Guest Editorial: Axon Apartment Legislative Bills – SB1352 and HB2925

By Representative Joseph Chaplik

HB2925 and SB1352 are complete shams and a shameless attempt by Axon to circumvent the will of voters.

I’ve been aggressively opposed to any bad policy bills and working tirelessly to protect our rights. That’s why I am standing up against these horrible legislative bills – SB1352 and HB2925 – that seek to overturn the will of the people and override residents’ votes at the ballot box. This attempt is a blatant assault on the rights of all Arizona citizens to hold their municipal government accountable. I have been doing some good damage on these bills but need your help.

Axon and its lobbyists are lying to my fellow legislative members to work against constituents. That’s why I am exposing these lies and quickly persuading other members to remove their support for this legislation.

In a short summary, here is a list of recent actions taken by Axon:

  • Last November, Axon slipped their rezoning approval through a lame-duck session of the Scottsdale City Council where it was approved by Council, three of whom had just been defeated in their reelection by the voters earlier that month.
  • After Scottsdale residents organized a petition drive to reverse the decision, Axon paid blockers to discourage city residents from signing petitions at various places in the city.
  • After the petition signatures were verified and certified by the County Recorders Office, Axon demanded the City of Scottsdale schedule an election (at taxpayers expense) in 2025 instead of waiting until November of 2026 as called for in the state constitution.
In response, lobbyists persuaded some of my fellow legislators to introduce legislation that would prohibit all future referendums on land use issues for all citizens in all of the cities in Arizona! If these bills pass, they will, because they contain a retroactivity clause, negate the successful referendum against the Axon and silence over 27,000 Scottsdale voters.
This legislation represents a dangerous precedent that would weaken democratic processes and citizen participation in local government. The right to petition through referendum is a crucial check on government power that must be preserved here in Arizona.

Chairman Weninger will be hearing this bill on Tuesday February 18th at 2pm in the House Commerce Committee. Please reach out to your legislators (Find my legislator if you don’t already know who they are) and let them know how strongly you oppose these bills that are an assault on your rights.

As always, I will fight for constituent voices, not special interest lobbying groups.

For Arizona,

Representative Joseph Chaplik
www.JosephChaplik.com