Virtual Staff Open Meeting - March 20, 2026 - 10:30 am or upon adjournment of the March 20, 2026 Open Meeting, whichever is later.

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Arizona Corporation Commission 7 min 4 speakers 8 agenda items transcribed just now official recording ↗

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What is the purpose and opening procedure of the Virtual Staff Open Meeting?

Nick Myers 0:00

go ahead and call the staff uh open meeting to order and uh vice chair walden would you go ahead and move item one

Rachel Walden 0:07

Yes, I move item one for discussion.

Nick Myers 0:10

All right, Mr Debena, please provide the legislative update.

Unknown 0:15

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh Mr. Chair, Madam Vice Chair and Commissioners, um I have for you this morning really just kind of a high level update as to uh where we are in the legislative session. Um Today is the uh sixty eighth day. Of the legislative session. To date, there have been 1,966 bills introduced. uh between both chambers a total of one hundred and fifty five memorials and resolutions for a grand total of two thousand one hundred and twenty one uh proposals introduced this session. Чуть інтепер. We've been tracking this as far back as nineteen seventy seven. And the average since nineteen seventy-seven has been one thousand one hundred and fifty nine bills.

How many bills have been introduced this legislative session and how does that compare to historic averages?

Unknown 1:13

So as you can tell, very steep increase this session uh from the average over the last, you know, forty, fifty years or so. Um The house introduced one thousand one hundred and thirty six bills. Uh while the Senate introduced eight hundred and thirty. And uh to date, twenty bills have been transmitted to the governor. She has signed five of those and vetoed fifteen. Um and going back to an earlier uh stat that I shared, so sixty-eighth day of session. Богін тракінгис сенс найтінсеві сев. The average number of days that we've been in session since nineteen seventy seven is a hundred and twenty nine days. So if the average holds true. We're about halfway through the legislative session.

Unknown 2:05

But I can tell you, we have made no vacation plans prior to July one. Um we are Tracking Dementi Public Affairs on behalf of the commission after the bill introduction deadline had passed for both chambers, meaning all bills in the House and Senate have been introduced. We uh flagged and are tracking for the commission one hundred and eighty one bills.

Which bills are still alive after the introduction deadline and what categories do they fall into?

Unknown 2:30

Uh after the deadline to hear bills in committee in their chamber of origin had passed. That list of bills that are considered still alive in the process uh was cut roughly in half. To date, roughly ninety-five bills that we are tracking on behalf of the commission are still considered alive. Uh but as you all know, legislation um can make its return in the form of a strike everything amendment, of an amendment, of a floor amendment. So again, always keeping a close eye out for uh proposed amendments. Uh we have also been tracking uh after the bill introduction deadline 111 water related bills on behalf of the commission. And again, after the deadline to hear bills in committee in their chamber of origin, that number was also cut roughly in half, and about fifty three of those water related pieces of legislation are still considered alive.

Unknown 3:34

The next uh major deadline for the twenty twenty six legislative session falls next Friday, March twenty seventh. Which is the deadline to hear bills in committee in the opposite chamber? So once again, we would expect that list of bills that we're tracking to uh shrink even further because bills that made it out of their chamber of origin but did not make it onto a committee agenda in the opposite chamber would be considered dead. Uh but again, as I noted earlier, we're always looking for things to return in the form um of an amendment. Uh with that, Mr. Chair, Madam Vice Chair and Commissioners, that is uh where we are with the session.

Nick Myers 4:20

Great. Thank you.

What are the upcoming legislative deadlines and how might they affect the bill tracking list?

Nick Myers 4:21

Uh any questions from Commissioners? Commissioner Marcus Peterson.

Lea Márquez Peterson 4:25

And no questions. Thank you for your due diligence, Ryan, and your team. Um I don't have any particular bills so I wanna discuss it this time.

Nick Myers 4:34

Okay. Uh Commissioner Thompson? Nothing at this time. But you're Walden.

Rachel Walden 4:40

Uh uh same. Don't have any don't have any bills of of discussion, but I appreciate the updates that we get from your office on on where we are in the bills that you're tracking.

René Lopez 4:52

Okay. Uh Commissioner Lopez? Yeah, nothing nothing to add either.