Arizona House Majority Leader Michael Carbone, the Buckeye Republican, released a statement yesterday claiming Gov. Katie Hobbs's housing moratorium could lead to the loss of nearly $4 billion in the next decade.
The freshman lawmaker warns of the loss of 18,654 jobs, a population decline of 74,354 people and a $3.9 billion reduction in personal income by 2035 under the Democratic governor's plan.
Carbone referenced a Monday report from the Common Sense Institute Arizona that contends: “maintaining [Gov. Hobbs’] homebuilding moratorium in the Phoenix Active Management Area over the next decade could cost the state $2 billion in potential real GDP.”
That report "verifies what Arizona House and Senate Republicans have been saying all along,” said Carbone. “Gov. Hobbs’ water policies led to an illegal housing moratorium that created an artificial growth boundary around the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. This moratorium is a driving force behind skyrocketing new home prices and shrinking availability for hardworking Arizona families.
"House and Senate Republicans have already proposed solutions that preserve water and allow the moratorium to be lifted immediately. There is no longer any justification for continuing a policy that hurts our economy and worsens the housing crisis.”
One solution the report pitches is water desalination from the Sea of Cortez, 140 miles southwest of Buckeye off the coast of Mexico. The report references Israel and Singapore, nations that use large amounts of desalinized water. The report concedes initial high costs, but with buildout and advances, it projects the cost to drop significantly.
Former Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, explored this solution. Ultimately, it fell through due to apprehension over the multi-year commitment purchasing water that it would require to cosign the private development.
Yesterday's report also references some voluntary retirement of legacy agriculture to make way for housing, which provides more economic viability, according to the report.
“As my seatmate Rep. Nick Kupper stated last week, maintaining the governor’s current housing moratorium — and its potential $2 billion economic impact — is now a political choice, not a regulatory necessity,” Carbone said. “It’s time Gov. Hobbs works with Republican lawmakers on commonsense legislation to lift the moratorium and increase the supply of desperately needed new for-sale homes in our state.”
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