intangible burdens shared by other small business owners like them: stress and fear. They explained that they’re reliable for all mistakes — even unwitting ones — as both the business and individual owners of the business.
“This is crushing liability. I don’t know how else to say it,” said Hilary. “We used to worry about Arizona, we used to worry about the United States. Now, I’m worried we’re going to run afoul of a law in some county in Louisiana or Colorado that I’ve never even heard of.”
While the Wayfair ruling has been profitable for some states who were reportedly “bleeding revenue” without the ability to tax out-of-state businesses, small businesses like Halstead Bead have been required to make substantial expenditures of time, finances, and resources. One small, family-owned business in Illinois reported spending over $100,000 and a year on a software to assist with compliance, and even then they reported that they will likely spend over $75,000 annually to fine-tune their compliance and training while they keep up with law and regulation changes.
Judge Jane Triche Milazzo, an Obama appointee, is presiding over the Scott’s case. Louisiana officials filed an extension on their response, anticipated December 23.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Thursday, Scottsdale Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Scott Menzel issued a statement calling criticism of a club that encourages child sexualization under the guise of offering support — Gender & Sexualities Alliance (GSA) clubs — as “targeted attacks,” and suggested that those concerned were bullies to the students involved in the club.
“Recently, there have been targeted attacks on student-created school clubs related to gender and sexual identity, sometimes called GSA clubs. The students who choose to participate in them have a legal right not to be bullied, intimidated, or otherwise targeted by adult members of our community, as well as by any of their peers,” wrote Menzel.
Menzel also asserted that SUSD doesn’t regulate the viewpoints of student-initiated clubs. The superintendent said even GSA viewpoints are protected, comparing it to clubs focused on athletics, politics, and faith. As AZ Free Newsreported, the GSA at Cocopah Middle School was initiated by English teacher Laylee Langner.
“Students’ rights to have differences of opinions, beliefs and interests are protected in the U.S. Constitution and in Arizona statute. Consistent with those rights, SUSD does not regulate the viewpoints of student-initiated clubs. We have athletic clubs, political clubs, and faith-based clubs in our schools, in addition to academic and philanthropic clubs. These clubs welcome anyone; participation in any club is voluntary.
Menzel has a doctorate and masters in philosophy. According to his LinkedIn, he received his bachelor’s degree in religion.
SUSD parent Jill Dunicandenounced Menzel’s response. Dunican told AZ Free News that it demonstrated that the superintendent lacked character and was effectively gaslighting the SUSD community on the severity of GSA’s presence and impact.
“Dr. Menzel’s attempt to frame parents as bullies for speaking out about the hateful curriculum that he has allowed into Scottsdale schools is despicable. Menzel’s use of vulnerable children as a shield to distract from his support for the CRT-aligned GLSEN program that encourages race-baiting, cop-hating, and the sexualization of children is beyond the pale,” stated Dunican. “It’s disappointing that Dr. Menzel has decided to gaslight the community on this issue. It only speaks to his lack of character and further demonstrates he is not a good fit for our community.”
Earlier this week,AZ Free News reported on claims by GSA of the Year winners at Cocopah Middle School that they’d successfully strong-armed SUSD into changing ID policy: instead of bearing their legal names on their IDs, which the budding LGBTQ activists referred to as their “deadnames,” students were permitted to display their chosen name on their IDs. Neither SUSD spokespersons or any of the board members responded to multiple inquiries about the “deadname” policy.
SUSD’s latest controversy comes in the midst of continued national exposure over the connection of their former governing board president, Jann-Michael Greenburg, to a secret dossier on parents and political enemies. Greenburg’s father created the Google Drive dossier, and Greenburg himself had editing access to it.
At the beginning of this month, Scottsdale Police Department (SPD) determined that the case fell outside their jurisdiction because the dossier consisted of open source and/or public documents. SPD passed their investigative materials on to the FBI, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office for further review.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association has recognized Arizona State Rep. Gail Griffin with the organization’s 2021 Regional Award for Outstanding Service. The award recognizes outstanding service at the regional or state level to electric cooperatives.
Griffin (R-LD14) serves areas of Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Graham, and eastern Pima counties. She was nominated for the award by Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association (GCSECA) and Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC).
In nominating Griffin, SSVEC Chief Executive Officer Creden Huber touted the representative’s myriad efforts to assist Arizona’s Cooperatives, including her protection of the capital credits program, her willingness to work together to solve policy problems, and her understanding of cost and maintenance concerns involving pole attachments by cable and telecommunication companies.
Huber also noted Griffin’s appointment as chair of House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee gives her responsibility for ensuring legislation that may negatively impact Cooperatives is addressed in committee. Griffin previously chaired the Senate’s NREW Committee.
“For the past 20 years, your guidance, passion and dedication to the electric co-op family gained you a reputation as a great leader in the electric cooperative program,” NRECA CEO Jim Matheson wrote in the award notification. “Your strong commitment to the seven cooperative principles and work on advocacy, education and training had a profound effect throughout the State of Arizona.”
Griffin takes pride in being a strong proponent of Arizona’s electrical cooperatives throughout her time in the Legislature.
“They are consumer owned, not-for-profit entities that ensure their members are provided with reliable and affordable service,” she said upon receiving the award. “I will continue to champion electrical cooperatives for the vital role they play in strengthening rural Arizona.”
NRECA represents more than 900 consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives, public power districts, and public utility districts across America.
