Arizona House Bill 4064, drafted by the Town of Camp Verde and its bond attorney at Stifel, is among the 1,615 bills that did not get signed into law during the Arizona State Legislative session.
The bill was sponsored by Arizona Rep. Selina Bliss [R-District 1] and sought to reform Municipal Improvement Districts by requiring that “before passing a resolution or ordinance of intention … the governing body must receive a petition that is filed with the clerk and signed by the owners of real property in the proposed improvement district,” the bill reads.
It passed out of the Arizona House of Representatives on March 10, by a vote of 48-7, and was first read in the Arizona Senate on March 16.
“HB 4064 was [struck] onto Senate Bill 1016,” Bliss wrote. “It eventually was held in the Senate on the last day of the session because Sen. Jake Hoffman [R-District 15], who chairs the Government Committee stopped it for reasons unknown.”
Camp Verde’s motivation for the bill was to have the petition process earlier, before a municipality spends money on design, and would allow public sentiment to better inform project design. The town saw the change as key to the $18 million to $20 million Northbound State Route 260 Sewer Expansion, which outgoing Town Manager Miranda Fisher previously said the town needs more assurance up front that affected property owners support it.
The bill drew universal approval in the 33 opinions filed with the legislature from Clarkdale Mayor Robyn Prud’homme-Bauer; Leigh Marino, representing the city of Cottonwood; and Sedona Deputy Manager Lauren Browne. Support from the surrounding Verde Valley and Yavapai County Supervisors Dee Jenkins [R-District 2] and Nikki Check [D-District 3].
“The town has every intention to bring this legislation back in the next session,” Fisher said before her departure from the town on July 15. “Bliss is happy to sponsor it, and we’re going to do it sooner. Where we did put it forward pretty late in the legislative session, we’ll put it in right away, and ideally address some of those concerns about the petition process. And if somebody, say, consents to the petition up front and changes their mind, what would that look like?”
In total this session 2,030 bills and 160 memorials and resolutions were introduced, with 415 bills sent to Gov. Katie Hobbs. Of those, 264 were signed into law and 151 were vetoed.
