Carbone’s Housing Bills to Face Hobbs’ Scrutiny

Two more housing bills face Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs’s scrutiny and possible veto pen this week. House Bills HB2720 and HB2721, sponsored by Rep. Michael Carbone (R-25), passed both houses with bipartisan support. HB2720, dubbed the “Accessory Dwelling Unit  (ADU) Bill,” would allow single-family homes to add an accessory dwelling unit, such as a smaller additional home, to the lot. HB2721 loosens regulations that would make it easier to build “duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and townhomes” in municipalities with populations of 75,000 or more.

In his statement about the bills, Carbone said, “Arizonans across the state are being decimated by high housing costs and unrelenting inflation. Right now, our teachers, nurses, firefighters, and police officers can’t afford to live in the communities that they serve. Our children and grandchildren can’t afford to live in the communities that they grew up in. Most Arizonans have been priced out of the housing economy – it’s wrong and un-American.”

The ADU bill aims to provide affordable housing options for family members to live near family. However, some supporters have expressed concerns that Hobbs may veto the bill because it could open the state to more temporary housing services such as Vrbo and AirBnB.

The ADU (HB2720) bill passed 17-11 in the Senate and 35-22 in the House. HB2721 passed in the Senate with a 21-7 vote, and 42-15 in the House. The bills garnered bipartisan support and opposition.

Democrat Senator Anna Hernandez, who supported the housing bills, released a statement, writing, “I cannot go a single day without hearing from my constituents about the high housing costs in our state that is decimating my community and locking families in poverty. We worked tirelessly with housing and community stakeholders in order to craft this historic and bipartisan solution that we are proud to send to the Governor.”

Given her extensive veto record, it’s unclear how Hobbs will react to the bills. She has previously vetoed bipartisan bills and has yet to signal her position on the current bills. She vetoed the “Arizona Starter Homes Act” to cut red-tape regulations for first-time home buyers, yet signed a bill making it easier to convert commercial properties to residential.