Committee approves lifetime state‑park pass for qualifying Arizona veterans after fiscal debate

The Arizona House Committee on Government voted to return Senate Bill 10‑50 as amended with a due‑pass recommendation, a measure that would allow qualifying Arizona veterans a complimentary lifetime pass to state parks.

Arizona State Parks legislative liaison Britney Hudson testified the agency is neutral on the bill and flagged potential fiscal impacts to its self‑funded operations, saying the JLBC and Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting estimates put revenue impacts in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Hudson told the committee the JLBC fiscal note "estimate[s] a decrease in our annual revenues to our state parks revenue fund of approximately 200,000 beginning in 2027," and that the agency's projections could vary by tens of thousands depending on usage patterns.

Members pressed staff and agency witnesses about earlier, broader cost estimates that had been discussed in prior committee work; one member cited an earlier estimate in the millions when the bill originally covered all veterans. Agency representatives and commissioners said they had reached agreed language with the sponsor on narrower eligibility and sought a floor amendment to reconcile remaining concerns. Arizona Game and Fish representatives also testified about agreed language on a related provision.

After debate about the amendment and the fiscal note, the committee adopted the amendment and returned SB 10‑50 with a due‑pass recommendation. The roll call recorded 6 ayes, 0 nays and 1 present. Several members said they supported veterans while urging the sponsor to work with agencies on final floor amendments and any potential general‑fund support for operations.

The committee did not finalize funding offsets at the hearing; staff and agencies were asked to provide the full JLBC and OSPB fiscal materials to members and the sponsor for follow‑up work before floor action.