The Town Council voted to direct Town Manager Grady Miller to express their opposition to three bills before the Arizona Legislature.

HB2213 would make changes to the Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET).

Councilman Cecil Yates explained that while there might be good objectives to the bill, he believes it is bad legislation from a practical standpoint.

HB2179 would add new requirements for renewal of intergovernmental agreements between municipalities and counties.

The new provisions would limit IGAs to just eight years before they needed to be revisited for new approval.

Opponents feel the legislation is a tremendous burden, financially and logistically, on municipalities to track the agreements to assure they are updated.

This would apply to such pacts and fire department mutual aid agreements as well as routine activities between municipalities and school districts.

HB2521 is the latest effort to reform the Transaction Privilege Tax (sale tax) regulations related to construction.

Mayor Linda Kavanagh said this bill calls for the revenue generated by the tax to be turned over to the Department of Revenue with DOR making distributions based on a set percentage.

Kavanagh said the proposal is expected to cost the state $150 million and municipalities could lose $140 million on an annual basis.

She also noted that DOR does not execute its existing duties very efficiently.

The League of Arizona Cities and Towns is also opposing each of these measures.

It is routine that while the State Legislature is in session that the council reviews the regular bulletins from the League of Arizona Cities and Towns and discusses support or opposition to the measures.