Arizonans continue to struggle as Democrats’ affordability bills stall at state capitol

Arizona’s 2026 legislative session is nearing a close, but what has been done to make the state more affordable? Not much, Democrats say, and they say Republicans are to blame.

Lena Villa, a Phoenix resident and retiree, lives off the fixed income of her Social Security check. She shares a two-bedroom apartment with her daughter, who is the main source of income in their household, and her three grandchildren.

“We really need a three-bedroom apartment because I have to share my bedroom with my grandson, and I know he [sometimes] feels uncomfortable, but we got to do what we got to do because we can’t afford to get a bigger place,” Villa said.   

Her daughter covers the rent and utilities, while Villa pays for a portion of food costs and other necessities. 

More than two decades ago, Villa wanted to purchase a home, but even then it was too expensive. Now, she doesn’t see how it’s possible. 

“It would be nice to have a home… [but] our finances are limited, so sometimes, well, we just dream about it,” Villa said. “I just pray to God that we make it this month…I can’t think long term. I have to be thinking month to month, because financially, that’s all we can do.”

Villa’s family previously received food assistance benefits via the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) when Villa’s daughter was looking for work. But after her daughter found a job, the family was cut off from food assistance.

“We have to stretch out our money to make sure we have enough money to buy food, and then, with the rise of the prices of food going up, well, that doesn’t help us,” Villa said. “And the [price of] gas is really hurting everybody, not only us, but everybody else.” 

Villa’s situation isn’t uncommon. Most Americans are struggling to afford the cost of living, as housing costs rise, electricity bills go up, and health care becomes more expensive. 

Affordability is a top focus for Arizona Democrats, but the Republican majority in the Legislature has blocked any progress on making Arizona more affordable, said House Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos. 

“We’re just trying to do everything we can to bring down costs and bring relief to every day Arizonans, but at every single step Republicans are killing our agenda,” De Los Santos said. “Republicans are afraid to take on the root cause, and the root cause are large, greedy corporations that are screwing over everyday Arizonans.”

Democrats introduced proposals to limit large corporations’ ability to buy up housing stock in Arizona, prevent data centers from getting tax breaks, stop prescription medication price-gouging, and place penalties on health insurance companies that deny health insurance claims, among other proposals. 

Because the Republican majority controls the committees that bills receive a hearing in, Democrat-backed bills never get assigned to be heard in the first place, so Democrats are left with only one option—to bring them onto the House or Senate floor as amendments, De Los Santos said. 

READ MORE: How Arizona lawmakers can bring back bills even after they fail

During the final two weeks of committee hearings, bills were able to be heard in committees, and Democratic House members went on an “affordability blitz,” De Los Santos said, moving multiple strike-everything amendments on policies such as making childcare more affordable, restricting data center tax breaks, and establishing paid family and medical leave, among other policies. Republicans blocked all of them from advancing. 

A “strike-everything” amendment removes the language of a bill, replacing it with completely different language, and if passed by the majority of committee members, it can be a method to bring back a bill that had previously failed.   

In February, state Senator Analise Ortiz (D-Maryvale) proposed an amendment to a Republican bill, Senate Bill 1075, to push through her bill that would lower the cost of housing by stopping corporations from buying housing stock in mass, but it was rejected by Senate Republicans. 

In March, in an effort to bypass the Republican majority that stops Democrat-backed bills from being considered in committees, Democratic House Representatives attempted to amend Republican-sponsored bills eight times to get their affordability-focused bills heard and voted on.

But House Republicans blocked the amendments from advancing. 

“I certainly know that there’s a lot of lip service being paid to affordability, especially from the majority Republicans at the legislature and nationally, but when it comes to actually lowering prices on things, they really don’t have a plan,” said Ben Scheel, executive director of Opportunity Arizona, a progressive advocacy group that worked with House and Senate Democrats to put together the agenda of affordability-focused bills blocked by Republicans.   

Republicans take no interest in addressing the affordability problems Arizonans face through the root causes, Scheel said. 

“We need to break up monopolies that are price gouging Arizonans, whether it’s in health care, prescription drugs, even grocery stores. The monopolistic nature of our system really allows for runaway capitalism and price gouging in Arizona,” he said. 

Arizonans are making the tough choices every day of paying a grocery bill or filling up their gas tank, Scheel said. 

What was the Democrats’ affordability agenda?

Stop Corporate Homebuyers Act — House Bill 2705 and Senate Bill 1441

Would have prevented corporations and their affiliates from buying up an excessive amount of the single-family housing supply in a given census tract, and limited the number of homes they could buy in a calendar year. Would have required a corporation, LLC, or affiliate that owns 10 or more single-family residences to register with the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Stop Price-Gouging Medicine Act — House Bill 2645 and Senate Bill 1797

Would have made prescriptions more affordable by making it illegal for a manufacturer or wholesale distributor to engage in price-gouging of an essential off-patent or generic drug. Would have imposed a civil penalty of $10,000 for each violation of the act.

Fair Claims Accountability Act —  House Bill 2581 and Senate Bill1607 

Would have protected patients’ rights to health insurance coverage by establishing a Healthcare Consumer Assistance Program within the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions to help consumers with denied claims, and by raising penalties on health insurance companies that systemically deny valid health insurance claims.

Protect Consumers from Higher Energy Costs Act — House Bill 2949 and Senate Bill1380 

Would have lowered energy costs for consumer ratepayers by requiring large data centers to pay for the energy costs that they use. 

Rein in Data Center Subsidies Act — House Bill 2631 and Senate Bill 1467 

Would have repealed tax subsidies on data centers, ending year-over-year increases in state subsidy dollars provided to data centers.