Another well paced week at the legislature, with more bills trickling out of committee and making their way to the floor. We have only voted on a handful of bills so far, with most of them carrying more bipartisan support than controversy.
In the controversial corner unfortunately, HB 2062 was debated, a bill that would redefine sex in state law as male or female and define sex-based terms like “man”, “woman”, and “girl”. I see this policy as a recycling of discriminatory ideology that diverts attention away from the real challenges our state faces. Legislating on talking points is an approach some choose to take, but we must remember that their are real human lives - friends, family, colleagues, children, and constituents - who will be harmed.
It was also a week with a handful of Democratic bills making it through committee - Rep Nancy Gutierrez’s great school lunch bill being one of them. HB 2213 would provide free school meals to all children currently receiving reduced price lunches, leaving no child hungry while learning.
This coming week, I have a bill on deck—HB 2467—which would allow renters to opt in or out of a program that reports their rental payments to credit agencies. The research has shown reporting of rental payments helps renters build and boost their credit, making a path to homeownership more attainable in the future.
Very recently, Arizona has become a national leader in the Build-to-Rent (BTR) market. Phoenix is at the forefront of this surge, with over 6,000 of the 8,000 new rental units built in just the past three years. Another 14,000 BTR homes are in development, with 7,200 of those units in Phoenix. This places Arizona as the second largest build to rent state, trailing Texas. (For background: BTR properties have become popular to build because they don’t require the same 100-year assured water supply in areas where groundwater isn’t managed. Builders have also stopped building smaller for-sale products - like townhomes and condos - due to a prevalence of law suits on these developments that have made insurance unaffordable.)
With so many rental properties coming online, we need to consider how this shift affects pathways to homeownership. The rapid expansion of rental homes and apartments could be creating new generations of "forever renters." For those who want to build credit—whether to purchase a home or simply improve financial stability—programs like HB 2467 can provide a valuable opportunity. By allowing renters to have their on-time payments reported to credit agencies, this initiative can help them strengthen their credit and keep homeownership within reach, rather than being locked into long-term renting
