by Matthew Holloway | Feb 16, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
A bill to amend the Arizona Constitution to prohibit the state, cities, towns, and counties from tracking, taxing, or limiting vehicle miles traveled has passed a House committee and is moving to a floor vote. If approved by the Arizona House and Senate, HCR2035 will bypass Governor Katie Hobbs and go straight to the voters for approval.
Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AZFEC) said in a statement, “As we have seen in other states, governments left to their own devices will succumb to radical attempts to track, tax, or limit their citizens’ transportation miles.”
He added, “These environmental schemes have no place in a free and prosperous society. In this divided state government, it is critical for our Republican-led Legislature to proactively send this constitutional amendment to the voters to protect our state from these authoritarian policies. I’m thankful to the lawmakers who have supported this bill, and I look forward to seeing it pass the full House in the near future.”
The measure has been supported by AZFEC since at least March 2024 when the organization warned that “tracking, limiting and taxing our vehicle miles traveled is a dream scenario for those pushing a radical environmental agenda,” citing the Biden administration’s pilot program for a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax baked into the Inflation Reduction Act.
In a post to X, the AZFEC explained, “HCR 2035 is the first of its kind in the nation. As a constitutional amendment, it would prohibit the state, cities, towns, and counties from imposing a Vehicle Miles Traveled tax and limiting or monitoring vehicle miles traveled by an individual – whether they are using a gas-powered car or an electric vehicle. If approved by the Arizona House and Senate, the measure would then be transmitted to the Secretary of State to be included on the November 2026 General Election ballot to be considered by voters, bypassing the Governor’s Office.”
In January, the corresponding measure passed the Senate Government Committee as SCR1004 and is now pending a vote on the Senate floor as well. The bill was introduced by Arizona Senator Jake Hoffman.
The Arizona chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus offered its endorsement of SCR1004 alongside SB1092 which work in tandem.
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 | Apr 12, 2024 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
Everyone knows that political pundits, social media influencers, and the corporate media love a good narrative. And one of their favorites for years has been the claim that Arizona is trending blue—that a demographic shift toward Democrats is inevitable.
This ‘conventional wisdom’ is repeated so often that much of the Republican political class in the state has accepted it as fact. Some are even advising candidates that the only path forward for Republicans is to abandon their conservative principles, embrace center-left policy solutions, and settle for a future of divided government.
But a funny thing about narratives and conventional wisdom: numbers don’t lie, especially those showing party preference when people are registering to vote.
Last month, the Secretary of State updated the statewide voter registration data prior to the Presidential Preference Election. The latest figures show that Republicans are once again the largest voting bloc in Arizona, surpassing Independents by nearly 40,000. This is certainly an important development—especially given all the attention it received on social media when Independent registrations surpassed Republicans last year.
But that’s not the most significant voter registration trend…
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by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Mar 24, 2024 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
The Biden administration and his liberal allies have been moving at warp speed to impose their radical agenda on the American people. From banning gas cars and gas stoves to adopting race-based DEI programs in our schools, proposals that would have seemed preposterous just 5 years ago have now become mainstream positions within the Democrat party.
Nothing appears to be off limits, and that even includes our ability to travel in our automobiles without having the government monitor, limit, and tax our vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
All throughout the country, there are efforts by government bureaucrats and climate change zealots to adopt these authoritarian VMT tax schemes. They are all motivated to eliminate carbon emissions and create a new revenue stream for expensive and rarely used transit projects.
For instance, tucked in the Inflation Reduction Act passed by the Biden administration was a pilot program for a VMT tax that would monitor your miles traveled in your vehicle while charging you a fee for any miles you do travel. And if you’re driving a gas-powered car, buckle up because now you’ll get to pay two taxes…
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