What's Happening at the Arizona Legislature Under GOP Control

A dark day at the AZ legislature

As an advocate for the environment, I would prefer to be non-partisan since having clean air and water benefits us all. It shouldn't be political. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. I have watched the Republicans dismantle hundreds of environmental protections. I understand why many people think that both parties are equally corrupt. But having followed what is happening at the Arizona Legislature, I've seen that isn't the case in Arizona.  I've watched how the Republicans (with a slight majority) govern and the terrible bills they band together to push through. 

You might think that the job of politicians is to work together to benefit their constituents. But for the AZ GOP, it's a winner take all game. GOP leaders aren't even allowing bills by Dems to get a hearing in the committees the majority members lead. (Being approved in committees is the first step towards a bill becoming a law). 

Under Republican leadership, our legislators have gotten absolutely nothing done to help the people of Arizona. Well, unless you are a wealthy donor. They increased our deficit by 1.6 billion dollars by creating a 2.5% flat tax that mostly benefits rich donors and expanding the school voucher program. When fraud was uncovered (homeschooling parents using funds for resort vacations, pianos, diamond rings, etc.), they did nothing to reel it in. 

Tired of losing teachers, the good people of Arizona voted for raises for teachers. Republican legislators took it to court, so they wouldn't have to pay - retaining our shameful place as 50th in the nation for school funding. 

Through Desktop Activist Tucson, I urged people to push back on bad bills using the Request to Speak system. I mostly concentrated on bills related to the environment, voting or governance. Last year there were over 200 bills that made it more difficult to vote or to conduct citizens initiatives (our constitutional right as Arizonans). They really had it out for early voting - even though 75% of Arizonans signed up for early voting this year.  I wonder why that is?

I witnessed committee chairs push through bills that prop up fossil fuels (while penalizing solar), bills that attack alternate transportation (like bike paths in Tucson) and numerous bills that weaken our already lax water laws.

You would think that the chair of the Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee, Rep. Gail Griffin would sponsor bills that protect Arizona's threatened water supply as cutbacks to our Colorado River allotments (our main source of water in Tucson) loom. But I have followed this real-estate broker as she sponsored bill after bill weakening Active Management Areas (AMAs) to the benefit of developers and big water users. 

Out of state companies (and Saudi Arabia) exploit our extremely lax water laws. But instead of working on the non-partisan council to strengthen them, Griffin has sponsored numerous bills to weaken them.  A few cities have AMA protections (like Tucson, Phoenix, and Prescott). But much of the state doesn't. Big industrial farms put in deeper wells, leaving no water for smaller family farms. There were even sinkholes in Willcox from subsidence from over pumping. To protect them, Gov. Hobbs created the Willcox AMA. And Griffin has been trying to weaken it ever since. Luckily, we have Gov. Hobbs to veto the worst of their bills. That won't be the case if we elect a Republican governor. 

These are only a few examples. But you don't have to believe me. Do your own research. And vote. Your children's future depends on it. 

If you care about the environment, you can find a link to the Sierra Club's 2026 Environmental Report Card for AZ Legislature & Governor here. And here is their General Election Voter Guide 2026.

2026 Environmental Report Card for AZ Legislature & Governor

During the 2026 session of the AZ Legislature many harmful energy, water, and wildlife bills died. Thanks to those of you who pushed back through the Request to Speak system or by contacting your legislators. That's good news but there was still no action to protect water or act on climate. 

Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, joined by Chispa Arizona and Arizona Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Advocates, Arizona Mountain Mamas, and Mi Familia Vota released the 2026 Environmental Report Card for the Arizona Legislature and Governor.

“We were pleased to see the Legislature put a moratorium on tax breaks for new data centers, but more is needed to hold them accountable relative to water and energy use, as well as transparency,” said Sandy Bahr, director for Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “While we saw some action on PFAS to protect firefighters and to restrict homeowners associations from blocking backyard shade, the rest of the session was characterized by lack of action to protect our air, water, public health, or communities, plus way too many bills to impede solar and wind and to advance fossil fuels and nuclear, plus a bunch of legislation to weaken groundwater protections. The good news is all of this legislation died in one house or the other or via a veto.“

In the 2026 Legislative Session, the House sent a plethora of bad legislation to the Senate, including HB2267 public nuisance; renewable energy; exceptions (Marshall), which would have established that any utility-scale solar or wind project that is built within four miles of a residence is automatically considered a public nuisance, and HB2331 NOW: electric utility; reliable energy standard (Marshall: Heap) which effectively said that 85 percent of the generating capacity to serve retail load cannot be solar or wind, thus limiting some of the cheapest energy sources. Both of these bills died as they did not receive a hearing in the Senate Natural Resources Committee. 

Among the harmful water bills that the House sent to the Senate was  HB2758 McMullen Valley; eligible entities; groundwater (Griffin: Blackman). It was some of the worst water legislation and was never brought to the Senate floor as the votes were not there to pass it. The bill would have allowed private water companies and a New York hedge fund, Water Asset Management, to engage in the interbasin transfer of groundwater from the McMullen Valley in La Paz County, which would have harmed the people who live there.

While it is difficult to find a way to grade legislators on the many important issues and bills that were left unaddressed, some of the same people who scored high on the report card are the ones who were advocating for protecting our air and water and advancing clean energy and environmental justice. HB2141 environmental permitting; requirements; burdened communities (De Los Santos: P. Contreras) would have defined “overburdened communities” and required major polluters seeking air quality, waste, and water quality permits in overburdened communities to develop “Environmental Justice Impact Statements,” plus empowered the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to deny or condition permits due to disproportionate impacts based on the statements. This bill never got a hearing, nor did HB2928 working conditions; heat illness; prevention (Sandoval: Abeytia, Aguilar, et al.)  to mandate the industrial commission to establish rules that cover indoor and outdoor workplaces in industries such as agriculture, construction, landscaping, oil and gas extraction, and delivery services.  Please check out the environmental report card and keep those grades in mind when election time comes around in November. Also, share your insights with friends and encourage them to vote for legislators who represent their values. Currently, none of the good bills sponsored by Dems are even getting a hearing. Finally, look out for the upcoming Request to Speak actions as the new session starts in January. If you haven't already, sign up to get a Request to Speak account so you are ready for the actions to come. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScdjBMoAJrjHD57GGegmdUCKAowcr93K4vQA6a7_AjyElBtrQ/viewform

Support Coal Ash Water Protections & the Energy Bills Relief Act

Protect Our Water – Don't Let EPA Weaken Coal Ash Protections

Retired Cholla Coal Plant photo by Sandy Bahr

For more than a century, coal companies have dumped billions of tons of their toxic coal ash into leaking ponds, landfills, and ground pits across the country. Here in Arizona there are five coal-fired power plants, some of them now retired, with coal ash ponds or landfills.  Coal ash is toxic waste that poisons our water, air, and communities. After decades of advocacy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  finally established and strengthened coal ash regulations in 2024. Now the EPA wants to roll back these life-saving standards. We cannot go backward.  Trump’s EPA is moving to gut these hard-won protections that safeguard our water, health, and communities from this dangerous waste. Our health, our environment, and our most vulnerable communities depend on maintaining strong coal ash protections. Join us in demanding that the EPA protect people, not polluters.  Written comments to EPA must be submitted by June 12, 2026. Submit a written comment HERE.  Take Action to Support the Energy Bills Relief Act!  Right now our energy bills are skyrocketing and the climate crisis is only getting worse. Fortunately we have the solution right at our fingertips with affordable solar and wind power! Clean energy delivers. People want abundant, reliable energy and lower electricity bills. The only way to achieve that is with clean energy. We need to tackle the climate crisis now, not later – and we need less pollution, cleaner air, more jobs and cost savings for families. That’s why we're asking Congress to support the Energy Bills Relief Act which will lower costs by making it easier to build clean energy. Thank you to Representative Yassamin Ansari, Representative Adelita Grijalva, and Representative Greg Stanton for being original co-sponsors of the bill. We need to build on their support to make sure this bill moves when the time is right. Here’s what the Energy Bills Relief Act will do: Modernizes and strengthens our electrical grid. Takes steps to protect us from data centers driving up energy costs. Stops propping up expensive, dirty fossil fuel power plants ready for retirement. Helps people save money through energy efficiency. Expands LIHEAP so low-income families don’t see their heat or air conditioning shut off. Restores the clean energy tax credits that Republicans eliminated in 2025. Sign on to support the bill and send a strong message to Congress!

Bad bills that just wouldn't die, died!

Legislative Report

The Arizona House and Senate came back for a couple of days this week, sending a few bills to the Governor and moving a few others along in the process. Legislative leaders still revealed nothing about when we will see the budget and what it will contain. As we have noted before, passing a budget is the only thing they absolutely have to do each session. We are now hearing it may happen next week. Stay tuned. We are asking legislators to keep tax incentives for clean energy and to eliminate all of the tax breaks for data centers, plus fund the Arizona Heritage Fund, heat centers, and the Water Quality Fee Fund.

Please take action against these bad bills that just won't die! 

SB1418 corporation commission; small modular reactors (Carroll) preempts counties – except Maricopa and Pima – from regulating the location of small modular nuclear reactors if they are co-located with high-load factor electricity user such as data centers. We have data centers locating here in our communities indiscriminately and using enormous amounts of water and electricity, plus providing very few sustainable jobs.    Ask your representatives to say no to lax siting for nuclear and data centers. Please take action on SB1418 even if you have previously. It is likely to be voted on next week. Note that this is a new alert form.   SB1332 Now: light rail expansion; feasibility review (Kavanagh) advanced this past week and could go to a Third Read vote next week too. SB1332 requires a biased study of light rail and attempts to pit it against other forms of transportation. Requiring an analysis that compares light rail and autonomous or semiautonomous vehicles is an apples to oranges comparison and provides no real beneficial information or benefits to our communities. Light rail is not in competition with other forms of transportation but rather augments them and is especially important to coordinate with buses, plus it is a key component of our transit system in the Phoenix area. Please speak up for light rail, even if it does not affect you directly.   Tell Your Representatives to Oppose SB1332! We know the majority in the Arizona Legislature want to refer something to the ballot and we expect that these twin referral bills may be on the list. SCR1001 citizenship; identification; contributions; early voting (Bolick) and HCR2001 citizenship; identification; contributions; early voting (Kolodin: Chaplik, Heap, et al) refer identical measures to the ballot to limit early voting and require all voters (even those voting mail ballots) to "show valid government-issued proof of identity." These bills would give the legislature the authority to shut down early voting too!    Ask your legislators to vote NO on SCR1001/HCR2001!

SB1280 Public monies; Mexican wolf; Prohibition (Farnsworth) would prohibit the Arizona Game and Fish Commission from transporting Mexican gray wolf puppies into Arizona and also from spending any money for transporting wolf puppies into the state.    Tell your representatives to vote no on SB1280!

HB2758 McMullen Valley; eligible entities; groundwater (Griffin: Blackman) is among the worst water legislation moving through the process. The bill allows private water companies and a New York hedge fund, Water Asset Management, to engage in the interbasin transfer of groundwater from the McMullen Valley in La Paz County to elsewhere in La Paz County or to an active management area -- basically the Phoenix area.   Please ask your Senator to Vote NO on HB2758!

HB2975 state lands; solar score; maps (Heap: Marshall) prohibits the State Land Department from using solar score maps or other similar types of evaluation of state trust lands for its appropriateness for solar energy generation. This removes transparency and is contrary to the good planning. It is intended to be punitive of solar.  Note, we are also watching the State Land Department continuation bill for harmful provisions on wind and solar. We will have more on that next week.   Please ask your senator to vote no on HB2975!

2026 bill tracker here.  UPDATE: Thanks to Gov. Hobbs for vetoing SB1280, SB1281, SB1332, SB1418 & HB2873. SB1280 Public monies; Mexican wolf; Prohibition (Farnsworth) would have prohibited the Arizona Game and Fish Commission from transporting Mexican gray wolf puppies into Arizona and also from spending any money for transporting wolf puppies into the state.  SB1281 federal government; land acquisition; consent (Farnsworth) required the State Land Department to provide a new catalog of federal public lands, including the natural, scenic, historical or cultural value, species, ecosystem, habitat or characteristic to be protected, and whether the land protection – national park, national monument, wilderness area, national forest, etc. –  is the smallest necessary to protect these resources. These are unreasonable requests, especially without additional funding, and are clearly intended to try to make a case for removing protections that are “too big.” SB1332 Now: light rail expansion; feasibility review (Kavanagh) required a biased study of light rail and attempted to pit it against other forms of transportation. Requiring an analysis that compares light rail and autonomous or semiautonomous vehicles is an apples to oranges comparison and provides no real beneficial information or benefits to our communities. Light rail is not in competition with other forms of transportation but rather augments them and is especially important to coordinate with buses, plus it is a key component of our transit system in the Phoenix area. SB1418 corporation commission; small modular reactors (Carroll) would have preempted counties – except Maricopa and Pima – from regulating the location of small modular nuclear reactors if they are co-located with high-load factor electricity user such as data centers. We have data centers locating here in our communities indiscriminately and using enormous amounts of water and electricity, plus providing very few sustainable jobs.  HB2873 NOW: municipalities; referendum petitions; withdrawal (Weninger) would have allowed anyone who files a referendum petition with a city or town to withdraw the petition in writing at any time before it qualifies for the ballot. There are numerous problems with this, but the biggest one is allowing one person or one entity to disenfranchise every person who signed the petitions -- people who in good faith signed to have an opportunity to vote on the issue -- would now not have an opportunity to do so merely because an entity or person did not plan well or got cold feet. You can send a thank you note to Governor Hobbs by using her online form here. The Governor also vetoed HB2013 relating to air quality and HB2113 relating to the Residential Utility Consumers Office. You can see a full list of the bills Governor Hobbs signed and vetoed today here. UPDATE July 28, 2026 In the 2026 Legislative Session, the House sent a plethora of bad legislation to the Senate, including HB2267 public nuisance; renewable energy; exceptions (Marshall), which would have established that any utility-scale solar or wind project that is built within four miles of a residence is automatically considered a public nuisance, and HB2331 NOW: electric utility; reliable energy standard (Marshall: Heap) which effectively said that 85 percent of the generating capacity to serve retail load cannot be solar or wind, thus limiting some of the cheapest energy sources. Both of these bills died as they did not receive a hearing in the Senate Natural Resources Committee.  Among the harmful water bills that the House sent to the Senate was  HB2758 McMullen Valley; eligible entities; groundwater (Griffin: Blackman). It was some of the worst water legislation and was never brought to the Senate floor as the votes were not there to pass it. The bill would have allowed private water companies and a New York hedge fund, Water Asset Management, to engage in the interbasin transfer of groundwater from the McMullen Valley in La Paz County, which would have harmed the people who live there.

Protest the auction of 160 acres of State Trust Land requested by Hudbay Minerals.

APRIL 29TH AUCTION PROTEST

Protest the auction of 160 acres of State Trust Land requested by Hudbay Minerals. Hudbay wants to use this land as a dump for its toxic mine waste called tailings.

Date: Wednesday, April 29th

Time: 10 AM

Location: State Office Complex, 400 W. Congress Street, Tucson. (Please note this a change in location effective 9:30 a.m., April 26.)

Parking: Street parking and parking garages are available.

What to Bring: Water, sun protection, protest signs, and your voice!

https://scenicsantaritas.org/event

MORE INFORMATION: 

Enviros: Cancel auction of state land for Copper World mine because of 'factual errors' in notices
Tucson groups challenge planned 160-acre sale of Arizona State Trust Land to hold mine tailings pile

https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/041726_mine_auction_notices/enviros-cancel-auction-state-land-copper-world-mine-factual-errors-notices/

Keep these bad bills from landing on the Governor's Desk

This week at the State Legislature, some bad bills were passed from one chamber to the other. You might recognize four from our Request to Speak actions. This is your last chance to stop them before they reach the Governor's desk. The Sierra Club supplied forms to make it easy to push back on SB1280, SB1418 and  HB2758.

But we are trying something new for HB2975  and  SB1332. You will need to call your legislators or draft a short email using the information provided below. The good news is that it should be even more impactful! 

Both the House and Senate advanced bills on the floor this past week, including one that has reached the Governor, HB2787. HB2787 federal nullification; Mexican wolf; reintroduction (Diaz) prohibits the state from administering, enforcing, or cooperating or spending any money on Mexican gray wolf reintroduction and recovery. This is another short-sighted bill to hinder wolf recovery and would ensure that the state wildlife agency would have little say in the wolf recovery program. The Sierra Club sent a letter asking the Governor to veto it and she did!  Stop the "Cruella de Vil" Act Still alive and in the mix is SB1280 Public monies; Mexican wolf; Prohibition (Farnsworth). Also dubbed the Cruella de Vil Act , SB1280 would prohibit the Arizona Game and Fish Commission from transporting Mexican gray wolf puppies into Arizona and also from spending any money for transporting wolf puppies into the state. This is a direct attack on the current federal efforts to improve the genetic diversity of Mexican gray wolves in the wild and undermines the science-based administration of the Endangered Species Act. Use this form to tell your reps to vote no on SB1280.  Tell your representatives to vote no on SB1280 Stop the unregulated nukes! Also advancing and likely to land on the Governor's desk soon is SB1418 corporation commission; small modular reactors  (Carroll). It preempts counties – except Maricopa and Pima – from regulating the location of these small modular nuclear reactors if they are co-located with a large industrial electricity user such as a data center. We have data centers locating here in our communities indiscriminately and using enormous amounts of water and electricity, plus providing very few sustainable jobs. SB1418 also says nuclear power units are not subject to requirements for a certificate of environmental compatibility, if they are being sited where there was another thermal power plant. Take action to demand accountability on small reactors and data centers below. Tell your representatives to vote no on SB1418

Some in the Arizona Legislature are still trying to help hedge funds swipe rural water! HB2758 McMullen Valley; eligible entities; groundwater (Griffin: Blackman) is among the worst water legislation moving through the process. The bill allows private water companies and a New York hedge fund, Water Asset Management, to engage in the interbasin transfer of groundwater from the McMullen Valley in La Paz County to elsewhere in La Paz County or to an active management area -- basically the Phoenix area. HB2758 creates sacrifice zones for groundwater pumping to the detriment of rural Arizonans in order to feed the growth machine in urban areas and to benefit the bottom line of this hedge fund. Learn more about the small communities fighting this bill here.   Please ask your Senator to Vote NO on HB2758!

While helping hedge funds steal water, legislators are also seeking to hinder clean solar energy development! HB2975 state lands; solar score; maps (Heap: Marshall) prohibits the State Land Department from creating solar score maps while requiring the department to create maps of mining resources and housing development potential. The bill further requires the Land Department to only use the maps it has created when planning for future use of State Lands. This prevents the department from considering solar developments in their land use plans. Contact your Senator and ask them to vote NO on HB2975. To find out who your legislators are, first find your district here:  https://irc-az.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=424810a4667049388ef6df4f0c73098b Use the district to find out who your Senator is and find their contact info here.

Leaving no stone unturned when it comes to bad policy, legislators, especially Senator John Kavanagh, are attacking light rail as well.

SB1332 Now: light rail expansion; feasibility review (Kavanagh) requires a biased study of light rail and attempts to pit it against other forms of transportation. Requiring an analysis that compares light rail and autonomous vehicles is an apples to oranges comparison and provides no real beneficial information or benefits to our communities.  It's not like there are no studies on light rail either. Every project goes through a thorough environmental and economic impact review before it's approved. Just visit the Valley Metro page and you will find several. This is just a waste of time and money.  Contact your representatives and ask them to vote NO on SB1332. You can find their info here. Sierra Club's 2026 bill tracker here:  https://www.quorum.us/spreadsheet/external/jsklJgFKUzncqsWUMgnx/

Help Shape the Future of Transportation in Tucson

Shape the future of transportation in Pima County by giving input on PIMA COUNTY TRANSPORTATION PLAN Help Pima County Transportation develop a Master Plan that will guide improvements for walking, biking, driving and transit across the County for the next 30 years. The Transportation Master Plan will address all 9,189 square miles of Pima County and include 2,200 miles of roadway, along with pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and paratransit infrastructure.

TAKE THE SURVEY https://movingpima.com/

Pima County wants to hear from you! This short survey is designed for anyone who has ever used the Chuck Huckelberry Loop. Your answers will help us make the County's favorite trail even better!

https://engage.zencity.io/engagepimacounty/en/engagements/86138da1-293b-41f4-af38-991fc679ac7f?utm_medium=social

Sun Tran Community Input Sessions

Sun Tran is proposing route and service enhancements to Routes 4, 8, 9, 102X, 104X, 108X, Sun On Demand, along with a new Route 124X, and new Sun Tran bus stop sign design. These recommendations are part of the 2024 Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA) study. The recommendations will need to be approved by Mayor and Council in order to take effect in August of 2026.

Riders and community members are encouraged to attend a one-hour session and provide feedback on the future of Sun Tran's transit system. Here's how you can participate:

Monday, April 13 | Noon | University of Arizona Student Union- San Pedro Room

Tuesday, April 14 | 6 p.m. | Virtual (link available at Suntran.com)

Wed, April 15 | 5 p.m. | El Rio Neighborhood Center: 1390 W. Speedway Blvd.

Thursday, April 16 | 2 p.m. | Woods Memorial Library: 3455 N. First Ave.

Friday, April 17 | Noon | Udall Center: 7200 E. Tanque Verde Rd.

Monday, April 20 | 5 p.m. | Nanini Library: 7300 N. Shannon Rd.

Tuesday, April 21 | Noon | Clements Center: 8155 E. Poinciana Dr.

Thursday, April 23 | 5 p.m. | Quincie Douglas Center: 1575 E. 36th St.

Friday, April 24 | Noon | Joel D. Valdez Main Library: 101 N. Stone Ave.

Monday, April 27 | Noon | Virtual (link available at Suntran.com)

For more information or trip planning assistance, visit Suntran.com, call Customer Service at (520) 792-9222 (TDD 520-628-1565), email SunTranInfo@tucsonaz.gov or download the Transit App - the official Sun Tran app - to plan your trip and track bus arrivals in real-time. The app is available for free on the App Store and Google Play.

 SunTranInfo@tucsonaz.gov