Democratic congressional nominee Amish Shah is criticizing Republican opponent Jay Feely’s support for data centers, despite having voted as a state legislator to extend Arizona’s data-center tax incentive program and clarify its tax refund process.
Shah supported House Bill 2649 in 2021, which extended the deadline for new applications to the incentive program by 10 years. He also voted for Senate Bill 1274 in 2023, which clarified the refund process for taxes covered by the program.
In a post on X, Shah criticized Feely’s position on the facilities, citing Arizona’s water supply.
“Arizona is 30 years into a drought and bracing for deeper Colorado River cuts. Jay Feely’s plan? More data centers in the desert. It’s disqualifying,” Shah wrote.
Arizona is 30 years into a drought and bracing for deeper Colorado River cuts.
Jay Feely’s plan? More data centers in the desert.
His campaign has separately specified that he opposes building data centers within Arizona’s First Congressional District, where he is running against Feely.
Campaign manager Eve Zhurbinskiy told the Copper Courier that Shah’s position reflects concerns about water shortages and utility costs. The outlet subsequently published a correction narrowing its description of his opposition from statewide to the First Congressional District.
During his legislative service, Shah voted for HB 2649 on Feb. 24, 2021, when it passed the House 41–17, and again on April 14, when the House approved the amended measure 46–13.
The enacted legislation moved the Arizona Commerce Authority’s application cutoff for certifying new computer data centers from Dec. 31, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2033. It became law April 20, 2021.
The measure also addressed tax treatment of work involving qualifying data center equipment. A Joint Legislative Budget Committee analysis explained that the House-engrossed bill would exempt installation, assembly, repair, and maintenance from the prime-contracting transaction privilege tax when the equipment could perform its function independently of real property.
Legislative analysts said the potential ongoing revenue loss could not be quantified because industry-specific installation-cost data were unavailable. They also noted uncertainty about how broadly the tax had previously been paid.
Two years later, Shah voted for SB 1274, which passed the House 47–10 on April 11, 2023. The measure became law April 18.
That legislation amended the refund provisions of the 2021 law. It preserved the earlier $10,000 statewide aggregate cap for specified older claims while clarifying that specified later claims follow the standard refund process without that cap.
The JLBC fiscal analysis of SB 1274 anticipated no additional General Fund impact. Analysts said the Department of Revenue viewed the measure as explicitly codifying an existing refund process, which generally required the vendor that remitted the tax to seek repayment within the applicable statute of limitations.
Shah’s campaign also told the Copper Courier that he supports technological development needed for global competitiveness. “We shouldn’t be building data centers in the middle of the desert,” campaign manager Eve Zhurbinskiy said.
Feely has defended data-center development as important to American competitiveness in artificial intelligence. He has also said developers should invest in surrounding communities, use recirculated water, and operate off the electrical grid to address resource concerns.
The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) has confirmed an independent review of the Arizona State University (ASU) hockey team coaching staff will take place.
Rep. Matt Gress (R-LD4) and Sen. Hildy Angius (R-LD30), who called for the independent review last week in their respective roles as chairs of the House and Senate education committees, thanked ABOR in a joint press release on Monday.
Matthew Mayich, a 21-year-old Canadian, collapsed from heat stroke during a workout with the ASU hockey team in August. Mayich had recently transferred to ASU and had only been in the Valley for about a week before he was subjected to an outdoor workout let by an outside workout instructor with a military background. Mayich is currently in a coma and on life support; while his family holds out for a recovery, his lawyers say it would take “a miracle.”
ASU acceded to requests from lawmakers and Mayich’s family for an independent review and last Friday appointed Scott Bales, a former chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, to lead it.
ASU is maintaining a dedicated page addressing the incident and all related updates.
“The Board has confirmed that Chief Justice Bales will examine what happened to Matthew Mayich on August 20 and what happened afterward,” said Gress. “That is what we asked for. Chief Justice Bales is highly respected, and we appreciate the Board of Regents and ASU giving him the independence and access he needs to get the facts.”
Bales was tasked with reviewing the facts identified by ASU, the Mayich family attorneys, ASU hockey team members’ attorneys, and law enforcement agencies.
Members of the ASU hockey team issued a statement of facts through counsel that largely disputed the initial analysis published by ASU.
Additionally, Bales will make recommendations on planning and approval of outdoor athletic activities; staffing, policies, and procedures for outdoor athletic activities; preparation for and response to adverse events or reactions occurring during outdoor activities; and use of outside consultants in the planning and delivery of strength and conditioning and practice activities.
ASU requested Bales complete his review by early December, and promised that additional updates would be provided as they become available.
ABOR Chair Doug Goodyear told Gress and Angius in a letter on Monday that President Michael Crow provided ABOR with updates and a plan for Bales’ independent review.
Per Goodyear, Bales will have full access to university information including staff, records, and policies, with full cooperation of university staff. The review will allow for anonymity to prevent reprisals, and Bales has license to hire any and all outside help he feels is necessary to complete the review.
“Justice Bales is a man of unquestioned integrity and independence,” said Goodyear. “As an Arizonan, he has a real commitment to helping this community understand the circumstances of this tragic event, and he will have both the access and the resources to do this job well.”
Mayich’s family issued a statement through lawyers contending that the independent review already falls short because it doesn’t address who bears responsibility for Mayich’s collapse. One of their lawyers, Rob Carey, stated as much to CBC News.
“What is necessary, and what the Mayich family has asked for and deserves, is an investigation of what went wrong on that field and who is responsible,” said Carey. “Justice Bales has not been asked to answer those fundamental questions.”
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More than one million Arizonans had personally identifiable or sensitive information stolen from the state’s court system during a recent cyberattack.
New information from the Arizona Supreme Court reveals the attack began when a court employee fell for “a common phishing attack” and clicked a malicious link in an email.
The court has set up a portal enabling Arizonans to check whether their information was accessed in the cyberattack. Individuals impacted may also receive official court communication via email from no-reply@courts.az.gov or via text from 83958.
The information accessed by the attackers did not include information on jurors, witnesses, or court employees. No court records were deleted, altered, or erased according to the Arizona Supreme Court, and the attack won’t affect the progress or status of any pending case.
Sensitive information copied by attackers came from nearly 30,000 records involving active and inactive protective orders, as well as the Fines/Fees and Restitution Enforcement (FARE) Program which maintains Social Security numbers. Regarding the FARE Program, approximately 1.3 million individuals were impacted.
The Arizona Supreme Court is encouraging individuals whose information was held within the FARE Program to put a hold or freeze on their credit files with the three major credit reporting agencies.
Alberto Rodriguez, Arizona Supreme Court spokesman, said the copied FARE Program data was from a backup server where it was highly compressed.
Rodriguez also said that there has been no evidence the stolen data has been rendered to be readable, and has not been used or shared.
Additionally, more than 150,000 current and past Foster Care Review Board recommendation reports dating back to 2010 were copied in the attack. Addresses and phone numbers weren’t included in those copied reports.
The Arizona Supreme Court announced in a September 25 press release that a cyberattack targeted the state court system and copied personally identifiable information for “many Arizonans.”
The cyberattack occurred the previous day, on September 24 at around 11:30 a.m. Court IT staff shut the attack down less than two hours after it was identified, according to the Arizona Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer called the attack “outrageous” and assured the public that she had pulled together a team to formulate a response to the breach. Timmer revealed that federal authorities are investigating the cyberattack, and that the court had contacted Arizonans whose data was targeted by the attackers.
“I personally spoke with the top-ranking FBI leader in the state, and I pledged our full commitment to supporting their investigation and minimizing the likelihood that the information will be used to further jeopardize Arizonans,” said Timmer. “We’re in touch with those affected and will share more information as soon as we’re able.”
Rebecca Day, special agent in charge with the Phoenix field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has coordinated with Timmer on investigating the attack.
Authorities have yet to announce the entity or entities responsible for the cyberattack.
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The Trump administration greenlit another one of Maricopa County’s plans to incentivize clean air improvements.
The county plans to encourage the railroad and construction industries to voluntarily upgrade or replace their nonroad vehicles with cleaner emissions technologies through Maricopa County Rule 204.
The rule represents another effort to bring the county closer to compliance with the 2015 ozone standard of 70 parts per billion outlined by the federal Clean Air Act.
Maricopa County reported that it is currently designated as a moderate non-attainment area under the standard. Under the Biden administration in 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began to consider whether the Phoenix area warranted reclassification as a serious non-attainment area.
However, the EPA determined earlier this year that the county would have attained standards had it not been for international emissions, namely from Asia and Mexico.
The Maricopa Association of Governments reported that it found through modeling with the EPA that approximately 80% of regional ozone originates from natural sources or outside Arizona.
The EPA determination from this year spared the county from the burden of additional air quality regulations, which would have slowed and potentially reversed industry growth in the region.
The region has reported reduced local emissions of air pollutants by 50% since 2000. The county also reported on Tuesday that total emissions statewide have fallen by more than 70% since 1990, despite the population more than doubling.
On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin participated in a press conference to announce the incentives alongside Maricopa County officials, including Board of Supervisors Chair Kate Brophy McGee and Republican attorney general nominee Warren Petersen.
Zeldin remarked that Maricopa County’s approach to emissions reduction has been successful.
“They aren’t increasing emissions,” repeated Zeldin. “They are not breaking federal requirements. They are finding new, innovative ways to work within their circumstances.”
NEW: @MaricopaCounty & @EPA announce innovative plan to improve air quality and protect jobs. We appreciate this chance to work together to prove that a healthy environment and growing economy can go hand-in-hand. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/QigWcvgheM
Brophy McGee pledged that the new county rule would maintain county residents’ quality of life and would not hinder economic development.
“This plan demonstrates how a healthy environment and growing economy can work together,” said Brophy McGee. “By incentivizing rather than punishing job creators, implementing Maricopa County’s Rule 204 will improve the quality of the air we breathe while enabling key industries to continue investing in our community. I thank Administrator Zeldin and the EPA for working with Maricopa County and our business community on this innovative approach.”
Danny Seiden, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, called the rule “smart policy” that ensured a win-win for the economy and air quality.
“For more than a decade, Arizona’s business community has worked to expand the tools available to reduce emissions while giving companies a workable path to invest, expand and create jobs,” said Seiden. “Rule 204 does exactly that: when businesses voluntarily replace older equipment with cleaner technology and achieve real, measurable emissions reductions, those reductions can help make continued economic growth possible.”
In April, the EPA approved Maricopa County Rule 205, another incentive which provides emission reduction credits to fleet owners and operators who upgrade or replace on-road vehicles with cleaner technologies.
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Congressman Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) introduced legislation this week that would reduce a federal disaster assistance benchmark for counties where less than 15% of the land is subject to county property taxes.
The Rural Disaster Fairness Act of 2026 (H.R. 10754), would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to lower its county per capita damage indicator by 50% for qualifying counties nationwide. The indicator helps FEMA evaluate the local impact of a disaster when reviewing requests for federal assistance.
Crane’s office said counties with extensive federal land ownership can have limited property tax revenue to support infrastructure maintenance, emergency response, and recovery. The congressman argues that a population-based damage benchmark does not adequately reflect those limitations.
By cutting a key @FEMA damage threshold in half for counties with little taxable land, my bill would help rural communities qualify for federal aid.
I'm hopeful my colleagues will support this reform and help Americans recover from catastrophic disasters: https://t.co/o6hTgjkIaR
“The federal government owns vast swaths of land out West, which limits the tax base for rural counties. In turn, they often have less money to spend on critical infrastructure, mitigation efforts, and response operations. My legislation would reform FEMA’s evaluation process to take into account how much land these jurisdictions are able to tax,” Crane said.
Under FEMA’s existing regulations, the agency considers several factors when recommending whether the president should approve a governor’s request for major disaster assistance.
For its Public Assistance Program, those factors include estimated assistance costs, localized damage, insurance coverage, hazard mitigation efforts, recent disasters, and assistance available through other federal programs.
The regulations expressly recognize that concentrated damage at the county, local, or tribal level can warrant federal assistance even when a statewide per capita indicator is not met. Damage to critical facilities is among the circumstances FEMA considers.
Crane’s proposal would amend Section 1232 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. That existing provision directed FEMA to give greater consideration to severe local impacts or multiple recent disasters when evaluating requests for major disaster declarations.
The county per capita indicator is part of FEMA’s broader evaluation of disaster impacts. Under existing regulations, the agency considers multiple factors when recommending whether federal public assistance is warranted.
Under the Stafford Act’s declaration process, a governor’s request must be based on a determination that a disaster exceeds the capabilities of the state and affected local governments and requires federal assistance. The president makes the major disaster declaration.
Americans are expected to spend $13.5 billion on Halloween this year, surpassing last year’s record of $13.1 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual consumer survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
The survey found that 74% of consumers plan to celebrate Halloween this year, compared to 73% in 2025 and 68% in 2019, reflecting the holiday’s continued popularity among American households.
Despite increased spending, consumers are expected to remain mindful of rising costs, with average spending projected at $115.14 per person, slightly above last year’s $114.45.
“Consumers continue to make Halloween a spending priority, but they are also approaching the season with affordability in mind,” stated NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Allison Zeller.
“For more than two decades, NRF’s Halloween survey has tracked how consumers celebrate the holiday, and this year’s results show that shoppers are being thoughtful and strategic, looking for ways to maximize value throughout the season,” added Zeller.
🎃 Halloween spending is expected to reach $13.5 billion this year, with consumers planning to spend an average of $115 on costumes, candy, decorations and more. https://t.co/5ABujtWJNzpic.twitter.com/6ozeoGIFTf
According to the survey, nearly half of consumers (49%) planned to begin their Halloween shopping in September or earlier, an increase from 34% in 2016.
Among those shopping early, 42% cited their enthusiasm for the fall season, while 34% said Halloween was one of their favorite holidays. Another 23% said they began shopping early to spread out their expenses, while 21% were motivated by discounts and promotions.
Consumers are also adjusting their purchasing habits in response to higher prices. Nearly one-third (31%) said they would compare prices between retailers if Halloween merchandise costs more than expected, while 26% would seek coupons or sales. Another 34% plan to purchase items that can be reused in future years or repurposed for other occasions.
Costumes are expected to account for the largest share of Halloween spending at $4.4 billion, followed by decorations at $4.3 billion, candy at $4.1 billion, and greeting cards at $800 million.
Of the projected costume spending, consumers are expected to spend approximately $2 billion on adult costumes, $1.5 billion on children’s costumes, and $920 million on pet costumes.
Candy remains the most popular Halloween purchase, with 96% of shoppers planning to buy sweets. Additionally, 78% plan to purchase decorations, 71% expect to buy costumes, and 42% plan to purchase greeting cards.
Discount stores remain the leading shopping destination for Halloween merchandise, attracting 39% of consumers, followed by specialty Halloween and costume stores at 32% and online retailers at 27%.
Local and small businesses are also attracting more Halloween shoppers, with 13% planning to make purchases at these establishments, nearly double the 7% reported in 2016.
The survey also highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in consumer shopping habits.
Nearly half of consumers (47%) reported using AI platforms or tools to assist with Halloween shopping, including brainstorming costume and decoration ideas and researching potential purchases.
Online searches remain the most popular source of Halloween costume inspiration at 32%, although that figure declined from 37% last year and reached its lowest level in a decade.
The most common Halloween activities this year include handing out candy (61%), dressing in costumes (50%), decorating homes or yards (42%), carving pumpkins (42%), and watching scary movies (42%).
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
