City of Buckeye staff presented the city’s proposed 2025 legislative priorities to the City Council, emphasizing water policy, transportation funding, protection of local decision-making authority, and federal priorities including airport and water infrastructure funding.

John Raider, intergovernmental relations deputy director for the City of Buckeye, led the presentation and said the priorities guide the city’s legislative activity and inform when and how staff signs in or testifies on bills. “Each year we come before council … to request approval of the legislative priorities, which helps define the city's legislative initiatives and guides us on how to weigh in on bills throughout the legislative session,” Raider said.

Raider provided a brief recap of the 2024 legislative session and named several bills the city worked on. He listed three water-related bills by the wording used in the presentation: “Senate bill 10 81,” “Senate bridal 11 81,” and “Senate Bridal 11 72” and said the city “championed and worked on 3 water bills.” Raider also referenced housing bills from the prior session, using the transcript descriptions for those measures: “Senate Bridal 11 62,” “house bill 27 20,” and “house bill 27 21.”

Why this matters: Raider told council staff would focus on preserving municipal authority on water, local revenue, transportation and aviation, housing, and economic development. He identified restoring funding for the I‑10 widening between SR 85 and Citrus Road as a priority after that project was delayed to FY 2027–28 because of the prior session’s budget deficit.

Specific priorities noted in the presentation included support for an ag-to-urban conversion program, funding for augmentation, conservation and reuse, and modernization of the Groundwater Management Act. Raider said the city supports protecting local revenue sources and opposes legislation that reduces or preempts local taxing or land-use authority. On transportation, the presentation asks the legislature to restore state funding for the I‑10 widening project between SR 85 and Citrus Road and to support Buckeye Municipal Airport funding and development.

Raider also listed federal priorities such as pursuing federal funds for infrastructure projects and collaborating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on water-related initiatives. He noted the governor’s rulemaking and likely renewed legislative attention to ag‑to‑urban topics and expected housing bills in the upcoming session.

Council context and questions: Council members asked for clarification on project timing for the I‑10 design and construction phases; Raider said design would be complete early next year and the project could be ready for construction in spring or summertime. Raider also noted that JLBC projected a possible budget surplus but cautioned that out‑year deficits could limit available restoration of prior cuts.

Action status: the presentation described priorities and anticipated activity; the transcript does not show a council vote or formal adoption of the priorities during this meeting.