Arizona lawmakers, organization propose different legislation aimed at easing housing crisis
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — There are a couple of different pieces of legislation making the rounds at the Arizona State Capitol that aim to help with the housing crisis.
The League of Arizona Cities and Towns, which represents municipalities across Arizona, just championed its own proposal in both the House and Senate by Sen. Vince Leach (R-11) and Rep. Janeen Connolly (D-08).
They call it “starter home legislation.“
“Our intention is to put Arizona residents at the front of the line when it comes to buying and occupying starter homes, not Wall Street investors who sell to the highest bidder,” Executive Director Tom Belshe said. “Our legislation also aims to increase the supply of affordable housing and make homeownership attainable for hard-working families and individuals.”
The league said another act recently proposed by Rep. Leo Biasiucci (R-30) “lacks appropriate safeguards to prevent real estate speculators from buying new starter homes and converting them into short-term rentals or reselling them on the market.”
The League’s bill “ensures that starter homes are sold for occupancy to Arizona Residents and not Wall Street speculators.”
If passed, beginning in 2027, municipalities with more than 30,000 people will adopt a zoning requirement that allow the development of starter homes in at least 10% of any new single-family residential developments that are larger than 10 acres.
It also limits the initial sale of the starter home to an amount that does not exceed 120% of the area median household income, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“This legislation prioritizes building starting homes for middle-income earners, first-time homebuyers, and makes sure this policy benefits residents instead of Wall Street investors,” said Tom Savage with The League of Arizona Cities and Towns.
Rep. Biasiucci agreed that investors are an issue, but he said he does not agree with the income limit.
“The reason you cannot put an income limit—think about if a police officer was married to a teacher—they will surpass that easily, but those are the ones we need to figure out how to get into a home,” Rep. Biasiucci said.
Rep. Biasiucci has his own bipartisan legislation called the Starter Homes Act. It was vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs but now has undergone some changes. It limits local zoning restrictions that Biasiucci believes would lower the costs of homes in the Valley, but the League of Arizona Cities and Towns opposes that bill, which takes powers away from municipalities. They say it doesn’t ensure those homes would not go to investors.
Arizona’s Family reached out to Sen. Analise Ortiz (D-24) for a comment on the dueling legislation. She sent the following response:
“It’s important to note that cities and towns could implement all these changes on their own. Yet, they proposed a statewide preemption bill of their own to divert attention from Rep. Biasiucci’s bill—the real Starter Homes Act. The League has not shown a good-faith effort to negotiate on Rep. Biasiucci’s bill.”
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