Chamber of Commerce Monthly Advocacy Update

Local, County, State, National

Elections are right around the corner

July 30, 2024: Primary Election Day
August 14, 2024: Last Day to Remove Political Signs

Please take a look at the candidates for each town.

Cave Creek 2024 Candidates

Carefree 2024 Candidates

Carefree Candidate Forum

The Carefree Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce facilitated the Carefree Town Candidate Forum at the Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center last month. Here is the link to watch the forum replay

Forum Video

Cave Creek Candidate Forum

The Cave Creek Candidate forum was held on April 4th. Here is a link to watch the video.

Forum Video

Get the 2024 Arizona Voters' Agenda

The new 2024 Arizona Voters’ Agenda survey found significant agreement among voters regarding their current outlook and preferences. For example:

52% of voters are not confident that Arizona is prepared for future growth
60% of all voters do not believe that current political candidates are addressing the key issues that matter to them
62% prefer candidates who are willing to compromise and seek collaboration across party lines to tackle the state’s challenges over those who refuse to compromise

There is immense opportunity in the issues that matter to the majority of voters. Additional insights on where voters agree on education, state spending, immigration, and housing are out now.

More Information

National Poll: Voters say Taxes are Too High

Raising taxes is a losing proposition. A new national Chamber survey found that a majority of American voters are worried that higher taxes would result in higher prices.

‌And: Most voters believe American families and businesses already pay enough in taxes.

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By the numbers:

80% polled believe that higher taxes will lead to higher prices.
93% believe American families and businesses are already paying enough in taxes.

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Why it matters: An estimated $4.5 trillion in tax provisions are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.

The upcoming "tax cliff" could strain household budgets significantly. Workers could face reduced job opportunities and wage growth, while small businesses could struggle to serve their customers, impacting local communities in every corner of our nation.

Judge Blocks Prevailing Wage Ordinances

Contrary to a legal opinion offered by State Attorney General Kris Mayes , Maricopa County Judge Brad Astrowsky stated in a ruling this week that a "prevailing wage ordinance is not a minimum wage law." The ruling effectively blocks Phoenix, Tucson, and Tempe from implementing prevailing wage ordinances.

On Jan. 9, both the Phoenix and Tucson city councils passed ordinances, which were set to take effect July 1. The City of Tempe passed a similar ordinance in May. The ordinances established that construction contractors working for the cities must provide employees with union-level wages and benefits consistent with local wage standards for a given type of work. In other words, a company would be required to offer the average pay for a specific job, rather than the minimum required by law.

Minimum Salary Exemption Increase!

Just a reminder that the minimum annual salary for the most common salaried exempt job categories (those who are exempt from overtime requirements), increased to $43,888 effective July 1, 2024. Salaried exempt employees making less than $43,888 will need a salary increase or you can converted to an hourly paid employee subject to overtime requirements. Then, effective January 1, 2025, the minimum salary level increases to $58,656 annually.

Learn More

Arizona minimum wage increase faces pushback as it heads for ballots

Arizona already has one of the highest statewide minimum wages in the United States, but a new ballot measure would bump the minimum to $18 an hour — and eventually require tipped workers to be paid that rate as a base salary.

Raise the Wage AZ, the political group behind the ballot measure called the “One Fair Wage Act,” turned in on July 3 more than the required number of signatures to get the measure on the ballot in November.

As of January, Arizona’s minimum wage is $14.35 per hour. It has risen eight years in a row because the current minimum wage law requires the minimum wage to increase with the consumer price index. The current law allows employers to pay tipped-workers $3 less than the minimum wage. That law was passed by voters in 2016.

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Arizona Legislature Passes $16.1 Billion Budget

The Arizona Legislature passed a budget for FY 2025 late Saturday night and adjourned the 2024 Regular Session of the 56^th Legislature. The State has a fiscal year that runs from July 1^st through June 30^th. Budget negotiations between Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs and the Republican Legislature started months ago but did not come together until recent weeks. Last year’s budget was a historically high one at $17.8 billion, including $2.5 billion of one-time spending that proved to be short-sighted a mistake.

The FYI 2025 budget was $16.1 billion. Revenues to the State coffers have dropped significantly over the last year and the reckless spending last session required a $1.3 billion cut to State agencies, delaying transportation and building projects to future years and sweeping funds dedicated to public health, safety and regulation. In a last-minute controversial move, the Governor and the Legislature chose to take $120 million for the State’s Opioid Settlement Fund to cover costs for the Department of Corrections instead of its intended use to help people with treatment and recovery. On average, state agencies had to absorb a 3.45% across the board cut. The Department of Public Safety and the Department of Corrections are the only two state agencies spared from cuts. $333 million was swept away from the Department of Water Resources and the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority drying up efforts for water augmentation, a major focus of former Governor Doug Ducey.

With regard to education funding, the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL) for K-12 education was waived for FY 2025 to allow districts to spend their appropriated dollars without threat of mid-year reductions. The AEL was put into place by Arizona voters in 1980 to create a spending cap for all school districts. The Arizona Constitution and statutes detail an outdated formula to calculate the AEL which includes adjustments for growth and inflation, but still requires a waiver due to our significant growth over the last 44 years.

Another major education issue expected to be reformed was barely touched angering most Democrats. The Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program saw no major reforms even though the impact on the State budget is increasing annually according to opponents. This issue will continue to be a major focus for most Republicans in the ongoing education funding and school choice debate.

Other significant budget highlights include: