Rep. David Livingston

Maddy summaryHB 2961 updates Arizona's retail sales tax exemptions for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. It clarifies which goods and services are exempt from tax, directly affecting businesses selling medical items (like insulin, prosthetics, and durable medical equipment), educational materials (required textbooks), food purchased with SNAP benefits, and certain nonprofit or charitable services. Key provisions expand exemptions for medical supplies prescribed by licensed professionals, food/drink for school employees, and items bought with government nutrition coupons. The bill was vetoed by the governor on June 25, 2025, and does not create new taxes but refines existing exemption rules.

Maddy summaryHCR 2021 would require Arizona cities and towns to exempt most food for home or on-premises consumption from municipal sales taxes, prohibiting differential tax rates on specific food items. It sets a deadline of June 30, 2027, for cities to comply, limits tax increases to 2% without voter approval, and bans new food taxes or rate hikes in the 24 months before that date. This affects local governments (cities/towns), food retailers, restaurants, and residents purchasing food, as it standardizes food tax treatment and restricts local tax authority over food sales. The bill also exempts SNAP/food stamp purchases and food packaging from taxation. It requires voter approval for any new food tax or rate increase beyond 2% and applies retroactively to December 31, 2024.

Maddy summaryHCR 2031 proposes amending Arizona's constitution to establish permanent funds from land trust earnings, specifically directing distributions to public schools for teacher wage increases. It sets varying annual distribution rates (2.5% to 6.9% of fund value) until 2025, after which funds must be allocated to public schools based on weighted student counts. The bill mandates that schools use these funds *only* to increase all eligible teachers' wages by the same percentage, without replacing existing funding, and requires public posting of the increase percentage. It also includes safeguards to protect fund capital during market downturns by allowing temporary distribution reductions.

Maddy summaryHB 2448 updates Arizona's election rules for voting locations. It allows counties to combine polling places for efficiency, establishes procedures for emergency voting centers during elections (including updated voter registration at these sites), and requires school principals to provide written reasons if denying polling space. The bill also mandates that government-owned buildings be made available for voting locations starting in 2026. These changes directly affect local election officials and voters by altering where and how elections are conducted.

Maddy summaryArizona's HCR 2041 is a state resolution requesting Congress to call a constitutional convention under Article V to propose term limits for U.S. House and Senate members. It asks other states with similar applications to combine their efforts to meet the two-thirds state requirement for such a convention. If Congress fails to act, Arizona and other participating states would proceed with their own convention to draft term limits. This resolution does not create new law but seeks to restart a state-led process for constitutional change, targeting federal congressional representation.

Maddy summaryHB 2700 requires Arizona high school students to meet specific social studies standards for graduation, directly affecting all public high school students in the state. It mandates that geography instruction include "the gulf of America" and adds a civics test requirement: students must correctly answer at least 60 of 100 questions (for 2025 graduates) or 70 of 100 questions (for 2026+ graduates) on a test identical to the U.S. citizenship civics exam. Students in grades 7-8 may take the test early to satisfy the requirement without retaking it later in high school. The bill specifies that schools must document only "pass" or "fail" on transcripts for this test, with no other policy changes detailed in the provided text.

Maddy summaryHB 2679 establishes a new framework for Arizona public power entities (like municipal utilities) to finance infrastructure upgrades by issuing "Transition Bonds." These bonds are secured by future customer payments called "Financing Charges," which become nonbypassable fees added to all customers' utility bills until the costs are fully recovered. The bill creates specific definitions for terms like "Financing Charges," "Qualified Special Purpose Entity," and "Transition Bonds," ensuring these payments cannot be avoided regardless of the customer's service provider or asset ownership. This mechanism allows public power entities to shift financing costs to customers over time rather than relying solely on traditional rate increases.

Maddy summaryHB 2689 amends Arizona law to expand cancer insurance coverage for public safety retirees. It allows firefighters, peace officers, and corrections officers (who joined their retirement systems before a cancer diagnosis) to continue coverage after retirement by paying premiums, with a deadline to elect this by January 1, 2027. The bill specifies that premiums will be deducted from pension payments and provides options for retirees who didn’t previously qualify for benefits to maintain coverage. It also updates eligibility rules to clarify how years of service and retirement options affect continued coverage. The law takes effect after December 31, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 2193 defines "dormant captive insurer" as a captive insurance company that has ceased issuing policies and has no outstanding insurance liabilities (or has never issued a policy and is applying for dormancy), excluding captive risk retention groups. This bill establishes the legal criteria for captive insurers in Arizona to obtain a certificate of dormancy, allowing them to temporarily halt operations while maintaining their license. It directly affects captive insurance companies that wish to pause business activities without dissolving their entity. The definition sets the foundation for a formal process to transition into dormant status, though the bill text provided focuses solely on the definitional framework.

Maddy summaryHB 2032 establishes a single statewide workers' compensation assigned risk plan in Arizona for employers who cannot obtain standard coverage after being refused by two or more insurers. It directly affects employers struggling to secure insurance and insurers required to participate. Key provisions include: (1) barring placement in the plan if employers violated safety rules, failed to pay premiums, or misrepresented information; (2) requiring all insurers to contribute fees based on their market share to fund the plan; (3) mandating insurer participation under penalty of losing authorization to write workers' compensation coverage; and (4) standardizing premium calculations and classification rules without deviations.