(The Center Square)– It was a year of change in Arizona politics.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs entered the Executive Tower and brought along a new dynamic with the Republican majority legislature, long used to working with a Republican administrations.
House Speaker Ben Toma sat down with The Center Square to reflect on the past year, as well as look forward to the future. Toma succeeded former House Speaker Rusty Bowers in January, previously serving as the majority leader for Republicans.
Overall, the Republican said the year brought along various wins for his caucus, including on the negotiated budget that Hobbs signed in May.
“From a Republican perspective, it’s not a stretch to say it was just a big win all the way around. We got a budget that was structurally balanced, which was a big deal. We’ve got some of our priorities through that was a big deal. Members individually got their priorities through, you know, not all of us have to agree that all those priorities are great,” he said. “But the point is that each member got priorities for their district. And that was a huge win.”
The speaker added that the state’s economy continues to make significant progress compared to where it was during the Great Recession, even though the executive has seen a party change.
“It’s been a decade-plus of Republican administration that have got us past and changed our economy from what it was in the Great Recession,” he said.
“We’re in a really good place actually, and so being able to protect those making it or keeping it still a good environment to start a business, to grow, to expand, I think is a huge win in the long term,” Toma added in regards to how the economy has diversified in recent years.
However, the speaker said there are certain policy areas, such as housing and water, that he would like to see more heavily emphasized in the next session.
“As you know, in the real world, I’m a real estate broker, and for the first time ever we’re above the national median price for homes in the valley. And that’s really for the first time ever. It’s usually been a place where people can come to Arizona and get relatively low-cost housing. Well, that’s no longer the case,” Toma said. “That’s a serious problem, especially for first-time home buyers.”
Taxes also served as a contentious topic at the state capitol this year.
One bill to scrap the municipal rent tax was vetoed by Hobbs, but a different version of the bill ended up getting her signature to get Republicans to agree to allow a Proposition 400 extension vote on the ballot, which is a half-cent sales tax in Maricopa County used for infrastructure purposes, The Center Square reported in August. But Toma said that certain tax priorities might take a back seat this upcoming session due to the projected budget deficit.
“The reality of it is we have a projected deficit now. And that’s in part because we continue to spend while our while our flat-tax took full effect … And by the way, I do agree that that was a huge win. It was a personal one for me too–the rental tax,” Toma said.
He added that Arizona competes with other states with no income tax, like Texas, Nevada, and Florida, but said the 2.5% flat tax is “pretty manageable for people” but “in a perfect world,” there would be no income tax in Arizona.
“The bottom line is I don’t think we’re gonna do much in terms of permanent tax cuts in this coming year, simply because of the fact that we’re in a deficit situation,” he added.
Toma said that he hopes that Arizonans understand that their legislature has multiple priorities next session, even though the budget shortfall will be the headline grabber.
“We’re here to pass good policy. We’re here to keep the business environment friendly, the work environment friendly, regulations low, and taxes low. And we’re gonna continue to do that. Obviously, public safety remains a top priority. That’s not gonna be an issue just because there’s a deficit,” Toma said.
“Education actually becomes a top priority. I refuse to acknowledge that ESAs are responsible for our budget shortfall. Cause they’re not. If you look at the education line item, we’re under budget in the total K-12. It’s just that we don’t like the way some of the money, or some of us, I should say, don’t like the way some of the money’s being spent. And that’s the real issue at the end,” he continued.
