by Matthew Holloway | Jan 25, 2026 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Arizona House and Senate Joint Legislative Committee of Reference (JLCOR) declined to grant the Arizona State Land Department a full, unconditional continuation following its sunset review. Citing systemic compliance failures, Republican legislative leaders are advancing legislation to restructure the agency.
According to a statement from House Republican leadership, the committee voted against a standard continuation during the sunset review hearing, raising concerns over deficiencies in oversight, transparency, and adherence to statutory requirements.
The Arizona State Land Department manages more than 9 million acres of state trust land, with proceeds constitutionally required to benefit public schools and other designated beneficiaries.
Lawmakers cited findings from a sunset review and Auditor General reports indicating the department has failed to comply with statutory requirements governing land disposition planning and long-term development strategy. Committee members said those deficiencies warranted legislative action before the agency could receive a full continuation.
According to House GOP leadership, the proposed reforms would require the State Land Department to:
- Develop and follow five-year land disposition plans as required by statute
- Increase transparency and public engagement related to land sales and leases
- Strengthen requirements for competitive bidding and limit single-bid transactions
- Improve coordination with municipalities and reporting on undeveloped trust land
Alongside the sunset review, lawmakers, led by Rep. Gail Griffin (R-LD19), Chair of the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee and Co-Chair of the JLCOR, introduced several bills to reform the Arizona State Land Department.
HB 2426 would require the department to produce a statutorily mandated five-year disposition plan for trust lands within two years, addressing longstanding planning deficiencies. HB 2427 would compel the commissioner to implement all 51 recommendations from the Auditor General’s July 2025 performance audit, with regular reporting and oversight until completion. Meanwhile, HB 2150 clarifies the department’s continuation under sunset law by setting its termination date and laying groundwork for legislative reconsideration of its structure and authority.
“The Department has had issues for a long time,” Rep. Griffin said. “But they’ve gotten worse under the current administration. Licensing timeframes, five-year disposition plans, and written policies and procedures are essential to upholding the best interests of the trust. These were the top issues. The Commissioner acknowledged these issues during her confirmation hearing and committed to fixing them, but they haven’t been fixed. The captain isn’t steering the ship.”
Supporters of the reform effort said the changes are intended to ensure the department fulfills its constitutional obligation to maximize long-term value for trust beneficiaries, including Arizona’s public education system.
“I see an agency that needs significant reforms,” said Rep. Chris Lopez (R-LD16), Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee. “I think the lack of licensing timeframes is violating applicants’ due process rights. I think the Department’s decision to hold applications permanently in abeyance, so it can avoid appeals, is unlawful, serving functionally as a denial without a written decision. And I think the criteria the Department utilizes to determine which applications move forward are entirely subjective. At a time when transparency is key, I’m surprised the agency hasn’t already been sued.”
Under Arizona’s sunset review process, state agencies may be continued, modified, or allowed to expire based on legislative findings. The committee’s rejection of a full continuation means the State Land Department’s future structure and authority will now be considered as part of the broader legislative process.
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 Daniel Stefanski | Apr 4, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
As more bills make their way to Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs’ office, the rate of usage for her veto stamp has accelerated.
On Monday, Governor Hobbs vetoed four pieces of legislation that were recently transmitted from the Legislature to her office, giving her a total of 24 vetoes for this session.
The bills that Hobbs vetoed were HB 2427 (sponsored by Representative Matt Gress), HB 2440 (sponsored by Representative Gail Griffin), HB 2472 (sponsored by Representative Steve Montenegro), and HB 2056 (sponsored by Representative Lupe Diaz).
HB 2427 would have classified, “as aggravated assault punishable as a class 3 felony, assault against a pregnant victim if the person knows or has reason to know the victim is pregnant and circumstances exist that classify the offense as domestic violence.” In her veto letter, Hobbs pointed to “Arizona’s leading advocacy organization for victims of domestic violence” saying that the bill “will do nothing to deter domestic violence offenses or support pregnant victims.”
This bill garnered the most outrage out of the four Hobbs vetoed Monday. Bill sponsor, Matt Gress, responded on Twitter, saying, “Regarding HB 2427, I’ll never apologize for toughening penalties on abusers who assault pregnant women.”
The Arizona Freedom Caucus tweeted, “Hobbs vetoed a bill requiring harsher punishments for people convicted of domestic violence of a pregnant woman.”
However, as expected, Legislative Democrats cheered the governor’s veto of this bill immediately following the announcement from her office. Senator Anna Hernandez said, “This veto was crucial for protecting Arizonans from an underhanded attack on reproductive justice. Representative Gress and the Joint Republicans Caucus’ continued assault on our rights to safe and accessible abortion indicate that their ‘pro-life’ stance has always been about control not care.” And Representative Analise Ortiz added, “The Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence agreed that HB 2427 did nothing to protect survivors. To prevent domestic violence, we must invest in real solutions by expanding access to counseling, housing, childcare, and economic stability.”
HB 2440 would have required “public power entities and public service corporations to prioritize reliable and affordable electric service when conducting infrastructure planning and investments.” Hobbs justified her decision by writing that the bill “is unnecessary and creates regulatory uncertainty in instances where affordability and reliability may be at odds.”
HB 2472 would have prohibited “the State of Arizona from requiring a bank or financial institution to use a social credit score when the bank or financial institution evaluates whether to lend money to a customer.” Hobbs explained that she believed “this bill is overly vague and should not be codified into law,” in part, because “it does not define ‘social credit scores’ – nor do those systems exist anywhere in the United States.”
HB 2056 would have exempted “a dry wash, arroyo, swale, gully or rill or other similar erosional feature that is characterized by low volume, infrequent or short duration flows from the Dredge and Fill Permit Program.” Hobbs argued that this bill created “regulatory confusion and uncertainty by forcing an unnecessary conflict between state law and the federal determination of Waters of the United States.”
House Speaker Ben Toma addressed the pattern of vetoes from the Ninth Floor of the Arizona Executive Tower, stating: “Issuing vetoes is easy. Actual leadership requires hard work, and Republicans in the legislature will continue to pass good public policies that make the state better for working Arizonans and families.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Mar 19, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
An Arizona Republican’s legislative proposal to enhance protections for pregnant women is meeting resistance from Democrats – and created an interesting exchange in a Senate committee last week.
HB 2427, sponsored by Representative Matt Gress, deals with sentencing standards for domestic violence against pregnant victims. According to the purpose of the bill provided by the State Senate, HB 2427 “classifies, as aggravated assault punishable as a class 3 felony, assault against a pregnant victim if the person knows or has reason to know the victim is pregnant and circumstances exist that classify the offense as domestic violence.”
In January, this legislation passed the House Judiciary Committee with a 5-2 vote (with one Democrat voting ‘present’). It later passed the Arizona House at the end of February with a party-line 31-28 vote (one Democrat not voting). The Arizona House Democrats strongly warned about this bill before it was approved by that chamber, writing, “Bad bills heading to the House floor this morning: Rep. Matt Gress’ attempt to sneak extreme anti-abortion fetal personhood language into domestic violence and child support statutes. Don’t be fooled, HB2502 and HB2427 are about entrenching ideological language into law.”
After voting for the bill, Republican Representative Austin Smith tweeted: “You shouldn’t harm pregnant women. All Democrats voted NO on Matthew Gress’s HB2427.”
Last week, HB 2427 was considered in the Senate Judiciary Committee and led to a noteworthy exchange between a member and a witness. The chairman of this committee, Senator Anthony Kern, asked a witness if men could get pregnant – and received an answer in the affirmative. He then pressed the witness to give her definition of a “woman” but received pushback from the witness and his colleagues on the other side of the aisle for the relevance of that question. The witness finally answered that “there are people who identify as different genders who are capable of getting pregnant” and added that she was not going to “feed into the bigotry of that question.”
The Arizona Senate Republican Caucus wasted no time in responding to what they had heard in the committee, saying: “During testimony given at committee today on HB2427, there seems to be confusion over which gender can have a baby. HB2427 would increase penalties on those guilty of domestic violence against PREGNANT WOMEN. This is the difference between Republicans and Democrats.”
Senator Mitzi Epstein voted no on the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee and explained that she was against the legislation because she had heard from people who help victims of domestic violence that this bill could “make some victims more hesitant to call for help because it makes the penalties worse for their partners.” She subsequently noted her desire to protect “people” who are vulnerable.
Representatives from the Secular Coalition for Arizona, Arizona Center for Women’s Advancement, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, AZ National Organization for Women, and the American Civil Liberties Union of AZ all registered in opposition to HB 2427 during the ongoing legislative process.
Senator Kern had the final word – both in committee and on Twitter, writing: ALERT: The democrat left says men ‘can’ get pregnant, and they ‘cannot’ define what a woman is. TRUTH: Men cannot get pregnant and real MEN protect real WOMEN!”
HB 2427 passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with a 4-3 partisan vote, and is expected to be considered by the full chamber in the near future. It is assuredly dead on arrival with Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs should the Senate pass the legislation onto the Ninth Floor of the Arizona Executive Tower.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
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