Arizona Senate Republicans passed two measures to commemorate the life, contributions, and enduring legacy of late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. The bills, SB 1010 and SB 1439, recognize Kirk’s dedication to promoting civic engagement, free speech, faith, liberty, patriotism, and traditional values, particularly amongst young Americans.
Sponsored by Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14), SB 1010 designates the Loop 202 as the “Charlie Kirk Loop 202.” The bill requires the new designation to appear in all official state records, documents, and reports related to the loop.
The Arizona Department of Transportation will install appropriate signage reflecting the name. Importantly, the designation does not supersede any existing names assigned (such as Red Mountain Freeway, Santan Freeway, and Congressman Ed Pastor Freeway) and is not anticipated to have a fiscal impact on the state’s general fund.
“Charlie devoted his life to public discourse and political participation,” said President Petersen, in a press release announcing the passing of the bills. “He believed Americans could disagree and still engage one another civilly and respectfully. He encouraged people, especially young people, to get involved in civic life and help shape the future of their communities. Designating Loop 202 ensures his contribution to civic engagement and public participation won’t be forgotten. Let this name stand as a daily reminder of the importance of promoting American ideals.”
SB 1439, sponsored by Senator Jake Hoffman (R-LD15), establishes a “Conservative Grassroots Network” memorial specialty license plate, creating an opportunity for Arizonans to support the legacy and mission of Charlie Kirk. To initiate the program, a qualifying entity must provide $32,000 to the Department of Transportation for implementation, after which the payer may design the plate (subject to departmental approval).
Proceeds generated by the plate will be directed toward educating and empowering students—particularly on high school and college campuses—advancing the organization’s mission and ensuring its continued impact.
“These bills exist because Charlie intentionally built something far bigger than himself. The world will never truly understand the magnitude of the loss we suffered, but Charlie’s legacy was never meant to end with his life,” said Hoffman. “He fought tirelessly for the soul of America and inspired tens of millions to stand boldly for truth, faith, and freedom. His voice was not silenced—it was multiplied. His legacy lives on, his voice is stronger than ever, and today we recognize that we are now the movement he began. This legislation turns his sacrifice into action and ensures that the mission God placed on his heart continues to grow. Thanks to Charlie, America is being called back to its rightful place—a shining city upon a hill, fortified by conviction, faith, and courage.”
Both SB 1010 and SB 1439 passed the Senate on February 18 and now move to the House for further consideration.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
U.S. Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ02) issued a statement Wednesday praising the Trump administration for what he described as action to protect veterans’ Second Amendment rights.
According to a press release from Crane’s office, the administration clarified federal policy to ensure veterans who have a fiduciary appointed to manage their VA benefits are not automatically reported to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) as “prohibited persons.”
Under prior policy, veterans assigned a fiduciary to manage benefits could be reported to NICS, potentially preventing them from purchasing or possessing firearms under federal law. The change announced by the administration reverses that reporting practice, according to Crane’s statement.
“For nearly three decades, unelected bureaucrats violated the constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of our nation’s heroes. If the federal government is willing to strip fundamental liberties from those who served in uniform, there’s no telling where they will draw the line,” Crane said. “I’m grateful to President Trump and Secretary Collins for correcting this injustice and protecting the freedoms that our veterans fought to defend. Congress must now codify this directive so no future administration can reimplement this disgraceful protocol.”
The press release states that the policy clarification impacts enforcement of federal firearm restrictions under the Gun Control Act of 1968, which prohibits firearm possession by individuals adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution.
In a statement posted to X, VA Secretary Doug Collins wrote:
“Effective immediately, VA is halting enforcement of the interim final rule, Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication. VA issued the rule to clarify existing policy and protect Veterans’ benefits in the wake of an ongoing court action. But many interpreted the rule as something that could result in adverse consequences.
While VA does not agree with the way this rule has been characterized, the department always takes Veterans’ concerns seriously. To alleviate these concerns, VA will continue to collect public comments regarding the rule, but it will not be enforced at any time in the future.”
Effective immediately, VA is halting enforcement of the interim final rule, Evaluative Rating: Impact of Medication.
VA issued the rule to clarify existing policy and protect Veterans’ benefits in the wake of an ongoing court action. But many interpreted the rule as something…
Crane has previously pursued legislative efforts addressing the issue. In the 118th Congress, he introduced H.R. 9053 and H.R. 9054, which would have nullified prior VA submissions to NICS and prohibited the VA from participating in certain state-level firearm confiscation proceedings. He reintroduced similar legislation in the current Congress as H.R. 496 on January 16.
The bill has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs under the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Arizona Representatives Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ08) and Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ06) serve on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, which, along with the Judiciary Committee, will consider the bill before it goes to the floor.
During the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations process, Crane also sponsored an amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill stating that veterans reported to NICS by a VA fiduciary were unlawfully submitted and directing the VA Secretary to instruct the Attorney General to remove those names from the system. The amendment passed the House, but the underlying appropriations measure did not advance in the U.S. Senate.
The Trump administration has not yet released detailed regulatory language publicly outlining the changes referenced in Crane’s statement.
Crane has called on Congress to pursue legislative action to codify protections for veterans’ firearm rights in federal statute.
The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office recovered $500,000 in overcharges from the federal postal agency.
County Recorder Justin Heap reported during Wednesday’s board of supervisors meeting that the United States Postal Service (USPS) had overcharged Maricopa County for “several years,” to the tune of $500,000. The recorder advised the supervisors that their office worked with USPS to recoup those lost funds.
“We discovered the United States Postal Services has been overcharging Maricopa County for quite a few years. We have worked with them, we will be receiving a refund of $500,000 from USPS to help defray the costs of everything going forward,” said Heap. “We used to give awards in this county for people who save the county money, now we get subpoenas.”
$500,000 makes up about two percent of the recorder’s budget under the 2026 fiscal year budget. It amounts to a little over one percent of the 2025 fiscal year budget.
The revelation of the recovered $500,000 emerged during a special meeting called by the board of supervisors requiring Heap to testify on the administration of his office and claims of disenfranchisement — a meeting which Heap made clear he opposed.
“This reaches to the level of administrative interference. We’re in the middle of an election, I’ve had to pull certified election officers off of this election to spend time compiling this report and these documents to comply with this demand,” said Heap.
Heap brought the report which he said contained “thousands of pages of documents” providing evidence of his office’s administration. The recorder said the compilation of this report strained his office due to the constrained timeline of less than a week.
As to the disenfranchisement claims that emerged during Maricopa County Superior Court testimony last month, Heap said the recorder’s office has struggled in previous elections to complete provisional ballots under the condensed time frame. In order to solve that problem, Heap asked the board for an Agilis sorting machine. That sorter would cost just under $600,000.
The recorder said relying on Runbeck for provisional processing wouldn’t be advisable considering their company doesn’t connect to the county’s voter database, and the requirement of transporting the ballots to Runbeck would expose the county to chain of custody complications.
Heap said disenfranchisement hasn’t occurred “so far this year” under his administration, and that claims made during court testimony were referencing past administrations. One of the staff members who cited disenfranchisement during their testimony, chief of staff Sam Stone, retained his own counsel.
Supervisor Thomas Galvin asked Heap to explain why the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) said they had not approved universal mail-in ballots during last year’s congressional district 7 special election, when the recorder’s office said they had.
Heap rejected the characterization of those mail ballots. He said his office only made a proposal to send ballots to a selection of 3,000 voters who lacked a polling place, but didn’t act on it.
“This proposal was not even put in our plan to the MCAO, and we never implemented it, I’m not sure why the board has continued to hang up on a proposal that was never actually implemented,” said Heap.
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Property tax subsidies for wind and solar projects may be coming to an end in Arizona.
On Wednesday, an Arizona House committee approved HB 2918, legislation to hold renewable energy to the same taxation standards as other forms of energy production. The bill passed the Natural Resources, Energy and Water (NREW) Committee only with support from Republican lawmakers.
According to Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimates, renewable energy companies benefit from about $180 million annually in tax exemptions in the state.
The millions in exemptions come from two “stacked” subsidies: a reduction in the taxable original cost, which reduces a project’s starting valuation base below the actual amount invested through the value of certain federal incentives, and a valuation of 20 percent of depreciated cost, which sets the full cash value of renewable energy and storage equipment at 20 percent of the cost determined following establishment of the taxable original cost.
Republican lawmakers argue this benefit has gone on far enough, given how well-established the renewable energy industry has become. Legislative leaders say these sorts of benefits should be exclusive to emerging industries, like data centers.
Wednesday’s lack of support from Democratic lawmakers indicated the desire to shift resources away from renewable energy is rooted in a partisan desire to shrink the state’s foregone revenues.
NREW Committee chair Gail Griffin (R-LD19) said this legislation would put the merits of renewable energies to the test on the free market while keeping power reliable and affordable. Griffin said the “preferential treatment” of renewable energy lacked justification for further continuance.
“The American public has known from day one that these projects could not stand on their own feet without massive state and federal tax breaks,” said Griffin. “If renewable energy projects like wind and solar are truly the lowest-cost resource, then they should have no problem repealing the massive property tax break for new projects going forward.”
Last month, Gov. Katie Hobbs targeted the benefits given to data centers during her state of the state address.
House Majority Leader Michael Carbone (R-LD25) countered in a press release issued Wednesday that data centers have justification for their tax exemptions — renewable energies, not so much. Data center tax exemptions amount to about $38 million annually, less than one-fourth the amount received by renewable energy.
“The Governor said during her State of the State that, over a decade ago, ‘we made a strategic decision to grow data centers by creating a tax exemption for them,’ but then asked, ‘Should taxpayers continue subsidizing the data center industry?’” said Carbone. “I think the same question should be asked of large, utility-scale renewable energy projects like wind and solar. Years ago, this state gave renewable energy projects a massive tax break, substantially more than data centers, and now it’s appropriate to ask whether it’s fair to have Arizona taxpayers continue subsidizing the renewable energy industry.”
The legislation would impact large, out-of-state corporations. It would not apply to those facilities owned by or engaged in a power purchase agreement with the state’s public utilities — part of a grandfathering provision to ensure tax break eliminations don’t trigger a jump in customer rates.
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Arizona Senate Majority Whip Frank Carroll (R-LD28) advanced legislation Monday aimed at tightening restrictions on foreign adversaries’ ability to acquire or access land and critical infrastructure in the state.
Senate Bill 1683 would lower the statutory “substantial interest” ownership threshold from 30% to 5% and expand prohibitions to prevent the use of shell companies, convertible debt arrangements, options, and other financial structures to obtain property interests in Arizona, according to a press release from Senate leadership.
The measure also restricts access not only to ownership interests, but to leases, development rights, and the installation or operation of certain equipment on Arizona property. The bill applies to equipment, including antennas, communication systems, autonomous technology, surveillance devices, and high-sensitivity sensors.
Under SB 1683, public utilities and operators of critical infrastructure would be required to report suspicious agreements involving covered entities. Violations involving the use of prohibited equipment would be classified as felonies.
“This is about protecting Arizona, plain and simple,” Carroll said in a statement. “We’ve already taken steps to prevent hostile foreign governments from purchasing our land, but we’ve seen how quickly bad actors adapt. If they can’t buy property, they will try to lease it. If they can’t put their names on a deed, they’ll hide behind shell companies or secretly install surveillance equipment. This bill closes those loopholes.”
He added, “Arizona farmland, military-adjacent property, airports, utilities, and critical infrastructure should never become tools for foreign espionage or leverage for hostile regimes. We must not allow adversarial nations or terrorist-linked actors to gain control, either directly or indirectly, over Arizona soil. This legislation draws a clear line: our land, infrastructure, and security are not for sale, lease, or negotiation.”
SB 1683 passed the Senate Federalism Committee on a 5-2 vote, with only Republican support, and now advances to the full Senate for consideration.
Arizona lawmakers enacted a 2025 measure, Senate Bill 1082, adding A.R.S. § 33-443 to state statutes, which restricts land purchases by entities connected to designated foreign adversaries. SB 1683 would amend and expand those existing provisions.
If approved by the Legislature and signed into law, the bill would take immediate effect as an emergency measure with a two-thirds vote of both legislative houses.
Arizona state lawmakers requested the U.S. Supreme Court to take up an appeal on the state’s proof of citizenship for voter registration.
Last February, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down two laws which established proof of citizenship requirements. That court declared Arizona’s laws attempting to add more requirements on voter registrations were preempted by the simpler registration requirements of federal voting rights laws under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and were therefore invalid.
Those laws, passed in 2022 under then-Gov. Doug Ducey, restricted mail-in voting for registrants lacking citizenship verification in addition to requiring recorders to check federal citizenship databases and applicants to provide documentary proof of citizenship and residence. These pieces of legislation emerged following the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision against an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.
Several years later, in 2018, the state entered into a consent decree requiring county recorders to search Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) records for state registration forms lacking proof of citizenship. Those applications without verifiable citizenship proof through ADOT would only be allowed to cast ballots in the federal election, otherwise known as “federal-only voters.”
A number of progressive activist organizations joined in a lawsuit to challenge these laws: Mi Familia Vota, Voto Latino, Living United for Change in Arizona, League of United Latin American Citizens, Arizona Students Association, ADRC Action, Arizona Coalition for Change, Poder Latinx, Chicanos Por La Causa and their affiliated action fund, Democratic National Committee, Arizona Democratic Party, Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander for Equity Coalition, Promise Arizona, and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project.
The Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona, San Carlos Apache Tribe, Tohono O’odham Nation, and Gila River Indian Community also were among the challengers to proof of citizenship laws, citing concerns with challenges tribal members face to obtain proof of residency. Several tribal members were named independently in the lawsuit: Keanu Stevens, Alanna Siqueiros, and LaDonna Jacket.
The leaders of the Republican-led Arizona legislature filed their petition with the Supreme Court this week.
Sen. President Warren Petersen (R-LD4) issued a press release announcing the Supreme Court petition in which he accused the Ninth Circuit judges of having “rewrote” federal law and ignored Supreme Court precedent.
“For more than two decades, Arizona has required proof of citizenship to register to vote, because only American citizens should decide American elections,” said Petersen. “This case is about whether states still have the power to enforce commonsense safeguards to ensure only eligible voters participate in our elections. Arizona is standing up not just for our state, but for every state’s constitutional authority to secure its own elections.”
The filing argues that the Ninth Circuit ruling against Arizona law stretches federal voting law far beyond its allowable interpretation.
“This case, which comes to the Court on a non-expedited basis and underpinned by a comprehensive evidentiary record, offers an ideal vehicle for clarifying the NVRA’s preemptive scope, affirming that federal consent decrees cannot perpetually paralyze state legislative bodies, and vindicating the presumption of legislative good faith,” read the filing.
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