Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Arizona House committee advances bill to bar municipal 'defunding' of police
Summary
Representative David Marshall led passage in the Committee of the Whole of HB 2221, a measure that would prohibit municipalities from defunding police; supporters cited national examples of crime spikes after cuts in other states, while opponents said Arizona has seen no such local efforts.
The Arizona House’s Committee of the Whole recommended passage of House Bill 2221 on Feb. 11, 2025, a bill that would prohibit municipalities from defunding law-enforcement agencies.
Sponsor Representative David Marshall described the bill as a response to national incidents where some cities reduced police funding and later sought to rebuild forces. "For the past 4 years, we've watched them around the country…All these towns…that have defunded their police," Marshall said, and cited Seattle and Minnesota as examples where jurisdictions later faced recruitment challenges.
Opponents said the statute addresses a problem Arizona has not experienced. Representative Cruz noted committee testimony showed "there have been no efforts, 0 efforts to defund any police departments by any municipalities here in Arizona." Representative Delos Santos urged lawmakers to consider federal actions affecting accountability and said he would vote no.
Marshall said the measure is a preventative step: "I think that in light of what has happened across this country, that we should be proactive. We should be proactive and not react after something like this does occur in our state." The committee then gave HB 2221 a due-pass recommendation.
The committee report on Feb. 11 recorded HB 2221 as one of the bills recommended to pass and referred it for engrossing. The transcript records the bill was included in the committee-of-the-whole report adopted on the floor later in the day.
What happened (action): The Committee of the Whole reported HB 2221 do pass; the committee report was read on the floor and the report was adopted. The bill was referred for engrossing.
Why it matters: Sponsors said the bill safeguards public safety by preventing reductions to police budgets. Opponents said municipalities in Arizona have not pursued defunding and described the bill as addressing a non-local problem.
What’s next: HB 2221 was included in the committee-of-the-whole report and referred to engrossing; it will continue through the legislative process and may be scheduled for a floor third reading vote or sent to the Senate depending on the engrossing and calendar process.
