State Senator Justine Wadsack speaking on the floor of the Arizona State Senate at the Arizona State Capitol building in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo: Gage Skidmore)
Tucson’s Wadsack Mandates Political Data in Home Sales
Updates state rules requiring sellers to disclose political district data
By Steve Kirwan, February 19, 2024 5:00 am
AZ State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-LD17) is championing 2024’s SB 1581, a bill overturning the state’s ban on real estate agents sharing political information related to homes. Arizona law currently prohibits agents from sharing basic political details, such as Congressional and legislative districts, with potential homebuyers. Wadsack, an agent in her business life, believed that some buyers want that knowledge as part of their home-buying decision process.
In her pitch to the Senate Government Committee, the bill would not only allow such information but mandate its inclusion, much like with school district data, in the state’s various multiple listing services (MLS).
Wadsack stated, “Buying a house is the biggest, biggest investment that anybody can make. “If they are a Democrat and want to move into a Democrat area, they should know that they’re moving into a Democrat area. It would make them approaching their city council members a little easier.’’
She added, “One of the top search criteria when a buyer comes to me, they say ‘Please make sure I’m in the Marana school district; I don’t want to be in TUSD’ “ (referring to the adjacent Tucson Unified School District). “And then I have to make sure I put into my search criteria through the MLS that they only get to see homes that are in Marana school district. How is this any different to, ‘I only want to be in a CD 6 congressional district or I want to be in LD 18?”
Wadsack lamented that prior to SB 1581, it required extensive searching of multiple sources to determine the political districts of an individual property, and even then, the real estate agent was limited as to what they could share.
Assistant Minority Leader Juan Mendez (D-LD8) disagrees with Wadsack. He stated, “This opens up the door for the kinds of conversation that allowed for redlining to happen in the past.”
Redlining is the now illegal practice of denying an otherwise creditworthy applicant a home loan based on the home’s location, often based on the neighborhood’s racial makeup as the determining factor.
Sen. Priya Sundareshan (D-LD18) also expressed concerns for a different reason – she worries about the “politicization of everything.” Then she stated, “But I also see there’s a potential benefit here for civic education purposes,” providing greater political data to citizens.
Wadsack’s bill passed the committee on a 5-1 vote, allowing it to move on to a full Senate vote expected later this session.
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