Buckeye’s legislative delegation — Senator Tim Dunn, House Majority Leader Michael Carbone, and Rep. Nick Kupper — saw movement on several of their bills this week as they advanced through committee hearings. While many measures gained support and moved forward, others faced challenges.
Dunn secured a key victory with his bill to allocate $20.65 million to offset reductions in federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding. The measure passed unanimously in the Senate Appropriations Committee, ensuring that vital resources for victim compensation, advocacy, and shelter programs remain intact despite federal cutbacks. Another win for Dunn came with his bill providing $3.5 million in funding for agricultural research at the University of Arizona’s Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture. The measure, which aims to improve water conservation, soil health, and crop disease management in desert farming, passed through committee with an 8-1 vote. Dunn also received unanimous approval for a bill strengthening regulations on manufacturer license plates to prevent misuse.
However, his co-sponsored election security bill, which mandates watermarks and holograms on ballots to deter fraud, passed on a narrow 4-3 party-line vote, highlighting partisan divisions on the issue.
Carbone had similar success this week. His bill preventing the diversion of anti-racketeering funds to the state’s general fund passed unanimously, ensuring that resources remain dedicated to gang prevention, substance abuse programs, and racketeering prosecutions. A resolution he co-sponsored calling for congressional term limits advanced with bipartisan support, passing committee with a 6-3 vote. His co-sponsored transportation bill, which allocates $70 million to widen I-10 between State Route 85 and Citrus Road, also passed unanimously, marking a significant step toward easing congestion and improving safety along the corridor.
Carbone also co-sponsored measures focused on public safety and education, including a bill strengthening railroad crossing safety that passed with unanimous support and another that establishes a $5 million scholarship fund for the spouses and dependents of law enforcement officers, which advanced with an 8-4 vote. His bill requiring schools to include dyslexia diagnoses in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) received full committee approval.
Not all of Carbone’s bills fared as well. A measure he co-sponsored that would have prevented municipalities from banning specific building materials failed in committee with a 1-6 vote. Another bill he introduced to revise unemployment benefits based on the state’s jobless rate was not heard in committee this week, leaving its future uncertain.
Rep. Nick Kupper also saw movement on some of his priority bills. His proposal to expand the state’s Clean Elections pamphlet to include county-level candidates passed committee unanimously, a move aimed at increasing voter transparency in local elections. Meanwhile, his bill requiring stricter age-verification for adult content access, designed to prevent minors from exposure to explicit material, passed along party lines with a 6-3 vote.
As the legislative session continues, Buckeye’s lawmakers are pushing forward with measures aimed at public safety, education, and infrastructure, while facing pushback on some of their more controversial proposals. InBuckeye will continue tracking their progress and providing updates on how these bills fare in the coming weeks.
One Response
Thanks for the great reporting! Being.a politician of any kind these days can leave a “sour taste in one’s mouth” for many people. I realize there is much corruption that goes on amongst that field, but I thank God that many politicians as those mentioned above-Carbone,Dunn,and Kupper- are striving to fight to represent us on these important and moral issues where “we the people” want a voice. Thanks for representing us. God bless you .