by Matthew Holloway | Jul 11, 2026 | Home Page Top Story, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Republican gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ05) says Arizona’s affordability crisis cannot be solved by housing policy alone, arguing that water management, utility costs, state trust lands, natural resource development, and election integrity all require a new approach under the state’s next governor.
In an exclusive interview with AZ Free News, Biggs outlined what he described as the core priorities of a potential administration, saying Arizona’s long-term prosperity depends on responsible resource management while restoring confidence in state government.
“The affordability of housing” is the state’s biggest economic challenge, Biggs said.
“It gets attention, but it doesn’t encompass everything that’s related to it,” he continued. “The water issue is massive, and it goes hand in glove with housing.”
Biggs argued that utility costs, water availability, and management of Arizona’s natural resources all contribute to the state’s affordability challenges.
“But the one aspect to this all that’s not being addressed in this administration… is how do you manage the state’s natural resources, including state trust land?” Biggs said. “That is going to be critical going forward on affordability issues in the state and viability of long-term economic success.”
For Biggs, water policy remains central to that vision. Biggs said Arizona must play a far more active role in negotiations over the future of the Colorado River rather than allowing federal agencies to dictate the outcome.
“You have to be engaged,” Biggs said.
He said he has met with officials from the United States Bureau of Reclamation, the United States Department of the Interior, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Department of Commerce, and the United States Department of Defense, arguing Arizona’s water allocation should reflect the state’s importance to national food production, semiconductor manufacturing, commerce, and defense.
“I’m encouraging all of them… to redo the environmental impact statement so it actually considers the national food security issue… the national defense sector… and the microchips and the industry,” Biggs said.
He also credited bipartisan work with Democrat Rep. Greg Stanton (AZ-04) to secure additional conservation funding for Lower Basin states and said Arizona’s advocacy helped encourage releases from Flaming Gorge Reservoir to stabilize Lake Powell.
Biggs also called for expanded forest thinning, continued livestock grazing, removal of invasive salt cedar, and responsible development of Arizona’s mineral resources.
“We have 26 of the critical minerals necessary in this state,” Biggs said. “You’ve got to figure out a way to use that and allow for extraction and development in a very rational and sane way.”
Addressing another growing issue, Biggs said he supports data center development but opposes taxpayer incentives.
“I sat down with multiple brokers for data centers and said, ‘Look, here’s the deal. No special breaks. No special benefits,'” Biggs said.
Instead, he said developers should finance their own electrical generation and water infrastructure without reducing resources available to existing residential or commercial customers. “We’re going to allow you guys to develop your power… provided that you do not encroach on current and future commercial and residential users.”
A policy report released by the Goldwater Institute in February warned that Arizona’s growing role as a national hub for data centers could be undermined by municipal regulations driven by concerns over water use, electricity demand, and land use.
On elections, Biggs said restoring public confidence would be among his first priorities if elected governor.
He pointed to Gov. Katie Hobbs’ veto of a Florida-style election integrity bill earlier this year and pledged to sign similar legislation if elected.
“One of the first bills I will sign is that Florida-style election integrity bill in January of 2027,” Biggs said.
Asked about the legal dispute between the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors over election administration, Biggs declined to side with either party but said he has spoken with both.
“I think both sides truly want us to have a fair, transparent election,” Biggs said. “They need to get this thing sorted out quickly.”
Biggs said he believes Arizona can become “the leader on election integrity” by the end of a potential administration.
The congressman is facing fellow Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ01), business owner Ken Miceli, and entrepreneur Scott Neely for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in the primary and has centered much of his campaign on affordability, border security, government reform, and economic growth.
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 AZ Free Enterprise Club | Jul 9, 2026 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
Arizona taxpayers can’t catch a break from their local governments. From water rates and utility bills to property taxes and sales taxes, city councils have spent the last several months approving one increase after another. No matter the justification, the result is always the same: higher costs for the people paying the bills.
Here are some of the top offenders of the last couple of months:
Florence
In the Town of Florence, the town council approved a multi-year water and wastewater rate hike plan that starts with roughly 6–8% increases but compounds over several years into what many residents estimate will amount to around a 64% increase in total utility costs. At a time when families are already struggling with affordability, approving rate hikes of that magnitude is a serious burden on Florence residents. With increases that steep, one would think they’re trying to compete with Gilbert (100%+ increase over 3 years). The increases will start on July 1st, just in time for summer, so get your pocketbooks ready, Florence residents.
Tempe
Tempe has their own slew of problems that deserves an article of its own, self-imposed by mismanagement, obviously. The Tempe City Council recently voted on sending a 0.5% sales tax increase to the ballot for voters in November. This will tax all non-grocery food and is said to give 0.3% to public safety, 0.1% to transit such as light rail and buses and 0.1% to Tempe PRE, a city run free preschool.
As usual, local leaders are putting all blame on the legislature. One Tempe councilmember said, “Let me remind you what we set out to do with this initially: to address a … deficit that was created not by us but by the Arizona Legislature and the federal government.”
Meanwhile, this is occurring while the council has decided on things like a $2 million “Mill Ave” sign. Just plain, silver metal. Nothing special or aesthetic and $2 million is going towards this thing? Right, and it’s the legislature’s fault that they are in a budget deficit of about $24 million. It’s almost as if they didn’t spend your tax dollars on stupid things, they wouldn’t need to keep raising taxes…
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Apr 16, 2026 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
Proximity to the people does not prevent abuse of power. In fact, it often does the opposite. Municipal governments enact restrictive policies just as easily as state or federal governments and often with less scrutiny.
There is a myth in America that the closer government is to the people, the more checks exist and the better the governance. By that logic, local governments, city and town councils, being closest to the people, must be the least corrupt and most responsive. Because of this, municipalities and their proponents constantly argue that they should be free to govern their communities without interference, or as it’s often framed, maintain “local control.”
The local control argument might seem intuitive, however, does shifting power from one level of government to another actually protect individual freedom? The burden on the people is the same, if not more, whether bad policy comes in the form of higher taxes, increased fees, restrictive regulations, or costly utility rate hikes from federal, state, or local government.
In Gilbert, residents have been outraged by astronomical water bills and rate increases, decisions made not in Washington, D.C. or in Phoenix, but by their own local government. Proximity did not protect them; it made the impact more immediate. Gilbert is not the only town with unceasing increased costs, municipalities across Arizona are raising taxes, fees, and rates (good thing there is a resolution moving through the legislature to alleviate this)…
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Feb 26, 2026 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
It’s not an accident that the top issue talked about by politicians these days is affordability. Over the last 5 years the cost of pretty much everything has gone through the roof, largely caused by the trillions in reckless spending by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Washington.
Taming inflation must remain our top economic priority, and the good news is that Arizona Republicans are taking meaningful steps to bring costs down. After adopting a 2.5% flat income tax under Governor Doug Ducey in 2022, state lawmakers have fought to slash grocery taxes, residential rental taxes and eliminate regulations that are driving up the cost of energy and housing.
Yet while the Republican controlled legislature is doing everything it can to make sure hardworking taxpayers get to keep more of their hard-earned dollars, municipalities throughout Arizona are passing an avalanche of tax and fee increases that are costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars every year…
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by Matthew Holloway | Feb 14, 2026 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
In a 5-4 party-line vote Tuesday, the Republican-led Arizona House Ways and Means Committee advanced legislation that would temporarily freeze most municipal and county tax, fee, and utility rate increases for four years.
House Bill 4030 and House Concurrent Resolution 2052, sponsored by Committee Chair Justin Olson (R-LD10), would limit local government charges to levels approved in fiscal year 2025–2026 budgets for a four-year period beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2030.
Under the proposal, cities and counties would be prohibited from raising existing fees or tax rates, creating new tax classifications, or expanding tax bases during the moratorium period. The measures would preserve voters’ authority to approve increases at the ballot box. HB 4030 would enact the moratorium through statute. HCR 2052 would refer the policy to voters at the next general election.
The legislation includes enforcement provisions aimed at preventing local governments from restructuring or renaming charges, altering rate schedules, or modifying classifications in a way that would effectively increase revenues beyond fiscal year 2025–2026 levels.
In a statement, Olson said the measures are intended to provide cost certainty for residents amid ongoing inflationary pressures.
“These bills do exactly what families expect when the cost of living keeps climbing: they stop government from reaching deeper into their pockets,” Olson said. “While Arizona families are cutting back, local governments should not be hiking fees, raising taxes, or quietly inflating utility bills. HB 4030 and HCR 2052 put a hard check on that behavior and give taxpayers certainty and relief.”
“This comes down to discipline and fairness,” Olson explained. “Local governments already approved their budgets. This bill just requires them to live within the revenues generated by existing tax rates. If a city or county wants more money, they can make their case to voters and earn the support of a strong supermajority. What they cannot do is quietly raise costs on families whose budgets are already stretched thin.”
The proposal also follows recent disputes between state lawmakers and municipal governments over local authority, including 2025 legislation involving Axon’s planned headquarters development in Scottsdale that resulted in the Legislature preempting certain local actions.
Arizona’s Constitution grants charter cities broad authority over local affairs, including taxation and fee structures, under its home-rule provisions (Arizona Constitution, Article XIII, Section 2). Arizona courts have historically recognized broad municipal autonomy in matters deemed “purely local,” as the Arizona Supreme Court noted in State ex rel. Brnovich v. City of Tucson (2017).
In recent years, several Arizona municipalities have approved utility and service rate increases, citing infrastructure needs and inflationary pressures. For example, the City of Phoenix approved water and wastewater rate adjustments in 2023 and 2024 to address infrastructure and operational costs, according to the City of Phoenix Water Services Department. Tucson Water has also adopted phased rate increases in recent budget cycles, per city rate information.
If approved by both chambers and signed by the governor, HB 4030 would take effect as statute. As a concurrent resolution, HCR 2052 would bypass the governor and instead be placed on the ballot for voter consideration. Both measures now advance to the full House.
Supporters argue the measure would provide temporary cost certainty for residents, while opponents of similar proposals in past sessions have raised concerns about potential constraints on municipal budgeting and infrastructure funding.
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.
