House rejects floor amendment to add pride flag to HOA display protections
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Summary
The Arizona House defeated a floor amendment to Senate Bill 11-84 that would have added the pride flag to the list of flags homeowners associations and condominium associations may not prohibit, losing on a division vote, 21–32.
The Arizona House on third reading rejected a floor amendment to Senate Bill 11-84 that would have added the pride flag to a list of flags homeowners associations and condominium associations may not prohibit from being displayed.
Representative Villegas, who offered the amendment, told colleagues it would "add the pride flag to the list of flags that a homeowners association or condominium association may not prohibit from being displayed" and defined the pride flag as a six‑stripe banner commonly recognized as indicating support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Villegas framed the change as an expression‑of‑speech issue: "If they live in a condo or an HOA, they should have the ability to do the same," she said.
Opponents said the amendment was not coordinated with the bill sponsor and objected to adding new policy on the floor. Speaker Montenegro (addressing the amendment) said he believed the change had "not been discussed with the sponsor of the bill" and rose in opposition. Several members questioned Villegas about the timing of the amendment and whether the sponsor had been consulted; Villegas said she had not had time to consult because of calendar timing.
When the chamber took a voice vote, the clerks called a division for a recorded standing count. The clerk announced the tally: 21 ayes and 32 nays; the amendment failed. Representative Blackman, speaking in support of the underlying measure, argued the bill also protects flags that recognize military units and veterans and urged passage of the underlying committee recommendation.
The Committee of the Whole later reported SB 11‑84 do pass as amended (excluding the Villegas floor amendment), and leadership placed the measure on the House calendar for third reading.
What’s next: SB 11‑84 proceeds on the House calendar per the Committee of the Whole report; because the rejected amendment failed on a floor vote, the bill will move forward without the pride‑flag language.
