The city of Glendale recently reviewed its state and federal Legislative Agenda for 2026. Presented by Director of Intergovernmental Programs Ginna Carico, the proposed agenda details the legislative trends and climate and how those factors impact Glendale. For the coming year, Carico said the state is moving toward “another challenging budget cycle.”
“One of the primary issues they must address will be conforming to federal law and tax changes made under H.R. 1 — The Big Beautiful Bill,” Carico said. “If the legislature conforms with all of the tax changes, the state is estimating a general fund impact of $438 million (and) an estimated reduction of shared revenue to Glendale of over $3 million.
“With that as a baseline, it will be more important than ever that we are avoiding any future sweeps or reductions in local revenues.”
Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff asked about the financial impact of the incorporation of San Tan Valley, referring to it as “essentially a new city.” Carico said that while the numbers are not final, the resulting projected additional loss to shared revenue for Glendale is “just under $1 million.”
In the face of those hurdles, the 2026 Legislative Agenda focuses on various guiding principles, which were approved by the city council: protecting local decision-making and pursuing local funding, safeguarding neighborhoods and quality of life, promoting economic development and prosperity, sustaining the mission of Luke Air Force Base, preserving and enhancing the water supply and collaborating to build a robust transportation network.
With the loss of residential rental tax, the director said, various cities and mayors across the state negotiated a deal on food tax in 2025 — giving voters the opportunity to decide in November of 2026 whether to freeze food tax rates and additionally require any increase up to 2% to be approved by the local jurisdiction’s voters. In answering a question from Mayor Jerry Weiers, Carico said that at present, the issue would be presented as one ballot question, rather than two.
“All existing food taxes would be frozen at their current rates — even if they’re over 2%,” the director said. “But anyone under 2% could take a vote to their people to get up to 2%.”
Weiers expressed concerns regarding the constitutionality of packing “three different things” into a singular ballot question.
Some of the topics of legislative interest that Carico highlighted are continued exploration of by-right zoning, efforts to eliminate design review and exempt historic areas from the middle housing requirement. In response to those concerns, Carico said the city will continue support for ongoing reform related to sober living home regulation and oversight — which includes accountability frameworks for service providers. Such frameworks, Carico said, are intended to result in balanced and enforceable solutions that respect local authority, ensure provider accountability and protect vulnerable individuals while maintaining community safety.
Additionally, the director noted that an additional matter of importance pertains to data centers and statewide tax incentives, which follow an executive order from President Donald Trump in July — accelerating federal permitting of infrastructure for data centers.
During the 2025 session, 1,854 bills were introduced, 265 were signed into law and 174 were vetoed — all across 166 days. Carico said that the top policy issues raised this year were protecting local revenue, housing and zoning reform and sober living homes.
“We are very grateful to our legislative leaders for coming to the table to negotiate a fair compromise without automatically cutting city revenue or services,” Carico said.
Furthermore, Arizona State Sen. Frank Carroll’s Sober Living Home bill passed, which Carico said was “championed by the West Valley” — including Glendale city leaders. The purpose of the legislation, she said, is to address fraudulent and unlicensed facilities by instituting licensure requirements and standards, as well as penalties for violations.
Arizona’s representatives and senators include Reps. Yassamin Ansari, Abe Hamadeh and Paul Gosar, Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego. The state’s legislators include Sens. Eva Diaz, Analise Ortiz, Tim Dunn, Flavio Bravo, Kevin Payne and Janae Shamp, as well as Reps. Lupe Contrearas, Elda Luna-Najera, Lydia Hernandez, Anna Abeyita, Michael Carbone, Nick Kupper, Cesar Aguilar, Quanta Crews, Lisa Fink, Tony Rivero, Steve Montenegro and James Taylor. State Sen. Carroll, as well as Crews, Carbone and Montenegro come from the West Valley — serving as Senate Majority Whip, House Minority Whip, House Majority Leader and Speaker of the House, respectively.
With Gov. Katie Hobbs and other members of the legislature running for reelection, Carico said she remains optimistic that it will inspire “a shorter session to allow time to hit the campaign trail.”
According to the director, the city of Glendale has been and will continue to be a leader in community engagement in the coming year — noting the Community Newsletter, Neighborhood Action Alerts and other website resources as valuable assets.
“Through some of the resources listed on this slide and the strategic engagement of council, we will continue to identify ways to improve and enhance the leadership and image of the city at the state and federal level,” Carico said. “I want to thank you for your continued support and leadership. Your reputations and relationships help us to ensure the continued success of the city.”