Tax cut for inflation
PHOENIX — Arizonans would get a small tax break this coming year under the terms of legislation given preliminary House approval on Tuesday.
Current law provides a flat exemption for individuals when preparing their state income tax forms of $2,100 for a single individual, $4,200 for a married couple or single head of household, and $6,300 for a married couple claiming at least one dependent. HB 2528 would require those figures to be adjusted for inflation.
Rep. Mark Cardenas, D-Phoenix, said the change will reduce state revenues next year by $3.6 million. So he argued that if legislators are to make that change, they should make up the lost revenues, ranging from taxing the sale of lottery tickets to requiring airlines to pay sales taxes when they buy food and beverages to provide to their customers.
But House Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, objected to those changes .
“I think his intent is entirely valid,” he said. “There are all sorts of carve-outs in our tax code that I share his interest in addressing.”
Handicapped parking
Individuals who are simply handicapped would be prohibited from parking in spaces that are specifically reserved for wheelchair users.
Current law permits anyone who has a special license plate or placard to park in any space designed for the handicapped. That includes spaces of normal width and those extra-wide slots designed to accommodate vans with side doors to make it easier to load and unload someone in a wheelchair.
HB 2408 would put those extra-wide spaces — there has to be one for every eight handicapped slots — off-limits to those who don’t use wheelchairs.
Rep. Noel Campbell, R-Prescott, cited an instance when a double amputee could not park his vehicle because the only handicapped slots available were the narrower ones.
But Rep. Pamela Powers Hanley, D-Tucson, said that can lead to a situation where someone who uses a walker or a cane and qualifies as handicapped would not be able to park near a building if the only handicapped spots left were reserved for vans. She also noted that there is no data showing what percentage of handicapped drivers are wheelchair users.
The measure gained preliminary House approval on a voice vote.
Smaller vehicle fleet
State employees could soon be trading in their vehicles for a ride in a taxi or an Uber.
The state House voted Tuesday to reduce the number of vehicles in the state fleet, currently about 10,500, by 20 percent two years from now and another 20 percent the year after.
Rep. Jeff Weninger, R-Chandler, said there are too many people who have assigned vehicles who may use them only a few hours a day. One goal of HB 2440 is to take away some of those cars.
Weninger also contends the state does not need as many vehicles as it now has for sharing. So he wants the Department of Administration to look at alternatives, from renting cars as needed to requiring state workers to use taxis or hail a vehicle through one of the ride-booking services.
That possibility bothered Rep. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe.
She said many state workers may not feel safe being ferried around in private vehicles driven by people they don’t know.
Weninger brushed aside that concern.
“I don’t think state government is going to put anybody in danger and make them ride in an Uber or a cab if they’re not comfortable,” he said.
Weninger figures that if the state decides it can live without replacing just 500 vehicles, that would save about $10.5 million in up-front costs, not counting maintenance.
The measure will go to the Senate after a final roll-cal vote.
Prison notifications
Without debate, the House gave preliminary approval to legislation requiring the Department of Corrections to notify neighbors when they plan to locate a prison or other facility within two miles.
HB 2161 was crafted by Rep. Heather Carter, R-Cave Creek, after complaints about the decision to locate a “re-entry center” for adults leaving prisons in north Phoenix. Residents said they learned about it only after the plans were in place.
A final roll-call vote is needed before the measure goes to the Senate.
Firefighter cancer
The House agreed to expand the list of cancers that would qualify firefighters and peace officers to automatically be considered as job-related, entitling them to worker-compensation benefits.
Current law includes brain, bladder, rectal or colon cancer as well as mesothelioma as occupational diseases. HB 2133 adds others, including lung, kidney, stomach, prostate and testicular.
The bill goes to the Senate.
City ID cards
State senators refused to restrict the ability of cities to issue their own identification cards to residents.
The proposal by Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said any city that wants to provide ID cards to residents would have to use the same standards as the state Department of Transportation. That includes providing a primary form of identification like a passport or other document not generally available to people not in this country legally.
All the Senate Democrats and three Republicans united to leave the decision to individual cities.
