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BILL # SB 1100 |
TITLE: Maricopa county; division; new counties |
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SPONSOR: Hoffman |
STATUS: As Introduced |
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PREPARED BY: Destin Moss |
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The bill would reduce the size of Maricopa County by moving portions of the county into the boundaries of Gila County, La Paz County, Pinal County, Yavapai County and Yuma County effective January 1, 2026.
Estimated Impact
We estimate that the bill may have a General Fund impact, as the bill might impact the eligibility of the affected counties to qualify for state assistance.
The bill would have a larger fiscal impact at the county level. An accurate estimate of this cost would require a significant amount of resources and time to evaluate and is beyond the scope of this fiscal note. In addition, the fiscal impact would also depend on future decisions at the state and county levels regarding the specific implementation plan.
The County Supervisors Association (CSA) outlined several mechanisms by which the bill may impact counties but was unable to provide an estimate for the magnitude of these impacts.
The bill may impact property tax rates in each of the affected counties due to changes in population and relative property wealth. The actual rates would depend on tax and spending decisions made by the Board of Supervisors in each county.
The bill would move portions of Maricopa County into 5 other existing counties:
· The new, smaller Maricopa County would include Tolleson, southern and central Phoenix, Tempe, and Guadalupe.
· Gila County would gain Cave Creek, Carefree, Paradise Valley, and Scottsdale.
· La Paz County would gain Avondale, portions of Buckeye, Goodyear, and Litchfield Park.
· Pinal County would gain Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, and Queen Creek.
· Yavapai County would gain northern Phoenix, Glendale, portions of Buckeye , Peoria, El Mirage, Youngstown, Surprise, and Wickenburg.
· Yuma County would gain Gila Bend.
Staff Costs
Statute requires that all counties with a population of less than 175,000 persons have a 3-member Board of Supervisors, while counties with a larger population are required to have a 5-member board. Gila County and La Paz County would likely be required to transition to a 5-member board under the bill. The counties will incur expenses for salaries, benefits, and administrative support for these new members.
There will also be a decrease in Maricopa County's budget and increases in the newly expanded counties. For example, Maricopa County currently budgets for 15,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees to serve its population of 4.6 million. Maricopa County's population is expected to decrease to 1.0 million, which would likely result in a reduction to its workforce. In terms of a newly expanded county, for example, La Paz budgets 231 FTE for its current population of 17,000. CSA estimates La Paz's population will increase to 317,000, which will result in the expansion of its workforce. We are not able to project the net impact of these changes on county employment and expenditures.
Capital Expenditures
The bill may affect the counties' capital infrastructure expenditures. The expanded counties may be able to purchase, lease, or otherwise utilize some of the capital infrastructure that Maricopa County had previously developed to serve the populations being transferred. However, CSA notes that the geographical distribution of Maricopa's existing capital assets across the expanded counties may not align with the new population distribution and the need for those assets, so the counties may still incur significant capital expenditures.
County Tax Implications
The fiscal impact to the counties would also depend on tax rates set by the Board of Supervisors in each county. The counties would need to set tax rates to generate sufficient revenues for budgetary expenditures. The current Maricopa County property tax rate is $1.16 per $100 of net assessed valuation. Counties acquiring large populations with higher-than-average property wealth, like Gila, may be able to lower property tax rates below the current Maricopa County rate. Counties acquiring smaller populations with lower property wealth, like Yuma, may need to increase rates to provide services to their new residents.
The bill could also affect county sales taxes. Under current law, counties with a population of less than 1.5 million are authorized to levy a general county sales tax of up to 0.5% on the same tax base that applies to the state Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT). The imposition of such tax requires a unanimous vote by the Board of Supervisors. Individuals who are currently subject to Maricopa County's tax rates may have to begin paying a county sales tax if they are moved to a county with a population of less than 1.5 million. The expanded counties may also reach the population threshold of 1.5 million and be prohibited from levying a sales tax sooner than they would have if the boundaries remained unchanged. In addition, CSA stated a need to enact future legislation to address how the expenditure limits and levy limits are established for each of the expanded counties.
State General Fund Impacts
State assistance programs to counties could be affected by this bill. For example, Maricopa is the only county not currently reimbursed by the state for the costs of their probation programs. The state would incur new costs if any of the
expanded counties began to seek larger reimbursements of these costs. The state also shares the cost of the Arizona Long Term Care System for the elderly and physically disabled. The state/county dollar split is governed by a complex formula which would be affected by this legislation. We are not able to estimate the impact due to the lack of data on how long-term care utilization, property values, and other components of the formula would shift among the counties as a result of this bill. We are unable to develop an exhaustive list of state-level impacts within the current scope of our analysis.
2/21/25