Arizona state lawmakers advanced a bill on Monday which will let Maricopa County voters choose whether to approve a tax extension.
This particular tax pays for the construction, maintenance and operation of county jails. It's a one-fifth of a cent sales tax which will expire in 2027 unless voters renew it for another 20 years.
The bill, SB 1144, does allow the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to decrease the tax rate.
Most lawmakers on both sides of the aisle supported the bill, but others — like Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) — argue a tax extension is not any different than a tax increase.
“Anytime you vote for something which is going to cause more money to be taken out of the pockets of hardworking Arizonans than had you not voted for it, you are voting for a tax,” Kolodin told his colleagues.
In 2024 alone, the tax raised $270 million.
The last time the jail tax went to the ballot in 2002, it passed overwhelmingly with 69% of the vote.
Rep. Matt Gress (R-Phoenix) said the tax pays for vital resources law enforcement needs. He pushed back on the idea of other lawmakers like Kolodin calling it a tax increase.
“This is about salaries for our deputies and our jailers who we’ve heard from Sheriff Sheridan that we are down over 1,000 deputies, we need more resources to ensure that our jails are places for rehabilitation for law and order,” Gress said. “I think that the people of Maricopa County ought to have the authority and the permission to vote on whether they want to continue taxing themselves,” he said.
The bill will be transmitted to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs by the Senate for consideration.
