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Caucus raises alarm over bill to move state broadband office from ACA to ADOA, citing $1 billion grant risk
Summary
SB 13‑22 would transfer the state broadband office from the Arizona Commerce Authority to the Arizona Department of Administration. Minority caucus members said the switch could forfeit a roughly $1 billion grant currently held at the ACA and urged caution because ongoing rural broadband projects rely on that funding.
Representative Erica presented SB 13‑22, which would transfer the state broadband office from the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) to the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA).
Ranking member Leguori told caucus she would pull the bill from consent, saying the transfer “would be forfeiting a billion dollars, that would be pulled back from our state.” Representative Saul Hamilton (Representative) said the transfer could interrupt ongoing broadband projects in rural parts of his district that are actively seeking ACA grant funding and encouraged caucus members to oppose the measure.
Why it matters: members argued the ACA currently administers a large grant portfolio — cited in caucus as approximately $1 billion — and moving the office could disrupt grant administration and projects already in progress, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
What happened in caucus: caucus members asked for further clarification and indicated they would remove the bill from the consent calendar for additional review; no final action on the bill was recorded in caucus.
