New Arizona Law Seeks to Lower Housing Costs

House Bill 2999, introduced by State Representative Jeff Weninger (R-13), has recently been signed into law and seeks to lower housing costs in Arizona.

What the Bill Does

State Rep. Weninger's HB 2999 creates State Affordability Infrastructure Districts, which are designed to allow for long-term payments of surrounding infrastructure whenever a new house is built.

A house is not in isolation: roads must be extended or modified, utilities must be installed, and water/sewage systems must be connected.

As a result, State Affordability Infrastructure Districts allow these aspects of housing to be paid over time rather than upfront, and to be folded into the cost of the home. Additionally, the system is designed so that cities, counties, or taxpayers outside the project will not be forced to help cover the costs.

What Weninger is Saying

"Arizona needs more homes people can actually afford, and that means we have to be honest about what drives up the cost of building," said State Rep. Weninger in a press release. "Infrastructure is one of the biggest costs baked into the price of a new home. HB 2999 gives builders, landowners, and communities an innovative tool to pay for that infrastructure over time, get more homes built, and avoid putting taxpayers on the hook. This is a pro-growth, pro-taxpayer housing solution."

Other Arizona Housing Initiatives

In late May, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) demanded the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) halt plans to institute cuts to the Comprehensive Housing Counseling (CHC) and the Housing Counseling Training (HCT), which would remove pre-purchase housing counseling from the list of eligible activities covered under the programs.

At the beginning of June, Governor Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) signed Senate Bill 1566 into law, which targets cities and counties that slow-walk permit approvals for new homes. If a local government is found to have deliberately dragged its feet on a single-family residential application, it could be on the hook for $5,000 per violation.