CEBV Weekly: March 31, 2025
The quandary of lawmaker pay. Billionaires don't need handouts. The last gasp of bad legislation.
This is the last week for committee hearings until budget bills are released sometime between now and the end of June. In typical fashion for our state lawmakers, they’re using this last-minute rush to advance some contentious issues. One of those is lawmaker pay.
The topic poses a quandary with no clear answer. And as at so many other times in life, two contradictory things can often both be true.
Lawmakers need a raise, and also don’t need one. Some lawmakers have figured out how to exploit loopholes in the system by setting themselves up to pocket two or three times as much cash as their seat mates. But for every one who makes out like a bandit by gaming the system for profit, or who’s retired or independently wealthy (or on the lobbyist dole) and doesn’t care about the money, there’s an honest one who is forced to take two or even three additional jobs just to try to make ends meet.
Those lawmakers who try to make ends meet via non-exploitative means often end up resigning, citing long hours, low salary, and a chaotic, toxic pressure-cooker environment in which not much that’s productive gets done.
“I know that I am not the first, nor will I be the last, good person to find themself a casualty of legislative pay.” — Eva Burch (D-9), resigning three weeks ago
Lawmakers have horrid working conditions and sometimes top-tier perks. We’ve all read the news stories of lawmakers taking all-expense-paid trips to places like Germany or Israel, funded by lobbyists or special interest groups who often expect those lawmakers to support their bills. These trips are especially contentious when they happen during legislative session, because lawmakers are also paid for days they are out of the country. Other lawmakers forgo those trips, working long hours alongside fellow lawmakers who can most politely be described as rude, unpleasant, or even bonkers. Who among us might not look for a different job under those circumstances?
Full-time jobs get part-time wages. The Arizona Legislature is designed to be a “citizen legislature” that lasts just 100 days of the year. All lawmakers are supposed to have other jobs and roles in the non-political world. But if they’re doing their job as a lawmaker properly, it’s a full-time, year-round one. The official salary is just $24,000 a year. Not only must voters approve any increases, but they haven’t seen fit to do so in nearly 30 years — and given our current political climate, they’re not likely to start.
Lawmakers have gotten around that by raising their own subsistence payments, as those don’t require voter approval. But a massive 2021 increase resulted in some non-Maricopa lawmakers pocketing twice their $24,000 annual salary in per diem pay, mileage, and housing allowances. When combined with the official salary, that adds up to them making several times more than their metro Phoenix colleagues.
No clear-cut yes or no. The two lawmaker pay bills being heard this week leave us unwilling to either “support” or “oppose.” We’re not happy that lawmakers are making a subsistence-raise request at the 11th hour, circumventing what could otherwise have been months of public input and discussion. We don’t love that the measure they introduced bumps everyone up to the top-tier levels that have created such inequity. And yet, when it comes to our legislature, Arizona also gets what it pays for. As things stand now, most people can only afford to serve if they’re already wealthy — or if they’re willing to ignore ethics and conflicts of interest in order to exploit their position for personal gain.
CEBV has supported lawmaker pay raise bills when we feel they’re well structured, and blasted them when we don’t. We feel these two proposals fall short, and that the issue of lawmaker pay needs a more robust overhaul. But our state has many other problems. And when we view this against the greater Arizona landscape of soaring temperatures, depleted groundwater, underfunded schools, crumbling roads, and so many other critical issues, it rightly must take a back seat.
That in turn sets up a chicken-or-egg scenario. Can we solve our state’s many crises without better representatives? Can we get better representatives without tackling the pay issue? Which comes first? While our state grapples with the quandary, lawmakers continue to leave their jobs — and the brain drain affects all of us.
⏰ If you have 5 minutes: Act on the Spotlight bill, HB2704, by using Request to Speak and contacting the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee (especially Lela Alston and Brian Fernandez) to OPPOSE.
⏰⏰ If you have 10 minutes: Also contact this week’s Hall of Shame lawmaker, Flavio Bravo, to express your disappointment regarding his YES vote on HB2704.
⏰⏰⏰ If you have 20 minutes: Also act on this week’s two legislator pay raise bills, SB1061 and SCR1003, by using RTS and contacting the members of the House Appropriations Committee with your own position.
⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 40 minutes: Also use Request to Speak on the other bills in committees this week. Refer to the information, links and talking points in this Weekly to craft your own comments to lawmakers.
⏰⏰⏰⏰⏰ If you have 60 minutes: Join us on Zoom for our next CEBV Happy Hour conversation. This week, after our usual state legislative rundown, we’ll hear from Christian Sawyer of the Arizona Water Agenda. Happy Hour meets every Sunday at 4 PM through the end of legislative session. Sign up in advance here.
Billionaires Don’t Need Tax Handouts
HB2704, the tax handout bill for the billionaire owner of the Diamondbacks, is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee this Tuesday. It’s time to redouble our opposition and quash this major-league boondoggle. Here are some talking points:
Raises taxes. The bill now requires Maricopa County to chip in, but the county doesn't levy excise taxes, making the cost of the handout a direct hit to county taxpayers.
Drains local budgets. The city of Phoenix was just forced to pass a half-cent sales tax increase because state lawmakers keep pushing tax burdens onto local government.
Little public benefit. More than 3 decades of studies have found stadiums to be consistent money pits that are not justified as worthwhile public investments.
Lacks accountability. There’s no enforceable provision requiring the handout to be spent on actual renovation. It could be diverted to luxury amenities or to tax-exempt hotels, restaurants, bars and retail.
Billionaire megadonors don’t need handouts. Diamondbacks team owner Ken Kendrick is already rich enough to build several stadiums without taxpayer money.
Contact the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee to register your opposition. We’ve been told senators Lela Alston (lalston@azleg.gov or 602-926-5829) and Brian Fernandez (bfernandez@azleg.gov or 602-926-3098) may especially need to hear from us.
One of our tasks is to hold our allies accountable. This section calls out those who voted in favor of harmful bills. We ask them to heed and do better.
👎 Flavio Bravo (D-26) for voting YES on HB2704 in the Senate Finance committee last week. This bill, which would divert $1 billion over 30 years from the state of Arizona and its counties and cities to subsidize a billionaire-owned, highly lucrative sports franchise, would not have advanced without his support. HB2704 will now proceed to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Contact Bravo at fbravo@azleg.gov or 602-926-4033.
This is the last week for committee hearings until budget bills are released sometime between now and the end of June — which means it’s the last week to use Request to Speak until then. Be prepared to shift your advocacy to other forms: calling and emailing lawmakers, writing Letters to the Editor, speaking with neighbors, and so on.
Democracy
HB2704, sponsored by Jeff Weninger (R-13), would redirect $1 billion in taxpayer money to upgrades for Chase Field. Calling the bill a “major-league boondoggle,” Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego warns that current official estimates significantly lowball taxpayer cost. Plummeting revenues thanks to vouchers and tax cuts have meant budget shortfalls for cities across Arizona; Phoenix recently hiked its sales tax to avoid cutting police, fire and libraries. Economists say public funding for pro sports facilities is a drain on taxpayers. Gov. Hobbs said last month she supported the idea and that she was likely to sign it “if all parties agree,” but has repeatedly declined to say whether the opposition from local governments changes that support. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
Education
HB2918, sponsored by Justin Olson (R-10), would slash Arizona's tax rates in the sales, individual income, small business and school district categories, at a projected cost of roughly $200 million per year. The 2022 Ducey tax cuts have already caused state revenues to plummet, leading to massive deficits. Arizona cannot shoulder the burden of further cuts. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
HB2919, sponsored by Justin Olson (R-10), would eliminate the K-12 rollover, an accounting gimmick which delays an expense on paper so it doesn’t count toward the current year’s budget. The bill uses outdated numbers and fails to account for roughly $150 million that schools must repay due to the Qasimyar lawsuit (which dealt with property taxes on second homes). Thus, it constitutes a cut to public schools. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
Lawmaker Pay Raises
SB1061, sponsored by David Gowan (R-19), is subject to a striker that would make huge increases to “per diem” payments for lawmakers who represent Maricopa County, from $35 per day to nearly $200. This is an effort toward narrowing the pay gap that gives non-Maricopa lawmakers several times as much per diem as their counterparts in the Phoenix area. In 2021, Gov. Ducey signed a per-diem raise intended to help rural lawmakers that instead made the system wildly inequitable and ripe for grift. Lawmakers introduced this at the 11th hour, circumventing what could otherwise have been months of public input and discussion. Arizona also gets what it pays for with our legislature; most people can only afford to serve if they’re already wealthy. Scheduled for House Appropriations Committee, Monday.
SCR1003, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), would ask voters to automatically adjust lawmakers’ base pay (which doesn’t include “per diem” subsistence payments) for inflation each year. Lawmaker pay must be approved by voters, who have refused to raise it many times, most recently in 2014. Because the bill is retroactive to 1998 (the last time voters approved an increase), it would double lawmakers' base salary to $48,000 a year. Arizona gets what it pays for with our legislature; most people can only afford to serve if they’re already wealthy. Scheduled for House Appropriations Committee, Monday.
Water
SB1300 is subject to a striker that could allow farmers and ranchers to drill wells and pump unregulated water in San Simon Valley, Cochise County, by allowing a special election to declare an irrigation non-expansion area there. Over the past few years, big growers have bought up land, drilled wells and built large farms in the area; they now want changes in the law that would shut out competitors. Local residents say the change would render their land worthless by wrecking investments they want to farm or sell for retirement income. The state doesn’t regulate water use in this part of Cochise County, allowing pumping with no limits. Continued pumping at current rates will likely lead to collapse. In the past few years, well levels have dropped at an average of 1.2 feet per year, with wells under existing farmland dropping much more rapidly. Scheduled for House Appropriations Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
SB1444 is subject to a striker that revives the provisions of HB2084, which would allow for the formation of a domestic water improvement district for purposes of hauling water. CEBV would rather see the legislature protect the groundwater we have now, so that we don't have to put our water grid on life support by hauling water to places that don’t have any. Scheduled for House Appropriations Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
2025 Session Timeline
Tuesday, 4/22 100th Day of Session (the stated end goal; can be changed) Monday, 6/30 Last day to pass a constitutionally mandated state budget
Flag this handy list of contact info, committee chairs and assignments:
Bookmark CEBV’s Linktree. Want other ways to take action or stay informed? Looking for our social media? It’s all on our Linktree.