HB 2259, a bill popular among local Democrats, including co-sponsors Reps. Christopher Mathis, Nancy Gutierrez, Betty Villegas, and Sens. Rosanna Gabaldon and Sally Ann Gonzales, would force Republican legislators to give up the right to tell cities like Tucson they can’t impose rent controls. The bill hasn’t been assigned to a committee and there is no hearing scheduled. (January 11) (Tucson Agenda)

HB 2221, co-sponsored by Gutierrez, would require a three-day waiting period after the purchase of a firearm before the purchaser can take possession of the firearm. The bill hasn’t been assigned to a committee and there is no hearing scheduled. (January 11) (Tucson Agenda)

In other news from our local legislators, the window for getting an ovarian cancer awareness license plate would extend until 2025 if legislators pass HB 2567. State Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, a Democrat representing Legislative District 18, introduced the bill. It’s up for debate at a hearing on Wednesday of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

“Because of the new flat tax that the Ducey administration signed, our state revenues are drastically reducing for coming years and we will no longer have a surplus to pay for our needed government services,” Sundareshan said. “We will be entering a highly constrained and sobering state budget era unless we can overturn the myriad tax cuts of the last few years.” (January 22) (Tucson Agenda)

Unblocking school funds: The debate over funding for the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind is coming back to the Arizona Legislature this session, Arizona Luminaria’s Ana Teresa Espinoza reports. Last legislative session, Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman blocked funding for the schools, which serve 2,000 students in Tucson and Phoenix. This time around, state Sen. Priya Sundareshan, a Tucson-area Democrat, sponsored SB 1001 to continue funding for the schools for the next 10 years. (January 4)