By Madelaine Braggs | Rose Law Group Reporter
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — With Arizona’s budget deadline arriving in less than 30 days, Arizona lawmakers are deep in the weeds of tackling the state’s most urgent challenges: water, power, transportation, education and healthcare.
Moderated by Jordan Rose, Founder and President of Rose Law Group, the Pinal Partnership Breakfast panel featured a powerhouse of legislators — Senator TJ Shope, Senator Carine Werner, Representative Neal Carter — alongside Rose Law Group lobbyist Cole Libera, to discuss the state’s future.
The discussion spanned topics from agricultural water rights and infrastructure funding to mental health reform and the possibility of a nuclear energy revival. But at the center of every policy proposal was a shared concern: how to grow without sacrificing what makes Arizona liveable.
Water Policy: From Irrigated Farmland to Urban Futures
Leading the charge on one of Arizona’s most transformative water policy efforts was Senator TJ Shope, whose “Ag-to-Urban” bill aims to convert grandfathered agricultural water rights into a framework for sustainable urban development.
“This has been different,” Shope said, referencing stakeholder meetings with the governor’s office, city officials, and developers. “We had anywhere from on the low end 60 people in a room, up to on the high end, 105 in the room, discussing the importance of Arizona’s water future… Now we’re down to 12 to 15 people — that means you’re getting closer.”
With Arizona’s explosive growth — particularly in housing hotbeds like Queen Creek and Buckeye — the bill could be a landmark, potentially rivaling the 1980 Groundwater Management Act in impact.
Shope noted, “If there’s no place for those people to live, all we do is exacerbate every traffic and transportation problem that we already have.”
Cole Libera of Rose Law Group emphasized the water policy’s regional stakes. “We’ve worked a lot with the Town of Queen Creek, Arizona Water Company, and other stakeholders, trying to figure out how do we open back up development in this low-hanging fruit where you have these irrigated grandfather rights. We know that if we retire those rights and supplant them with development, we’re going to save water — that’s just a fact.”
Healthcare, Education, and a Push for Homegrown Doctors
Senator Carine Werner, Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, spoke passionately about building Arizona’s own healthcare workforce.
“I introduced a bill that was just passed and it’s on the governor’s desk… If you’re an Arizona resident and you went out of state for pre-med, when you come back and apply to a med school here, you are guaranteed an interview — if you meet the qualifications,” said Werner.
Werner’s second major focus was graduate medical education (GME). “We need to increase homegrown doctors,” she said. “Texas is doing it right now and they are mopping the floor with us — and my goal is to mop the floor with them.”
Her remarks also touched on mental health. “We’re working to get a secure behavioral health facility — a lockdown facility,” she said. “It costs our state a lot of money because not only are [severely mentally ill individuals] going to emergency rooms, they’re going into our jails.”
And when asked about the impact of low proficiency despite high graduation rates, she didn’t hesitate. “Our graduation rate is directly tied to our healthcare costs. When you don’t graduate high school, the likelihood of you getting a job that provides insurance decreases tremendously.”
Roads, Bridges, and the Cost of Growth
Representative Neal Carter, a prominent voice on transportation, spoke with urgency.
“For me, the number one thing hands down would be the traffic… I allow an hour [to get here] which I really shouldn’t have to do,” he said, describing a patchwork of detours to avoid congested corridors in Pinal County.
Carter revealed efforts to secure funding for key transportation improvements. “We’re looking at putting funding in for the bridge at Riggs on 347… On my side, State Route 24 is a big priority.”
On funding challenges, he didn’t mince words. “If I could wave a magic wand, I would fix the declining revenues to the highway user revenue fund… Let’s dedicate half a percent of the existing state sales tax to HURF. That would solve the transportation funding shortfall overnight — without raising taxes.”
Power Struggles: Energy for Arizona’s Economic Engine
The conversation turned to energy infrastructure, particularly around the controversial veto of a bill that would have enabled new nuclear development — likely in Pinal County.
“There is space for nuclear and more alternative energies out there. We can’t move the water if we don’t have the power to move it,” Libera remarked. “Everything’s interlinked… Chip manufacturers, car manufacturers, data centers — all those things require a lot of power and water.”
Libera highlighted one of his favorite statistic in Metro Phoenix: “We use less water today than we did in 1950, because we’ve done such a good job conserving water and then also retiring of agriculture lands in that area.”
Education Funding and the Battle Over Prop 123
The panelists previewed what could be one of the session’s biggest political fireworks: the renewal of Proposition 123, which redirects state land trust dollars to K-12 education.
Senator Shope gave a blunt history: “It put about a half billion dollars into education every year. The expiration on that was 10 years… We are approaching that, so we’d like to put an extension on the ballot. This is an ability for us to go ahead and have an infusion of about a half billion dollars without raising a single set in taxes.”
The proposed extension includes “a baseline $4,000 raise for every certified teacher,” Shope said. “We actually define what a teacher is… to make sure it’s going to the right spot.”
Werner says she thinks this will be the explosive battle at the capitol, adding that union opposition is rooted in broader distribution demands. “The teachers unions don’t want to define teacher — they want the money to go to everyone,” she said. “But the teachers are the ones who deserve this.”
Local Coordination and Legislative Access
One thing that stood out: the legislators on this panel works closely with local officials. “Just text me,” said Carter, explaining that he’s his own assistant now. “My cell phone number is on my website.”
Shope echoed the sentiment. “We get together with city officials — sometimes it’s just dinner, no agenda… That synergy matters.”
Rose noted the “superstar cast” of elected officials in the audience — city managers, mayors, board supervisors — all present in support.
Final Thoughts: What If There Were No Red Tape?
To close, Rose asked the panel: if you could pass one bill with no opposition, what would it be?
“Raise legislative pay,” said Shope. “We’ve had seven people leave the legislature in the last year and a half because they can’t afford to do it. It’s a $24,000 job running a $17 billion business.”
Werner said she’d unlock more water access. “We have enough water — it’s just not accessible.”
Carter circled back to transportation: “I’d solve the highway funding crisis… without raising taxes.”
