By Caitlin Sievers | AZ Mirror
A Republican’s plan to give a break to housing developers who they say were treated unfairly by updated groundwater supply modeling is dead in the lack of water.
The plan to exempt specific proposed housing developments in areas of Queen Creek and Buckeye from a moratorium on building failed to pass through the Arizona House of Representatives for the second time by a vote of 29-26 on Wednesday.
One Republican, Rep. Alexander Kolodin, of Scottsdale, voted against the bill, alongside House Democrats.
The second rejection means the bill cannot be revived.
Supporters of House Bill 2299, sponsored by Rep. Gail Griffin, the chairwoman of the House Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee, claimed that it was the right thing to do for developers who were blindsided by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ moratorium on new housing construction in some parts of the Valley. Implemented in June 2023, the moratorium caused an uproar among developers with projects already in the works in those areas, and Republicans have been looking for a way to restart building since then.
