To advance, all bills must pass their initial committee assignments by the end of this week. Afterwards, the committees will turn their attention to those bills that have passed the other chamber. Dubbed "hell week" at the Capitol, this week is historically filled with very long agendas and lengthy hearings. A substantial number of bills will "die" at week's end as they fail to get the approval of their assigned committees. Major exceptions are the appropriations committees which have no set deadline to hear bills and are more oriented to vetting spending proposals for later consideration in the budget. This is very relevant to transportation as much of this session's agenda is focused on directing one-time revenues to infrastructure projects.

Speaking of which, HB2543, the RTAC priority project legislation, is scheduled for consideration in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday afternoon. The Senate Transportation and Technology Committee, meeting on Monday afternoon, also has a very busy agenda and will be considering legislation to authorize Maricopa County to take to its voters a continuation of the regional transportation half-cent sales tax set to expire after 2025. There remains a wide gulf between the mandates in SB1122 and the planning and direction developed by MAG and the jurisdictions of the region.

An updated transportation bill matrix including the hearing dates for those that will receive consideration next week is attached. Also provided is a list of the projects included in the RTAC bill.