Scottsdale City Council will consider suing Arizona over 'Axon bill'

The Scottsdale City Council is scheduled to vote on Tuesday whether to sue Arizona over the "Axon bill," a new state law that paved the way for the company to build a brand new headquarters in the city.

Axon, the homegrown Taser and body camera manufacturer, announced plans to build a new headquarters in Scottsdale back in 2020. The original plans called for manufacturing and office facilities.

But the City Council voted to approve amended development plans last November that included thousands of apartments, leading an opposition group to gather enough signatures from Scottsdale voters to put the project on the ballot in 2026.

But lawmakers and Gov. Katie Hobbs approved new legislation this year to circumvent that public vote.

After a monthslong lobbying effort by Axon, Hobbs signed SB 1543 in April.

The bill prohibits cities with populations between 200,000 and 500,000 people — like Scottsdale — from blocking businesses from building new international headquarters that feature hotels and apartments as long as the headquarters meets certain requirements. Those requirements include employing at least 1,000 full-time employees at an above average wage.

Critics have argued the new law violates a state constitutional rule prohibiting legislation designed to benefit a specific person or company, though the lawmakers backing the bill said it could apply to any company building a headquarters in the handful of affected cities.

The council is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday to vote on whether to authorize an outside law firm to file a lawsuit challenging the new law.

The current Scottsdale City Council includes several new members who did not vote to approve the project last year and have openly criticized the law, including Mayor Lisa Borowsky.