OPINION — The Arizona Legislature appears on the brink of passing a bill meaningfully deregulating the building of new homes. The measure, Senate Bill 1431, passed the Senate and awaits floor action in the House.
Two years ago, the Legislature passed a more far-reaching deregulation bill, House Bill 2570. Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed it. If this more-modest measure reaches her desk and she also vetoes it, the safe and appropriate conclusion would be that Hobbs doesn’t trust relying on market forces to render wider and more satisfactory housing choices.
A distrust of market forces wouldn’t be unusual in a Democratic governor. What is noteworthy is that many of Hobbs’s fellow Democrats in the Legislature are willing to unleash market forces in housing. As was the case two years ago, both support and opposition to SB 1431 is bipartisan. In the Senate, seven Democrats supported the bill and five opposed it. Ten Republicans voted for the bill, while seven voted against it.
