Arizona has experienced a bonanza of population and job growth over the last five years, and it’s transforming our economy in exciting ways. 

Since 2020, roughly 100,000 people have moved to our great state every year, according to the Common Sense Institute. The momentum shows no signs of slowing. From major manufacturing to high-tech and corporate relocations, job growth has been off the charts. 

We all know about the mega-projects, like the massive Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) facility in north Phoenix—one of the largest foreign investments in U.S. history. 

But it doesn’t stop there. Arizona-based companies are also expanding at lightning speed. 

Just look at Scottsdale’s own Axon, which continues to lead the world in public safety technology. And we’re not just attracting factories. We’re drawing boardrooms. 

Just last week, Dutch Bros Coffee, a nationally recognized brand, announced it’s moving its corporate headquarters from Oregon to Arizona. That’s a big win—and just one example of many. 

Good news, right? 

Well, not according to everyone. 

In today’s hyperpartisan environment, even economic development has become political. Oddly enough, some voices on both the far left and the far right seem united in sounding the alarm over Arizona’s success. 

On the far left, critics wrongly claim that Arizona can’t—and shouldn’t—support this level of growth. They argue it strains infrastructure, housing, and water supply. But these concerns ignore the facts. Arizona has led the way in water conservation for decades and is innovating in areas like reuse and infrastructure investment. Growth doesn’t hinder our ability to plan for the future; it enables it. A stronger tax base means more revenue to improve roads, schools, and other critical infrastructure. 

Meanwhile, some on the far right fret about a different kind of threat: cultural change. They worry that people moving from states like California or Illinois will bring with them left-leaning politics. But here’s the thing—there’s no evidence of that happening. In fact, the opposite may be true. Since 2020, Arizona Republicans have outpaced Democrats in voter registration, gaining tens of thousands of new voters while Democrats have seen a net decline. Today, Republicans maintain a sizable registration advantage—a signal that many newcomers may actually lean center-right. 

Arizona remains a competitive, balanced state. When both parties run mainstream candidates, they can—and do—win. 

Among the most extreme voices on both ends of the spectrum, you’ll hear arguments that sound a lot like “Build the Wall”—not on our southern border, but along the Colorado River. Their solution to Arizona’s success? Stop people from coming. Stop businesses from expanding. Slow it all down. 

But no economy has ever gotten stronger by rejecting growth. Look at states like New York, Illinois, and California—all of which have seen population declines in recent years. These are places where high taxes, burdensome regulations, and anti-business politics have driven people and employers away. That’s not a model for Arizona—that’s a warning. 

Ironically, if we follow the advice of these economic isolationists and slam the brakes on growth, we’ll get the very outcome they claim to fear. We’ll lose jobs. People will stop coming. Our population will shrink. And we’ll start to resemble the places so many of our new neighbors are leaving behind. 

Arizona is thriving because we’ve chosen a different path. We’ve said yes to opportunity, yes to innovation, and yes to responsible growth. 

Bottom line: Don’t listen to the naysayers. Arizona’s momentum is not a threat; it’s a testament to what’s possible when a state embraces a pro-growth mindset. If we slam the door on new jobs and new residents, we won’t preserve Arizona—we’ll lose it. We’ll look less like the state we’ve built, and a lot more like the ones people are fleeing.

Danny Seiden is the president and CEO of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry.

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This is the season when, naturally, we’re thinking about the year that was and the 12 months to come.

First, a few reflections on 2024 from my perch leading the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry.

Job attraction

Divided state government perhaps offers fewer opportunities for big legislation that will influence Arizona’s future in a profound way, but don’t sleep on the state Legislature and Gov. Hobbs reaching an agreement to extend the Arizona Commerce Authority. It’s arguably the country’s most effective economic development agency, racking up jobs wins with such frequency that we risk taking ACA CEO Sandra Watson and her team for granted. That would have been a big mistake.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past that investments in the tens of millions of dollars would garner big headlines. Now Arizona competes for—and wins—investments in the billions. The ACA has elevated the state into the big leagues of job attraction, putting to work the tools given to them by successive legislatures and governors. I’m glad lawmakers and the governor in 2024 ensured the ACA will continue its indispensable work.

Regulatory crush

Even the best state economic development agency can only do so much if it’s handcuffed by federal regulations. The Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ throughout 2024 spent an inordinate amount of time focused on regulations from Washington that were putting the state’s ability to continue to grow at real risk.

The Arizona business community and regulators at the Environmental Protection Agency agree on much: We want clean air and water and healthy communities. Where we disagree, often strongly, is on the best way to achieve those goals. Sometimes, we can’t even agree on the basic facts, including on whether pollutants originate in Arizona or from sources far beyond the state’s borders. In 2024, that conflict sometimes played out in the courtroom.

One of my hopes for 2025 is that the state and the feds can reach some reasonable equilibrium. Arizona businesses have proven they’re willing partners in the effort to improve our air quality. I hope the EPA will join us.

Meeting demand

APS and SRP in August met record demand for electricity, eclipsing their previous demand records set in 2023.

Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­tilities’ ability to continue to meet an ever-growing demand for power is nothing short of astonishing, and yet I believe it’s still an underreported story. Trust me, if there were to be an extended outage in the summer months, you’d hear about it plenty. But we’ve come to expect the A/C to click on when we need it.

The level of reliability Arizonans enjoy from their utilities is thanks to smart planning, year-round maintenance, and wise investments in new energy infrastructure.

But let’s give credit where it’s due. Not only should we thank our utilities for their excellent work, but the strategies they deploy are made possible in part by the members of the Arizona Corporation Commission. They look out for ratepayers while ensuring customers’ continued access to a dynamic mix of energy sources and a reliance on market forces.

The alternative? Look next door to California, where strict mandates and heavy subsidies for specific renewable resources have driven up costs and diminished grid reliability.

Voters prioritize quality of life

The election dealt us a few surprises, but the business community’s crystal ball was clear when it predicted that Maricopa County voters would continue the sales tax that funds transportation infrastructure projects in Arizona’s most populous county.

There should be a healthy tension in politics between spenders and savers, so credit to Proposition 479’s critics who worked hard to send voters a responsible, fiscally sound proposal on their November ballot.

But voters didn’t buy the doom and gloom about a tax they’d already been paying for decades and that had delivered one of the country’s best freeway systems.

Election years give voters a choice, and in 2024 we were reminded that – especially at the local and county level – voters will choose to maintain or improve their quality of life, and they’re willing to pay for it.

The year ahead

A few thoughts on politics and policy as we open 2025.

Elected officials, don’t overread your mandate. You may have won your race, but it’s probably not because voters want you to pursue the most extreme ends of your political wish list. Leaving your most rabid supporters a little disappointed isn’t a bad thing; it usually means you’ve spent more time focused on the core responsibilities of your job and less time attempting to go viral.

Easy on the tariffs. After renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement in his first term, President Trump is now saying the successor United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement needs a complete overhaul and that huge tariffs should be slapped on imports, including on those goods originating in Canada and Mexico.

Tariffs are taxes paid by importers and passed onto consumers. Unless the president-elect wants to usher in a giant tax increase on the American people and wreak economic havoc across North America, he’ll rethink this campaign promise.

Extend the tax cuts but consider the effects on states from all angles. The president-elect intends to extend the expiring elements of his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Maintaining lower marginal tax rates and continuing to encourage investment in new machinery and equipment are smart. But the White House and Congress will need to ignore some bad ideas floating around the Beltway.

For one, don’t go back to allowing taxpayers in big spending states to deduct a larger share of their state taxes on their federal tax returns. If California and New York taxpayers don’t like the lower SALT cap, they can elect new leaders at a state and local level.

Second, be careful about where you look for savings. Cutting federal matching funds that flow to states to manage their Medicaid programs, for example, would represent a huge cost shift to states, threatening not only coverage levels and payments to providers, but state budgets broadly, risking the diversion of funds from other critical priorities such as education, infrastructure, and public safety.

No more goodbyes. We said goodbye to our National Hockey League franchise in 2024. The convoluted transaction keeps the door open for the team to restart someday in Arizona, but in the near term, we’ll be without top-flight hockey.

I opened this column by commending leaders for not taking the state’s job attraction team for granted. Hockey’s departure from Arizona is a reminder not to take our pro sports teams for granted, either.

There’s nothing written in stone that says the NFL, NBA, and MLB have to keep a home in Arizona. In 2025, policymakers can take a big step in ensuring pro sports continue to thrive here.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

Danny Seiden is the president and CEO of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry.

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Shohei Ohtani was last season’s unanimous choice in the American League for Most Valuable Player.

The dual threat at the plate and on the mound, Ohtani hit 44 home runs last year and won 10 games as a pitcher.

Having fulfilled his contract with the Angels, the Dodgers in December nabbed Ohtani in the free agent sweepstakes with a whopping 10-year, $700 million contract, the biggest in North American sports.

Not bad for a player rehabbing an injury that will him as a designated hitter this spring and will prevent him from pitching until 2025.

That big contract would typically come with a big tax bill. Every dollar over $609,350 will be taxed at the top federal rate of 37%, and he’ll reach the top California rate of 14.4% for earning more than approximately $700,000 and for being subject to the state’s wealth tax.

But here’s where the professionals on Team Ohtani get creative: most of the monster contract is deferred until after the contract period concludes. He’s only taking $2 million a year in salary, with the rest coming in annual installment payments to begin in 2034. And he’s reportedly not charging the Dodgers interest.

Going from a $700 million payroll hit in 10 years to just $20 million is a huge savings for the Dodgers, obviously. But it could be a huge savings for Ohtani, too. He’s bought himself time to get out of California before he starts to collect on the remainder of the contract.

Pulling up stakes and leaving California to avoid its tax environment would hardly be news. The state’s been hemorrhaging residents for decades. Earners of all types are heading for the exits, too. The Public Policy Institute of California that in the pandemic era, the number of higher-income households leaving the state “increased dramatically—from less than 150,000 in 2019 to almost 220,000 by 2021,” though the bleeding was stanched somewhat in 2022.

Getting out of California would be a smart move for Ohtani. Federal says a state can’t impose an income tax on retirement earnings if the taxpayer doesn’t live in the state. California State Controller Malia Cohen she doesn’t like the law and called on Congress to put a cap on income deferments for high earners.

I’ll let the professional leagues’ collective bargaining units and commissioners determine whether big-dollar contracts with substantial deferments are good for their respective sports or whether they’re a way for teams to attract stars that they otherwise couldn’t afford. (Baseball fans still mark July 1 as Bobby Bonilla Day, the day when the former player gets $1 million from the New York Mets, despite not having played in a game since 2001. The checks won’t stop coming until 2035.)

But let me instead make a pitch for another attractive free agent destination: Arizona.

The top income tax rate here is 2.5%. And it’s a flat rate. Have a great season and negotiate a new deal with a big raise? Congratulations. You’ll still only be taxed at 2.5%. No surtaxes, either, for being a high earner.

Think the glitz and glamor of L.A. or New York would be better for your endorsement opportunities? Keep in mind that Suns star Devin Booker’s new shoe line from Nike in minutes over All Star Weekend.

Many big stars – Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Johnson, Shane Doan, Charles Barkley – have chosen to continue to call Arizona home beyond their playing days. Ohtani, on the other hand, will most likely be decamping for Japan or checking out other states. If not, the California taxman is waiting.

We have a different story. Thanks to an attractive tax environment, the availability of good paying jobs, a diverse economy, lots of educational options, and overall quality of life, Arizona is one of the country’s fastest growing states, proving that all Americans – not just professional athletes – are free agents in search of the most welcoming place to take their talents. 

Danny Seiden is the president and CEO of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry

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My latest dispatch comes from South Carolina and the annual gathering of the Council of State Manufacturers Associations. I wanted to share with you three things I’ve heard from my colleagues that affect the manufacturing community and the broader economy that are top of mind for us in Arizona: infrastructure, energy, and talent.

Arizona’s largest metropolitan area needs modern infrastructure

I believe lawmakers and the governor can and will get a deal done to send a renewal of the Proposition 400 transportation sales tax to Maricopa County voters.

It’s essential. Phoenix in the latest Census was the . Maricopa County in 2022  the greatest number of new residents nationally. The region needs modern, dependable infrastructure to get us where we need to go and to ensure that we remain a logistics hub to move freight and capture the jobs that come with it.

Road and highway congestion results in a tax we all pay. All the good stuff in those trucks doesn’t ride for free and eventually shows up on store shelves in the form of higher prices due to delays. That fresh produce imported into Arizona from Mexico is perishable. Delivery interruptions mean reduced quality and a bigger bill at the check-out line. The huge demand we’ve seen for warehouse space in the Valley dries up if we’re known more for bumper-to-bumper traffic than for the quick and efficient movement of goods.

The Legislature and Gov. Hobbs have worked together to improve the early versions of a Proposition 400 extension. Bipartisan negotiations result in better, more durable policy. The governor and legislative negotiators deserve our thanks. We’re close to the finish line. Let’s get a deal done.

Reliable energy delivery is essential to our economy

Speaking of infrastructure and sending thanks, perhaps no segment of the Arizona business community has stepped up in the last few weeks like our utilities. Under the pressure of record high temperatures, APS, SRP, and TEP have stayed cool.

Our utilities can meet the sky-high demand for electricity thanks to long-term planning, round-the-clock service and maintenance, and an energy mix that includes green sources like solar.

The entire Arizona economy is dependent on safe, affordable, and reliable energy. If it weren’t for our utilities keeping our air conditioners humming, the quality of life in this state would plummet. I’ve heard the concern from my colleagues around the country about whether their utilities will be able to meet demand. Not so in Arizona – we’re in good shape. So, thank a utility worker for all they do for our state.

Community colleges helping to ensure we can meet semiconductor manufacturers’ demand for talent

When you’re at a conference of manufacturing business advocates, Arizona’s red-hot economy – which, as I tell my colleagues, is the only thing hotter than our temperatures – and its semiconductor sector growth will always be a topic of discussion.

While I’ll never make apologies for our high-demand job market, I will acknowledge that the competition for labor is fierce, and major projects like the construction of new fabrication plants for TSMC and Intel demonstrate the need to keep the talent pipeline full.

That’s why the Maricopa Community Colleges’  is so vital. In as little as two weeks, the program can get students ready for job placement at a semiconductor firm and will even waive the tuition upon completion of a certification test.

It’s a great deal for job seekers and job creators and an example of the creative thinking and public-private partnerships we’ll need more of to ensure we’re ready for tomorrow’s jobs.

National conferences are a great opportunity to compare notes and take lessons from other states. Plenty of state leaders are taking lessons from Arizona. Let’s continue to set the example.

Danny Seiden is the president and CEO of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry

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Lawmakers last legislative session introduced a slew of bills aimed at undermining the ability of job creators to set their own workplace policies, particularly when it comes to vaccine requirements.   

Those attempts were unsuccessful, as the Legislature ultimately recognized that more government intrusion into private business is not good policy – and it’s not what Arizona is about. We are a state that embraces the free market and the authority of employers to run a business without the heavy hand of government getting in the way. It’s one of the things that has made us one of the most attractive destinations in the country for job creators looking to start or expand a business.  

But there’s no expiration date on bad ideas. There’s been a resurrection of several measures this session that seek to punish employers who require vaccinations as a condition of employment.  

It’s a debate that was fueled in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a reaction to attempts by the Biden administration to implement federal vaccine mandates on private employers. The Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ and the broader business community at the time spoke out in forceful  to the move, and applauded the U.S. Supreme Court when it subsequently struck down the administration’s rule. Allowing these federal mandates to stand would have set bad precedent for future and potentially even more obtrusive government overreach into private workplaces. 

In that vein, the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ recently asked to join as a party in Arizona’s challenge to a 2021 presidential executive order stating that any company doing business with federal contractors must establish a vaccine mandate for its employees. While this order was successfully challenged in a federal district court, the case is currently on appeal in the 9^th Cľ±°ůł¦łÜľ±łŮ. &˛Ô˛ú˛ő±č;

Ironically, many of the so-called free enterprise champions who’ve stood with us in the fight against federal vaccine mandates, and who claim that government has no business dictating the policies of private employers, are continuing to push legislation at the state level that would – you guessed it – allow government to dictate the policies of private employers.  

Our position is simple: A mandate is a mandate. And whether it comes from the feds telling business owners what they must do or the state telling business owners what they ł¦˛ą˛Ô’t do, the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ will be consistent in our opposition to any legislation that opens the door for government interference in private industry.  

That goes for more than just vaccines. There’s a troubling theme this session of legislation that seeks to involve government in just about every aspect of an employer’s operations – stipulating everything from their internal workplace policies, to who they can and can’t do business with, right down to the . 

It’s a confusing and concerning time at the state Legislature when the same people who have never accused government of functioning efficiently or effectively now want to give them authority to control the operations of private businesses. Overlegislating and overregulating the free market with one-size-fits-all mandates has never turned out well – and we shouldn’t expect these efforts to be any different just because they’re coming from the state Capitol instead of Capitol Hill.  

The Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ will continue to reject legislation that promotes government overreach in favor of the pro-growth, free-market policies that foster job creation and competitiveness.  

Danny Seiden is president and CEO of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry

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Arizona’s ability to ensure that job creators have access to safe, reliable, low-carbon natural gas is crucial to our state’s competitive advantage over other states. I talk to employers all the time who are looking at Arizona to invest and grow, and our capacity to deliver a variety of affordable energy sources gives Arizona a leg up.

But the importance of natural gas to the Arizona economy is a fact that Southwest Gas’ either ignore or deny. There’s a predictable narrative that comes from out-of-state activist groups that are more interested in advancing an agenda untethered from the realities of today’s economy than they are in ensuring affordable energy rates for Arizona consumers.

Next week, the Arizona Corporation Commission can set the record straight and stand up for customers across the state by approving the rate case filed by Southwest Gas in 2021. Commissioners, including the ACC’s two newest members, will hold an open meeting to consider the findings of an administrative law judge in the case. On behalf of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry, I strongly encourage the commissioners to accept the judge’s conclusions and reject the arguments from special interest groups who have no stake in Arizona’s economic health and who would prefer Arizona job creators have access to fewer energy choices, never mind that it would hit Arizona consumers in the wallet.

The professional activists ignore that the full spectrum of the Arizona economy depends on a diverse energy portfolio that includes natural gas, whether it’s advanced manufacturing, where Southwest Gas infrastructure is helping to make the multi-billion-dollar investment by TSMC possible, or health care, where the state’s leading healthcare institutions depend on natural gas for 24×7 energy, tourism and its world-class restaurants, where chefs depend on natural gas kitchen appliances, and agribusiness, where natural gas is used in greenhouse heating systems, powers farm equipment, and aids in the production of fertilizer.

These industries all create thousands of jobs and enhance the quality of life across the state, contributing to one of the nation’s best performing economies. In fact, the latest edition of Rich States Poor States, the annual state-by-state assessment of economic environments, Arizona 1st in the nation for economic performance and 3rd nationally for economic outlook.

But it’s not something policymakers can take for granted. We’ve seen what harmful energy policies can do, dramatically undermining otherwise attractive tax and regulatory environments.

Demand-driven summer brownouts in California or a winter grid failure in Texas aren’t just inconveniences; they sow doubt in the minds of employers who need round-the-clock uptime to meet their customers’ needs and they cause customers’ bills to spike. It’s enough to give economic developers sleepless nights.

The Southwest Gas rate proposal before the Corporation Commission is a responsible one. It helps ensure a modern and safe natural gas distribution system that not only will keep customers’ rates affordable, but that will also encourage further economic growth for Arizona and will meet the demands of a growing state. Commissioners should accept the judge’s findings and continue the reliable and affordable delivery of a sought-after energy source to keep Arizona businesses humming. 

Danny Seiden is president and CEO of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry.

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The global supply chain backlog that is negatively affecting the United States’ supply and production of semiconductors, exacerbating the record-high inflation rate and dragging down the U.S. economy, could be ameliorated by passage of a bill in Congress that has broad bipartisan support.

The White House and leaders in both parties should pass it now. Instead, the bill is wrapped up in partisan bickering and a needless debate over tax increase and drug price control proposals that are putting one of the most important domestic policy needs at tremendous risk.

The U.S. Senate more than one year ago passed the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, or USICA, by a wide margin. Among its several provisions meant to increase U.S. economic competitiveness with China, the bill contained $52 billion in funding for the CHIPS Act, previously passed legislation to spur domestic production of semiconductors, those marvels of microengineering that are in everything from consumer electronics to kitchen appliances to automobiles.

The House passed its own version of a China competitiveness bill earlier this year, and it too contained $52 billion in CHIPS Act funding. But the House version wasn’t an exact mirror of the Senate version. In fact, it passed on a mostly party-line, with only one Republican voting in favor, and it contained various progressive policy priorities on things like labor and the environment.

Hashing out the differences between those two bills requires a conference committee and the arduous work of negotiating a compromise final product between the House and Senate that can pass both chambers.

But here’s where we end up in a cul-de-sac of frustration. The conference committee contains more than 100 members. Imagine negotiating one of this Congress’ most important bills with that many members of Congress. House progressives aren’t going to drop the priorities they won simply to speed up the negotiation, just as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell isn’t going to give up his ability to threaten a filibuster if the bill becomes a vehicle to advance pet causes of the political left.

Things got even more complicated in the last several weeks with word that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia were negotiating the revival of a slimmed down Build Back Better bill, the multi-trillion-dollar legislation that Manchin and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema torpedoed last December because it was chock-full of bad policy.

This new version might be smaller in scope, but it’s just as damaging in its impact. Schumer is proposing a tax on so-called “pass-through” businesses, which are small businesses whose revenue passes through to the owner’s tax return and are taxed at the individual rate rather than the corporate rate. And he’s angling for a drug price control scheme that will do little to help the American seniors he claims to want to help because it will discourage pharmaceutical manufacturers’ lifechanging and lifesaving innovations. The latest reports are that Manchin won’t support the tax hike but remains open to the drug pricing plan.

The new version won’t attract a single Republican vote, which means Schumer will have to attempt to move the bill under his chamber’s strict reconciliation rules that allow a bill to pass with a simple majority rather than the 60 votes that are required to cut off a filibuster.

This is a bad bet by Schumer. If he attempts to jam through a partisan bill, then Republicans have threatened to tank the China competitiveness bill and the billions in semiconductor funding.

As she watches an administration priority lurch into a ditch, Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo is urging senators to  the CHIPS funding and pass it as a standalone bill, sounding the alarm that companies are counting on the bill’s passage and its $10 billion in Investment Tax Credits.

States like Arizona know Raimondo is right. The semiconductor sector, which is making billions in investments here and creating thousands of jobs, is too valuable to our overall economy and national security to fall prey to a partisan play to control drug prices.

There are vanishingly few legislative workdays left in 2022. There’s a fast-approaching August recess, and little work will be accomplished in the weeks leading up to the November election.

Sen. Sinema in 2021 prevented a bad bill from passing and doing real damage. She and Sen. Mark Kelly can stop another bad bill in 2022. They and their colleagues should use the year’s remaining legislative days to drop drug price control proposals and retrain their focus on passing the broadly supported semiconductor legislation.

Danny Seiden is president and CEO of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry.

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It’s not business as usual at the Arizona state Capitol.  

Several bills have been introduced this session that fit a common theme: more government intrusion into private employers’ workplaces; new regulations undermining the ability of job creators to set their own policies; and the threat of costly litigation, stiff financial penalties or even criminal charges against employers just operating in the best interest of their employees and their businesses.  

Put more directly: these measures seek to punish employers who require COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment.  

I appreciate that policymakers can have good-faith differences of opinion about vaccine mandates.  following a move by the Biden administration to implement a “vaccine-or-test” mandate without consulting with the nation’s business community or governors. Job creators should have the authority to set their own workplace policies. Allowing these federal mandates to stand would have set troubling precedent for future and more cumbersome government overreach on private businesses.  

The Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month to block the administration’s rule, and free enterprise advocates in Arizona and across the country collectively agreed: this ruling was a win for private employers and their authority to run a business without the heavy hand of government getting in the way.  

Now, many of the same lawmakers who claim that government has no business dictating the workplace policies of private employers are leading efforts at the state Legislature that would do exactly that.  

Many of these measures are being pushed through the Legislature under the guise of religious liberty, medical freedom and personal choice. , Arizona businesses would be on the hook for $500,000 in damages – at a minimum – if they refuse a religious exemption from an employee who later experiences “significant injury” as a result of the vaccine (never mind that the bill never defines “significant injury”). 

I want to be clear: if businesses are violating religious freedoms, they are already breaking existing law, and they should be held accountable. If employees are injured as a result of a workplace policy, they should seek recourse and be appropriately compensated.  

We already have longstanding federal and state laws in place to address religious discrimination and workers’ compensation. We should not be creating new avenues to sue employers.  

Meanwhile,  stipulates any business that terminates an employee for not receiving a vaccine as a condition of employment would either have to pay that individual an annual salary’s worth of severance, or rehire the employee at the same or similar position.  

Not only does the language in this bill apply broadly to any separation from employment – not just wrongful termination – it also doesn’t account for the fact that some industries remain subject to federal vaccination requirements. Under this legislation, these businesses would be forced to choose between complying with federal law or state statute – an impossible “sued-if-you-do, sued-if-you-don’t” scenario. 

Just last year, the Legislature enacted commonsense liability protections for employers, protecting Arizona businesses from meritless litigation and rightfully recognizing the appropriate avenue for addressing employee claims was through Arizona’s workers’ compensation system. The Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ and the broader business community strongly supported that bill. 

Ironically, some of the same lawmakers who helped lead those efforts are championing legislation that encourages more lawsuits and more government intrusion. In some cases, one might think these bills were drafted by labor unions or trial lawyers, not legislators who purport to be champions of employer freedom.  

Whether it’s the federal government telling businesses they must require vaccines or the state Legislature telling businesses they can’t, a mandate is a mandate. And we will continue to communicate to lawmakers of both parties that private sector job creators will resist government overreach – regardless of whether it’s coming from Washington, D.C. or the state Capitol. 

Danny Seiden is president and CEO of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry.

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The year 2021 is in its final hours. Before we ring in a healthier and more prosperous 2022, here are my top-10 business and policy stories of the year that was: 

1.      Once-in-a-generation tax reform 

Staring down the potential imposition of one of the nation’s highest individual income tax rates, the state Legislature and Gov. Doug Ducey worked to ensure that Arizona’s tax environment remained one that attracts job creators and creates economic opportunity. Together they passed a $1.3 billion tax cut package that delivered a 2.5% flat income tax rate. But they didn’t stop there. They also reduced the commercial property tax assessment ratio from 18% to 16% over four years, and they adopted an alternative small business tax filing option. Combine these reforms with the state Supreme Court’s ruling in August that Proposition 208 – the measure that sought to jack-up Arizona’s top income tax rate by nearly 78% – was unconstitutional, and 2021 was a very good year for taxpayers. 

2.      Record jobs recovery

Proving that public policy matters, few states bounced back from the pandemic-induced downturn like Arizona. We in August from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity that Arizona had recovered 100% of the private sector jobs it had lost since April 2020, the third-fastest recovery in the country. By November the state had recovered more than 100% of all jobs lost, and saw one of the country’s largest month-over-month unemployment , resulting in a 4.7% unemployment rate, the lowest in more than a decade.  

3.      Arizona one of tops in the nation for in-migration

Americans vote with their feet. The world’s freest people can rent a U-Haul and choose anywhere in the country to call home. In 2021, Americans , making the state one of the four largest population gainers and one of the top-3 in total net migration gains. When the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ and our colleagues in the business community evangelize about the power of free-market policies, this is what we’re talking about. 

4.      Intel’s record investment 

Intel in March announced its plans to construct two new fabs at its Chandler Ocotillo facility, representing a $20 billion investment, the largest in state history, which will result in 15,000 local long-term jobs. Not only is the investment huge, but it solidifies Arizona’s place as the hub for the jobs that will define the next decade and beyond. Forbes rightly referred to Arizona as “.”&˛Ô˛ú˛ő±č;

5.      Next generation manufacturing 

That Intel investment is just one example of the way Arizona’s reputation for next-generation manufacturing grew in 2021. The stories were frequent and plentiful. ElectraMeccanica that its 235,000-square-foot manufacturing facility will be rolling by next summer and that its Solo electric vehicle is undergoing validation . KORE Power that it’s bringing a first-of-its kind lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility to Buckeye. Lucid Motors the official start of production of their vehicles at the company’s Casa Grande facility, and the Lucid Air model Motor Trend’s Car of the Year Award. Nikola its first Tre battery-electric vehicle (BEV) pilot truck fresh from its Coolidge plant. These are the types of headlines that make other states green with envy and they’re the jobs that will power the economy for years to come. 

6.      Liability protections

The Legislature and Gov. Ducey passed and signed into law , legislation that establishes commonsense liability protections for health care providers, businesses, schools and universities, non-profits, and government entities that are taking responsible steps to prevent the spread of the virus. The bill was good news for businesses getting back to some semblance of normalcy without having to worry about the threat of abusive litigation. 

7.      Nationally recognized vaccine rollout, new therapeutic innovations

It was a year of vaccines and therapeutic innovations as Arizona did its part to take down the pandemic. The White House Arizona’s fantastic mass vaccination site at State Farm Stadium, and the Ducey administration and county health departments rolled out additional sites across the state, ensuring any Arizonan who wanted the lifesaving jab could get it. Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ members were often behind the scenes, mobilizing their workforces to volunteer at the sites and keep them humming with remarkable efficiency. And credit to our nation’s pharmaceutical innovators, who not only developed the vaccines in record time, but who have also game-changing antiviral pills that will keep Covid-positive cases out of the hospital. These companies and our nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals will make 2022 a brighter one. They deserve our sincere thanks. 

8.      Regulatory modernization

More red tape got cut in 2021 to meet the moment we’re living in. Ensuring we can get with our takeout orders might not seem like a big policy innovation, but the bipartisan effort demonstrated Arizona policymakers’ willingness to ensure that our regulatory environment makes sense in the face of changing times. The Legislature and governor also the disincentive for businesses to appeal negative state agency decisions by making the attorney fee recovery statute for non-tax administrative action consistent with regular tax appeals, and they raised the aggregate cap on reimbursed fees. I’ll admit it’s the kind of in-the-weeds regulatory reform that might not have been splashed on the frontpage, but it makes Arizona a better state to do business.  

9.      Build Back Better bites the dust

The massive domestic spending bill that President Joe Biden made a centerpiece of his 2021 domestic agenda fizzled out before the end of the year, which was good news for job creators and anyone worried about Jimmy-Carter-level inflation rates. But it wasn’t just the price tag of the tax increases and transfer payments – it was the rotten policy, with measures ranging from environmental regulations to giveaways to Big Labor and trial lawyers, to interference in drug pricing, all of which resulted in a bill so big and so bad that it deserved to collapse under its own weight. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has gotten a lot of ink for his refusal to go along with the White House and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s artificial timeline for the bill’s passage, but Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema deserves credit for her work to make a bad bill a little better. We need her and Sen. Mark Kelly to keep up the fight in 2022 if there’s an attempt to resuscitate this legislation.  

10.   PRO Act collapses

Arizona’s Sinema and Kelly stepped up big time in their refusal to sign on as co-sponsors to the Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO Act, in 2021. The bill contained a litany of items on organized labor’s wish list, all of which would have driven a wedge between job creators and employees and sparked litigation and headaches. After a party-line vote in the House, things looked bleak, but Sens. Sinema and Kelly haven’t gone along, depriving Sen. Schumer of the 50 co-sponsors he says he needs to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. If the filibuster stays in place, the bill faces a rough road, but that’s a big “if,” and Schumer would love nothing more than an excuse to dump the filibuster and ram through the PRO Act as a standalone bill or stick it into Build Back Better. No matter the strategy, our senators have the power to stop it.  

That’s just a glimpse into the business and policy wins that defined a year with the potential for dozens more, on topics ranging from infrastructure to the job market to cryptocurrency and NFTs (to name a few). We at the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ are looking forward to 2022, which we’re confident will be another year of job creators, lawmakers of both parties, and the governor working together for a more economically vibrant and resilient Arizona. Happy New Year.  

Danny Seiden is president and CEO of the Arizona Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ of Commerce & Industry

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