And they’re off. The 2026 Arizona legislative session was underway as of Jan. 12 with Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs [D] kicking off the 57th Arizona State Legislature session with the annual State of the State Address. Hobbs cited affordability as her No. 1 priority heading into the last year of her current term as the 2026 midterms and gubernatorial race heat up.

Hobbs is proposing the creation of the Arizona Affordability Fund to help households manage rising utility and housing costs, including helping people pay for home repairs and weatherizing homes to lower energy bills and supporting the construction of additional affordable housing units. The proposal includes $20 million in seed funding.

“But we need a funding source for the long-run,” Hobbs said. “Tackling affordability isn’t a one year project. That’s why I am proposing a nightly fee on short-term rental stays to fuel the Arizona Affordability Fund. By asking vacationers to kick in $3.50 … we can deliver major change for the working people in our state who are struggling to get by.”

“In addition, the state’s Weatherization Assistance Program will also receive a one-time $5 million investment in American Rescue Plan Act funds,” Hobbs’ wrote in a later press release.

Hobbs proposed $2.5 million on Jan. 16 for a new Housing Acceleration Fund administered by the Arizona Finance Authority to “help affordable housing developers access low-cost financing to build thousands of new housing units, faster,” an Arizona Department of Housing press release reads.

The proposals face an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Legislature, which similarly can expect Hobbs to continue to use her veto power against them. In the previous session, Hobbs vetoed 174 bills as of July 19, beating her record of 143 vetoes in 2023. Five hundred bills have been introduced with 2,000 anticipated, according to Deputy Sedona City Manager Lauren Browne.

The first bill to reach Hobbs’ desk this session and first to be vetoed was Senate Bill 1106, a GOP bill passed to bring the state’s tax codes in line with the national legislation known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

“The Republican majority in the legislature is hell-bent on giving handouts to the wealthiest Arizonans while hiking taxes on working seniors,” Hobbs wrote on Jan. 14. “Their proposal gives hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks to special interests, removes a tax cut for working seniors, and adds even more handouts to those who are already rich. If Republicans want to give a billion dollar tax break for the wealthy, they must show the people of Arizona how they will pay for it without slashing the vital services our constituents rely on. We need tax cuts for middle class families now.”

“A state budget is supposed to create clarity and certainty for our citizens, this proposal is full of confusion and instability,” House Appropriations Vice Chairman Matt Gress [R-District 4] wrote. Hobbs “is pushing roughly $1 billion in tax increases, including a ‘staycation tax’ on short-term rentals, which raises costs for Arizona families traveling in their own state. Arizonans did not sign up for a tax and spend government.”

Hobbs also made a pitch for civility against an escalation of political violence.

“Let us all come together in denouncing the horrific violence that is poisoning our politics,” she said. “From the assassinations of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Arizona’s own Charlie Kirk, to the explosive materials found in the Arizona Supreme Court just last week, the rising tide of political violence must come to an end. As elected leaders, it is our responsibility to turn down the temperature and denounce violence in all forms.”

Hobbs also touted Operation: Desert Guardian, that was created through her executive order in February 2025, as a joint task force between the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Arizona Department of Homeland Security.

“Last month, state troopers and law enforcement partners in Northern Arizona, including the Yavapai and Coconino County sheriff’s offices, conducted a coordinated effort along the region’s major transportation corridors,” she said. “The outcome: The seizure of over 300 pounds of drugs, as well as the arrest of a felon with an outstanding $1 million warrant for crimes against children.”

Sedona

Sedona Arizona State Rep. Selina Bliss [R–District 1] hosted several local leaders on the opening day of the Arizona legislative session at the State Capitol. Among those in attendance included Sedona Mayor Holli Ploog and Cottonwood Mayor Ann Shaw, representing three of the nine mayors in Legislative District 1.

Bliss has introduced House Bill 2201 that, if passed, would appropriate $8 million “for State Route 89A, Forest Road and Ranger Road construction and improvement projects,” in Sedona.

Sedona’s City Council, on Jan. 13, adopted its own legislative agenda and protocols for engaging with state legislation. The measure passed unanimously, with one member of the public speaking against it and Councilman Derek Pfaff recusing himself. Potential short-term rental regulations and state budget impacts are among the city’s top priorities.

Bills of note for Sedona include Senate Bill 1076: “This authorizes a municipality with a population of less than 70,000 people to set a maximum number of vacation rental or short term rental permits or licenses within the municipality, and to set a minimum distance between such rentals,” Browne said.

As a future council item, Councilwoman Melissa Dunn proposed discussing the city’s position on land use for energy- and water-intensive projects like data centers, noting such facilities could take other forms in the future. Data center centers typically require large parcels of cheap industrial-zoned property, among several other material considerations making them an unlikely addition anytime in the near future within Sedona city limits. The item was supported by Vice Mayor Brian Fultz and Councilman Pete Furman.

Councilwoman Charlotte Hosseini requested a discussion regarding county-owned streets within the city that are not maintained by the city,” the action item list reads. Furman and Pfaff “supported her request. … The joint meeting with Sedona Oak-Creek School District is scheduled for March 25.”