Committee backs bill requiring ballot language to show estimated tax impact for school bonds and overrides

Senate Bill 1091 would require certain elections’ ballot language to include an estimate showing voters how much their secondary property tax levy would change if a school district override or bond authority is not continued.

Staff summarized the bill as a transparency measure: when a school district asks voters to continue a budget override or to authorize bonds funded by a secondary property tax levy, the ballot would include the estimated average secondary property tax reduction that an elector would receive if the continuation did not occur and the date the reduction would begin.

Sponsor Senator Anthony Hoffman said the bill “increases transparency” by placing that information directly on the ballot itself rather than relying only on long informational pamphlets that many voters do not read.

Mark Barnes of Arizona School Administrators testified in opposition and asked the committee to note the existing role that overrides and bonds play in school financing. He said informational pamphlets already include a tax‑rate estimate and that statute limits district involvement in influencing elections (he referenced ARS 15‑511); his concern was that the bill’s requirement may be duplicative of material voters already receive.

Hoffman replied that ballots are what voters scrutinize most at the time of voting and that putting the estimate on the ballot would make the financial impact clearer to the typical voter.

The committee gave SB 1091 a due‑pass recommendation by a recorded vote of 4 ayes, 3 noes, 0 not voting.

Why it matters: The bill changes the presentation of Fiscal impact information to voters and may affect how school funding measures are understood at the ballot box.

Votes at a glance: Committee gave SB 1091 a due‑pass recommendation (vote: 4–3–0).