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Committee backs sending municipal food-tax question to Arizona ballot after heated testimony
Summary
House Ways and Means returned HCR 2021 with a due-pass recommendation, referring a proposed municipal food-tax prohibition to voters. Supporters called the measure a fairness and anti-regressive step focused on essential grocery items; city leaders warned of deep local revenue losses and urged amendments to protect municipal budgets.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted to return House Concurrent Resolution 2021 with a due-pass recommendation after more than an hour of public comment that drew mayors, municipal officials and advocacy groups from across Arizona.
The resolution would prohibit a city, town or other taxing jurisdiction from imposing a municipal transaction privilege tax on the sale of food items intended for home consumption and require the Secretary of State to submit the proposition to voters at the next general election.
Representative Biasucci, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure is narrowly targeted at essential grocery items and is meant to relieve a regressive burden on families. "I don't believe that we should be taxing essential foods like eggs and milk and meat," the sponsor said, urging voters to decide whether those items should remain in the municipal tax base.
Advocates for the change said the tax falls disproportionately on lower-income households and noted that SNAP recipients already do not pay municipal tax on these purchases. "If you tell a family that they can now get an extra $300, $400, $500 a year, that is a big deal," the sponsor said.
Opposition testimony came from the League of Arizona Cities and Towns and from mayors representing small and large communities. Nick Ponder of the League clarified administrative rules and warned the committee that exempting groceries would remove a revenue source many cities rely on for public safety and infrastructure. "Cuts in revenue mean cuts in services, or raising taxes," Ponder said, noting that in many cities a significant share of local general-fund revenue comes from local sales taxes.
Several mayors said food tax revenue accounts for a material share of municipal budgets and pointed to specific impacts. Mayor Al Gameros of Globe estimated a $1.4 million shortfall for his city, representing about 15% of sales tax collections; the shortfall would have required difficult choices, he said, including delaying replacement of a 32-year-old ladder truck.
Multiple municipal officials and many mayors said they would support an amendment grandfathering current food-taxing jurisdictions and requiring voter approval before any future tax increases. Representative Livingston and the bill sponsor said they were open to such compromises; the sponsor told the committee she would continue discussions with mayoral offices to seek possible amendments.
After discussion, the committee adopted a sponsor-reported amendment and voted 5–4 to return HCR 2021 with a due-pass recommendation. The resolution will be placed on the ballot for voter consideration unless further changes are made during floor action.
