I am new to the ‘striker’ hb 2873 , could you explain to me how exactly this works and endangers the referendum process in AZ and specifically in Marana with the last referendum debacle?
Sure! So the striker amendment process in Arizona is a mechanism by which the legislature can take a pre-existing bill, strike all its content, and replace it with something else. In this case, HB2873 was originally a bill related to changes in the sealed bidding process, but was struck and replaced.
The replaced content is the critical part. The new bill has two provisions:
1. The first says that anyone who files a referendum petition can submit a written request to have the measure withdrawn at any time prior to the measure qualifying for the ballot.
2. Retroactively applying the first measure back to December 31, 2025.
With respect to Marana, from what has been publicly stated, the Political Action Committee (PAC), Arizonans for Responsible Development, which pulled the referendum in Marana, since, by town ordinance, you have to be a PAC to do that, tried to withdraw the petition. Prior to this new bill, there was no mechanism in Arizona Law to withdraw after submission. Someone wants to change the AZ law to enable the withdrawal of the referendum petition.
From the publicly available Right To Speak information on the bill, there are favorable inputs from folks in various AZ Chambers of Commerce, Building Trade Groups, and a lobbyist from Beale Infrastructure, the same interests that were highly in favor at the re-zoning meeting. This is a pretty niche issue and an incredibly narrowly written bill, so I don't suspect anyone in the Legislature saw this as a critical gap in state law to address in this session, especially given the retroactivity clause and its particular timing. This reads to me as the output of a very specific lobbying effort. I just don't know by whom.
Ok thanks, I tend to agree with you that there is some lobbying group involved with this. I believe this sort of thing has happened in other parts of the country since I have started watching this data center stuff. There is SO much $$$ connecting these projects that a total monopoly is created with all the legal and political components- lobbying is a polite way of really saying BRIBES! Ohio is one good example. I met the mayor of Marana a couple of months ago and told him that most of the residents in Marana included myself thought that we have been railroaded into this data center project. Oh he didn’t like to hear that and was livid with me about wanting to put the brakes on the zoning with the referendum until we Marana residents could get a better understanding of the consequences to the community. He was so angry, this is his pet project apparently and it’s all about jobs, jobs and jobs and tax revenue of course. Earlier during that meeting mayor Post actually said that they had been observing the project blue proposals for southern Pima county and the city of Tucson very carefully and were not going to make the same mistakes. I took that to mean the Marana political system was going to try and squelch public involvement in any way that they could. We don’t know of course but it surely looked that way to me especially since their actions to ram this through.
So that leaves the State Legislature and who is perhaps getting campaign contributions for agreeing to hb2873. I think this very possible that this is going on right now for the midterms and every Republican seems to favor this bill.🤔
Your interaction with the local government and mine are why I started doing this. I want to ensure there is transparency to people in at least my conversations and the information that is being made available to them.
These companies in the hyperscale space have very deep pockets and don't want NO for an answer, and as we are seeing, will do anything by whatever means they can to get their way. It was a large part of the caution that others and I gave them at the rezoning discussion, and now it's coming to pass.
These developers look for towns and cities exactly like we are here in Southern AZ that need more tax revenue to keep up with growth and then offer a quick, slick way to get it. I can't help but laugh at the irony of them coming into the heart of the old west peddling snake oil as we have seen from all over the country. Unfortunately, we have a system that bought what they were selling, and now we are fighting to unring the bell.
Yes the machine is hard at work and pulling out all the stops so it looks. I appreciate your help in bringing this to light but most of the electorate is so apathetic and the leadership is just bad and corrupt that I am constantly disappointed. Anyway thanks again for clarifying some of the details.
I am new to the ‘striker’ hb 2873 , could you explain to me how exactly this works and endangers the referendum process in AZ and specifically in Marana with the last referendum debacle?
Sure! So the striker amendment process in Arizona is a mechanism by which the legislature can take a pre-existing bill, strike all its content, and replace it with something else. In this case, HB2873 was originally a bill related to changes in the sealed bidding process, but was struck and replaced.
The replaced content is the critical part. The new bill has two provisions:
1. The first says that anyone who files a referendum petition can submit a written request to have the measure withdrawn at any time prior to the measure qualifying for the ballot.
2. Retroactively applying the first measure back to December 31, 2025.
With respect to Marana, from what has been publicly stated, the Political Action Committee (PAC), Arizonans for Responsible Development, which pulled the referendum in Marana, since, by town ordinance, you have to be a PAC to do that, tried to withdraw the petition. Prior to this new bill, there was no mechanism in Arizona Law to withdraw after submission. Someone wants to change the AZ law to enable the withdrawal of the referendum petition.
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Here is the article on the withdrawal request from the town:
https://www.maranaaz.gov/Newsroom-Entries/2026/Town-of-Marana-Completes-Review-of-Data-Center-Referendum-Petitions
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From the publicly available Right To Speak information on the bill, there are favorable inputs from folks in various AZ Chambers of Commerce, Building Trade Groups, and a lobbyist from Beale Infrastructure, the same interests that were highly in favor at the re-zoning meeting. This is a pretty niche issue and an incredibly narrowly written bill, so I don't suspect anyone in the Legislature saw this as a critical gap in state law to address in this session, especially given the retroactivity clause and its particular timing. This reads to me as the output of a very specific lobbying effort. I just don't know by whom.
Ok thanks, I tend to agree with you that there is some lobbying group involved with this. I believe this sort of thing has happened in other parts of the country since I have started watching this data center stuff. There is SO much $$$ connecting these projects that a total monopoly is created with all the legal and political components- lobbying is a polite way of really saying BRIBES! Ohio is one good example. I met the mayor of Marana a couple of months ago and told him that most of the residents in Marana included myself thought that we have been railroaded into this data center project. Oh he didn’t like to hear that and was livid with me about wanting to put the brakes on the zoning with the referendum until we Marana residents could get a better understanding of the consequences to the community. He was so angry, this is his pet project apparently and it’s all about jobs, jobs and jobs and tax revenue of course. Earlier during that meeting mayor Post actually said that they had been observing the project blue proposals for southern Pima county and the city of Tucson very carefully and were not going to make the same mistakes. I took that to mean the Marana political system was going to try and squelch public involvement in any way that they could. We don’t know of course but it surely looked that way to me especially since their actions to ram this through.
So that leaves the State Legislature and who is perhaps getting campaign contributions for agreeing to hb2873. I think this very possible that this is going on right now for the midterms and every Republican seems to favor this bill.🤔
Yeah, this whole industry is incredibly murky.
Your interaction with the local government and mine are why I started doing this. I want to ensure there is transparency to people in at least my conversations and the information that is being made available to them.
These companies in the hyperscale space have very deep pockets and don't want NO for an answer, and as we are seeing, will do anything by whatever means they can to get their way. It was a large part of the caution that others and I gave them at the rezoning discussion, and now it's coming to pass.
These developers look for towns and cities exactly like we are here in Southern AZ that need more tax revenue to keep up with growth and then offer a quick, slick way to get it. I can't help but laugh at the irony of them coming into the heart of the old west peddling snake oil as we have seen from all over the country. Unfortunately, we have a system that bought what they were selling, and now we are fighting to unring the bell.
Yes the machine is hard at work and pulling out all the stops so it looks. I appreciate your help in bringing this to light but most of the electorate is so apathetic and the leadership is just bad and corrupt that I am constantly disappointed. Anyway thanks again for clarifying some of the details.
Absolutely, and I'm working to do what I can to help change that!
Thanks for the update Colin and the information you stated answering Scott’s question. Appreciate all your help!