An attempt to block a bill that will clear the way for Axon’s new headquarters in Scottsdale failed in the Arizona House of Representatives.
Axon, the homegrown Taser and police body camera manufacturer founded in Scottsdale three decades ago, announced plans to build a new headquarters in the city in 2020.
The Scottsdale City Council approved the company’s development plan, which included apartments, a hotel and restaurants, last year.
But the Scottsdale Progress reported the development has been stuck in neutral, largely due to stiff opposition from groups opposed to the influx of apartments being built in the city, including the 1,900 planned units that would be in Axon’s development.
After an opposition campaign collected enough signatures to refer the project to voters on next year’s ballot, Axon successfully lobbied Republican lawmakers to take up legislation that would effectively render the referendum moot.
The Arizona House of Representatives gave preliminary approval to the latest version of that bill.
Senate Bill 1543 would prohibit cities with populations of 200,000 to 500,000 people from blocking businesses from building hotels and apartments as part of a new international headquarters, as long as the headquarters meets certain requirements. Those requirements include employing at least 1,000 full-time employees at wages at an above average wage.
That would effectively cancel the 2026 election that would let Scottsdale voters decide the fate of Axon’s development, Rep. Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale) said. He claimed the legislation was specifically designed to benefit Axon in violation of state constitutional provision banning legislation that benefits a specific company.
“We are running legislation for one company, folks. I thought we were warned against that with AzSCAM,” Chaplik said, referring to the scandal in the 1990s that resulted in criminal convictions of seven lawmakers.
Rep. Tony Rivero (R-Glendale) admitted that Axon approached him to run the legislation, but he said the bill “is not specific to Axon.” He said the bill could potentially impact any future headquarters in the handful of Arizona cities with population between 200,000 and 500,000.
“I have no history with Axon. I have no history with their leadership. I met them about a month ago,” Rivero said.
Chaplik accused Axon CEO Rick Smith of attempting to intimidate him, citing a run-in between Chaplik and Smith in the lobby at the Arizona House of Representatives on March 3. Chaplik and Smith, who has been a regular presence at the Legislature in recent months, engaged in a heated argument and, at one point, Chaplik asked security to keep an eye on him
During the vote, Chaplik made allegations, without evidence, that Axon promised lawmakers campaign contributions in exchange for their support of the bill.
“I've never seen something so scandalous in my five years down here,” Chaplik said.
A spokesman for Axon denied the allegation.
“Rep. Chaplik’s continuous attacks on Axon grow more unhinged by the hour,” spokesman David Leibowitz said. “His latest absurd accusation is absolutely false, like so much else he has said about Axon’s effort to create 5,500 jobs and $38 billion in economic impact here in the Valley over the next decade.”
Chaplik’s attempts to neuter the legislation failed to gain traction with his fellow representatives and only found support from a handful of his GOP allies and a few Democrats, who have long opposed Republican-backed measures that preempt local government control.
SB 1543 still needs to pass final votes in the Arizona House and Senate before being sent to Gov. Katie Hobbs for approval.
