by Ethan Faverino | Jan 8, 2026 | Economy, News
By Ethan Faverino |
As Arizona lawmakers prepare to convene for the 2026 legislative session, a leading nonpartisan think tank is warning of a demanding agenda driven by fiscal discipline, persistent housing shortages, and critical water policy decisions.
Katie Ratlief, Executive Director of the Common Sense Institute (CSI), emphasized the need for urgent action from the Legislature and Governor Katie Hobbs to address these issues. In a recent report by The Center Square, Ratlief highlighted that the session will require decisive leadership to tackle spending trends, affordability barriers, and the state’s long-term water security.
Arizona’s budget has expanded significantly over the past decade, rising from approximately $10 billion to nearly $18 billion, with $6 billion of that increase occurring in just the last five years. Ratlief urged policymakers to rein in spending increases and reassess recent commitments to determine whether they remain necessary, warning against expenditures outpacing economic growth.
Housing affordability remains a top concern for CSI Arizona, with the latest quarterly report underscoring ongoing challenges despite some cooling in the market. The average home price stands at $426,164—$53,400 more expensive than pre-pandemic trends—leaving households facing high costs amid elevated mortgage rates.
According to CSI Senior Economist and Research Analyst Zachary Milne, Arizonans now need to work more than 64 hours per month, at the average wage, just to afford a typical home payment, significantly up from the historical average of 45 hours.
Real-time estimates show an instantaneous housing shortfall of 52,846 units in Q2 2025, a 6.9% improvement from the revised 56,812 units in 2024. Arizona faces a cumulative housing deficit of 121,334 units, as of 2024, reflecting years of inadequate construction relative to population growth.
Ratlief believes the housing shortfall is not the result of state policy but of holdups originating within cities, noting that local governments control permitting, building codes, and enforcement—factors that can significantly slow housing development.
CSI revealed that most Arizona counties—including Maricopa, with a projected deficit of 34,737 units—are falling behind demand. Even with recent improvements in permitting, Maricopa County is still building thousands of units short of what is needed annually.
Water policy will also dominate discussions this legislative session, as ongoing negotiations over the Colorado River allocations approach a pivotal February 14, 2026, deadline set by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
This is viewed as likely the final opportunity for the seven basin states to reach a consensus agreement on sharing the river’s water before current operating guidelines expire at the end of the year. With Arizona’s unique constitutional requirement, any agreement reached will require legislative approval, setting the stage for intense debate in the 2026 session. Ratlief indicated that if states finalize a deal, the Legislature will debate and vote on authorizing the Department of Water Resources to sign on, potentially shaping Arizona’s water future for decades.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Jonathan Eberle | Dec 17, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Arizona Senate Republicans released their 2026 Majority Plan on Monday, outlining policy priorities aimed at reducing the cost of living, strengthening public safety, supporting economic growth, and increasing oversight of state government.
The plan follows several years of divided government at the Capitol and builds on what Republicans describe as recent legislative accomplishments, including balanced budgets and multiple tax cuts passed without raising overall taxes. Caucus leaders say the 2026 agenda is intended to address challenges facing Arizona families, particularly rising housing costs, inflation, and concerns about government accountability.
“Arizonans want affordable living, safe neighborhoods, and a government that strengthens — not weakens — our economy,” Senate President Warren Petersen said in a statement. “While the Governor’s vetoes stall progress, Senate Republicans remain focused on protecting taxpayers, upholding Arizona’s freedoms, and preventing the radical left from turning our state into California.”
A central component of the plan is a proposed tax and budget framework aimed at providing relief from rising prices. Senate Republicans say they are pursuing reductions in state taxes on tips and overtime, expanded deductions for seniors, and policies to support small businesses. Caucus leaders estimate the proposals would return more than $1 billion to taxpayers over three years while pairing tax relief with restrained government spending.
Housing affordability is another major focus. The plan cites regulatory barriers, slow permitting processes, and executive-level actions as factors contributing to Arizona’s housing shortage. Republicans say they support reforms to speed up construction, reduce fees, and limit local restrictions on new housing, while aligning development decisions with water availability data.
“Arizonans can’t afford policies that stall development, inflate housing prices, or jeopardize our water security,” Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope said. “Senate Republicans are advancing practical, data-driven solutions that support responsible growth and keep Arizona livable for the next generation.”
Water policy is addressed alongside housing, particularly as negotiations over the Colorado River continue. The plan emphasizes the Legislature’s statutory role in those talks and calls for shared conservation efforts among basin states to avoid placing disproportionate burdens on Arizona.
Public safety proposals include addressing staffing shortages in correctional facilities, increasing oversight of state agencies, and strengthening accountability for violent offenders and probation violators. The plan also reiterates support for Second Amendment protections and public safety pension stability.
Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh criticized the current administration’s record, saying, “Arizonans deserve leadership that solves problems, not a wolf in sheep’s clothing who blocks solutions and hopes voters won’t notice.”
Additional priorities outlined in the plan include border security enforcement, election integrity measures, education policy, transportation and infrastructure investment, emergency preparedness, artificial intelligence safeguards, family court reform, veterans’ services, and oversight of agencies such as AHCCCS and the Department of Child Safety. Opening day of the second regular session of the 57th Legislature is scheduled for January 12, when many of the proposals are expected to be introduced.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 10, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Joining KFYI’s Conservative Circus host James T. Harris on Monday, Arizona House Majority Leader Michael Carbone doubled down on comments he made to the Arizona Daily Independent (ADI) on Saturday. Carbone offered the outlet a sound condemnation of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes for her lawsuit against the Trump administration’s efforts to end discriminatory marketing of affordable housing.
As reported by ADI, Mayes and a coalition of 21 Democrat attorneys general have launched their legal action after Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner announced that HUD is “examining ways to slash burdensome regulations that stifle the private sector’s ability to innovate and build much-needed housing supply.”
Among the reforms Mayes and her fellow leftist AG’s voiced opposition to is a proposed rule that would end fair housing regulations that required targeted marketing of affordable housing based on race.
“We’re never going to fix the affordable housing crisis by pushing radical left-wing identity politics,” Carbone told the Daily Independent. “Taxpayer-funded programs should serve all Americans fairly—not pick winners and losers based on race, ethnicity, or national origin. The Trump administration is right to stand up for equal treatment under the law. It’s shameful that Attorney General Mayes would rather play politics and protect discrimination than fight for real solutions that help everyone.”
Speaking with James T. Harris on Monday, Carbone explained, “It’s really a leftist idea what they’re doing. You know, when we create rules, they create behaviors. And all what Trump is trying to do is look at these bad rules. We should let the free market take place, do what it does fast, and then you know… then everything will work itself out, right? No other country in the world can show that, but the America can show that.”
When asked why Mayes is campaigning to keep the affordable housing marketing mandates in place, the Majority Leader answered that Mayes is “flaky to her base #1″ and “these leftists always want to create rules to change the behaviors. And they actually go backwards. They take us backwards.”
He added, “And I said, you go anywhere in the world. When you see the free market here in America, it works the best. We have the best results to show that compared to any country in the world…There’s a reason why President Trump won by a landslide victory, right? He won every class, every race, every group…he killed it. Because people, I think, are getting wind and are tired of the same old crap that the Democrats are playing.”
Carbone, a Chicago-native went on to elaborate on his statement that AG Mayes would “rather protect discrimination” by HUD, explaining, “Look, I grew up in Chicago. I grew up in a three flat with my mom, a single mom with me, my two brothers. And, and you know, we weren’t… we didn’t have a lot of money.
“But I’ll tell you right now where I looked, I was one of the fewest white people around. And you know, when you look at projects, that was a… that was created by the government, by local and federal government projects. And you have to ask the question. I mean, go back, why do you have to create these things? Why do we have to get $30,000, Governor Hobbs’ $30,000 down payment assistance to people?
“And when you fill out that application, it asks you, not who you are, what do you do and who are you? Ethnicity, what group or background you have? Why is that important? And I think people realize we all want to be treated equally. We do. When you do this, you go into a pivot of focusing on certain classifications. And this is what the democratic mantra has been for the last 40 years. They’ve been very good at it. And I think the American people are now woken up and are tired of it.”
Harris replied, saying of Mayes, “It’s like she’s weaponizing taxpayers, wag(ing) a political war against the Trump administration. I mean, is this becoming a pattern with her?”
To which Carbone answered, “OK, this is not only a pattern with her, JT, it’s a pattern with the Democratic machine. Let’s go back to Obama. Obama did this. If people remember, Obama tried doing this, this pilot program where if you had wealthy neighborhoods and you had rent that was probably five times higher than the average rent down the street, which might have been a lower class of income, that those people should have a right to live in those and our tax dollars should pay for that. I’m going back about 15 years. I don’t know if you remember that, but that was a pilot program. I don’t know if it still exists. But the thing is: that’s not how, that’s not how the world works. That’s socialism. That’s a different class of government, different types of economics.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Jul 8, 2025 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Although the causes are attributed to various factors by different sources, largely dependent on political leanings, one irrefutable fact emerged on Monday. During Governor Katie Hobbs’ tenure, Arizona has plunged from a ranking of 4th place in the nation in job growth, to 47th.
On Monday, Russ Wiles, writing for the Arizona Republic noted, “AZ no longer ranks near the top for job creation,” and asked rhetorically, “What went wrong?”
Citing figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Republic reported that Arizona now ranks in 47th place among the fifty states, just ahead of Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Iowa. The report cited a net loss of 1,900 jobs year-to-date in 2025.
In 2020, at the height of the first Trump Administration and under former Gov. Doug Ducey’s tenure, Arizona ranked third in the nation for economic momentum.
In 2019, the Phoenix Metro area even beat out the largest cities in California, Texas, and Florida to take the #1 slot for job growth.
More recently, in a March 2024 statement, Hobbs touted that Arizona ranked 4th in job growth, and tripled the national average in workforce growth. In the pronouncement, which has aged quite poorly, the governor even dubbed herself “Governor Katie Jobbs,” and credited the “81,800 jobs created,” to “investments in housing, healthcare, infrastructure, childcare, and education.”
Meanwhile, a Goldwater Institute op-ed in January, predicting an acrimonious budget battle that materialized over the next five months, pointed out Hobbs’ askew priorities. While the beleaguered Democrat focused on defeating Arizona’s popular Empowerment Scholarship Account program (ESA) and presided over a surge in crime, her failure to account for $800 million in statutorily required Medicaid spending and an affordable housing crisis represented “fiscal mismanagement at its worst.”
AZCentral’s Russ Wiles, in working to answer “What went wrong?” addressed one factor in the decline as “slowing migration, with fewer people moving here from other states,” which dovetails with the affordable housing issue and the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) rule cracking down on new developments.
Lee McPheters, director of the Economic Outlook Center for Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business, noted to the outlet, “With domestic migration trending down and international migration dropping off a cliff in 2025, the impetus for population growth has diminished and undoubtedly plays a role here.”
In May, Goldwater launched a legal battle against the Hobbs administration over the ADWR’s controversial new rule imposing the requirement of a 100-year “unmet demand” groundwater supply rule across wide swaths of the state, essentially choking out new housing development.
In addition, as Wiles notes, construction employment has been further weakened by rising material costs, with overall job growth stunted by tariff uncertainty and high interest rates.
Large scale layoffs, such as Nikola Corp.’s 855 jobs lost to its February bankruptcy and Joann Fabrics’ layoffs of 374 employees in January, also factored in heavily. While not directly attributable to Hobbs’ actions, the losses drew a spotlight to a lack of decisive action from Hobbs to attract new employers to Arizona in the short term.
Another factor, unmarked by AZCentral however, has been the $1.6 billion deficit under Hobbs which forced budget cuts, including Department of Economic Security layoffs that directly contributed to the 1,900 net job loss. As Common Sense Institute of Arizona (CSIAZ) explained in June, rather than being caused by Arizona’s flat tax, the shortfall was caused by a massive increase in spending under Hobbs.
“If spending had followed historical trends, Arizona would have had a $4.3 billion surplus rather than a $1.6 billion cash shortfall last year,” CSIAZ wrote.
Hobbs’ vetoes could present the most egregious contribution she’s made. By vetoing 178 total bills in 2025, 73 in 2024, and 143 in 2023, totaling 424 to date, or approximately a third of all bills sent to her desk, Hobbs has prevented the implementation of a comprehensive policy for economic growth from either her administration or Republican leaders in the state legislature from materializing.
Ultimately, Hobbs’ unwillingness to work productively with Republican lawmakers and her active obstruction of legislation to reduce tax burdens, ease regulation, and stimulate job growth may have proven to be as prominent in Arizona economics as it has been in politics. And as prominent Democratic President Harry Truman famously said, “The buck stops here.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Jonathan Eberle | May 31, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Arizona homeowners will soon have greater freedom to add accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to their properties, thanks to a new law aimed at easing housing constraints and expanding property rights across the state.
House Bill 2928, signed into law last week, was spearheaded by House Majority Leader Michael Carbone. The legislation establishes statewide rules that limit local governments’ ability to restrict ADUs—also known as casitas or guest houses—on lots zoned for single-family homes.
“Arizona homeowners should be able to use their property without being buried in red tape,” said Carbone. “Whether it’s for an aging parent, a young adult, or a rental opportunity, ADUs are a practical solution—and it’s time the law recognized that.”
Under HB 2928, counties must adopt consistent standards by January 1, 2026, or default provisions outlined in the law will automatically take effect. The bill bars local governments from imposing strict design standards, excessive parking requirements, or costly infrastructure upgrades that have historically made ADUs difficult to build.
Key provisions of the law include prohibiting rules that require a preexisting relationship between homeowners and ADU occupants; limiting fees and setback requirements that raise construction costs; and allowing both attached and detached ADUs by right on single-family lots.
The legislation includes carveouts for tribal lands, military zones, high-noise areas, and utility easements. It also permits counties to require septic evaluations where appropriate.
Supporters argue the measure is a meaningful step toward addressing Arizona’s housing affordability challenges. By enabling more flexible use of existing properties, lawmakers say the bill will help ease pressure on housing supply without large-scale development.
“This law gives homeowners more freedom, cuts through bureaucracy, and ensures Arizona families can thrive,” Carbone said.
The reform aligns with broader goals outlined in the House Republican Majority Plan, which emphasizes reducing government intervention and promoting individual rights.
As Arizona continues to experience rapid population growth, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed interest in finding creative housing solutions. ADUs—long used in other states as a way to increase density without altering neighborhood character—are increasingly seen as a tool to meet that demand.
With HB 2928 now law, the focus shifts to implementation, as counties work to meet the 2026 deadline for adopting the required rules.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
