Arizona ranked 3rd in the Economic Performance category of the prestigious Rich States, Poor States for 2023 by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The report highlights Arizona’s impressive economic performance and attributes the state’s high ranking to its “fiscally sound policies, low tax burdens, and welcoming regulatory environment.” 

Utah and North Carolina secured the first and second positions, respectively. The worst economic outlooks are in Minnesota, Vermont and New York, which one says has the country’s most burdensome tax policies. 

The report evaluates each state in key policy areas to gauge its economic trajectory. The Economic Outlook category is a forecast based on a state’s current standing in 15 policy variables, while the Economic Performance category is a backward-looking measure based on a state’s performance in three key economic variables. The report finds that states with lower spending and taxation on productive activities tend to experience higher growth rates.

Arizona’s remaining tax burden of $9.65 per $1,000 of personal income is less than the national average, indicating that the state is utilizing its tax revenue more efficiently than other states. Arizona’s tax climate, combined with the implementation of a historic 2.5% flat individual income tax in January 2023, has made it even easier for small businesses to grow in the state. Small businesses file taxes on the individual portion of the tax code rather than at the corporate rate that larger businesses file. 

Arizona also performs well in other tax-related variables, such as Top Marginal Personal Income Tax Rate (2.50%, 10th), Estate/Inheritance Tax Levied (No, 1st), and Right-to-Work State. (Yes, 1st), which provides employees the option whether to join or support a union. 

However, the state faces challenges in its tax system, as indicated by its rank of 16th in Property Tax Burden and 45th in Sales Tax Burden. The report recommends that Arizona can improve its tax competitiveness by reducing its property and sales taxes.

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The Arizona Defense and Industry Coalition (AZDIC) is hosting a two-day tour of the Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), one of the largest military installations in the Western world in Yuma, Arizona on April 12-13. The tour will allow local defense contractors and subcontractors to learn about YPG’s advanced military asset testing capabilities and discover how they can best utilize them.

YPG is capable of planning, conducting, assessing, analyzing, reporting, and supporting developmental, production, and operational tests for the defense industry. The AZDIC says that many Arizona-based defense contractors and subcontractors are outsourcing their military testing to other states without realizing that YPG is right in their backyard. The Yuma Proving Ground is at the forefront of Army modernization efforts yet needs to be utilized by local industry players.

“Arizona has—and always will be—a hotbed for national defense,” AZDIC President Lynndy Smith said. “It is important that the defense community knows that YPG is here and is a seriously viable competitive option for their defense testing. This tour allows the Arizona defense community to collaborate and determine how to work together best to advance their individual and collective goals.”

On April 12, a YPG test director will give private onsite tours to interested defense contractors and subcontractors. YPG’s testing expertise spans ground weapons systems, helicopter armament, target acquisition systems, artillery and tank munitions, and cargo and personnel parachutes, including guided systems technologies. Participants will see each of these disciplines firsthand and can ask questions about the facilities operations and what testing is feasible for them.

The following day, attendees will have the opportunity for one-on-one meetings with AZDIC leadership and congressional staff members to discuss their needs and how YPG can assist them. These conversations will also provide an opportunity for feedback on how YPG can improve its testing facilities to meet current industry needs. In addition, contractors can attend a luncheon with Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls.

AZDIC is a coalition of regional organizations inspired by former U.S. Senator John McCain to act as a united voice and advocate for regional and national security effortsc. The group comprises the defense and mining industries, military, veterans, and more. Founding members include West Valley Defense Alliance (WVDA), Mesa Industry & Defense Council (MIDC), Southern Arizona Defense Alliance (SADA), and Yuma 50. Together, these groups work closely to foster innovation and advocate for those providing critical resources and services to the U.S. national security efforts. AZDIC’s mission is to unify the state’s defense industry and its stakeholders to help secure regional and national security through better communication and policy reform.

The Yuma Proving Ground tour allows local defense contractors and subcontractors to learn about YPG’s advanced military asset testing capabilities and discover how they can best utilize them.

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Legislation introduced in the Arizona State Senate would cushion the blow for employers struggling in cities with hourly wage mandates far above the state’s mandated minimum wage.

SB 1108, sponsored by state Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, would enable employers to claim a state income tax credit if they do business in a locality with a minimum wage that is higher than the state’s minimum wage floor. The credit would be 10% of the difference between the higher local mandated wage and the lower state mandated wage.

The credit would be funded by a corresponding reduction in the city’s portion of state shared revenues. Proponents say the injection of the tax credit proceeds back into a local municipality with a higher wage mandate will undoubtedly create more economic activity and drive local business growth and will contribute to increased tax revenue for the municipality.  

The bill has the backing of the Greater Flagstaff ˿����Ƶ of Commerce, which represents employers in the northern Arizona city that has an eye-popping $16.80 hourly minimum wage, $2.95 above the state minimum wage of $13.85.

“It doesn’t impact the cities’ ability to set a minimum wage,” said Joe Galli, the chamber’s senior adviser for public policy. Many businesses in northern Arizona operate on very thin margins, Galli said, and the wage mandate has led to business closures and has “forced young people out of the labor market, because as employers look and are forced to pay higher wages, they look to hire people who are older and more experienced.”

In his testimony in the Senate Finance Committee on the bill, Galli spoke of the struggle of Flagstaff-area employers to keep pace with the spike in labor costs. He said employers in the community are faced with either raising prices, slowing hiring or, in some cases, closing their doors.

Arizona cities were given the green light to adopt their own local minimum wage laws following the passage of in 2016. While a city can adopt a mandated wage higher than the state’s, it cannot go lower than the state minimum wage.

Galli explained that employers located in Coconino County but not in Flagstaff city limits are still experiencing the effects of the municipal mandates, as the city law has put upward pressure on all wages, raising labor costs for employers regardless of whether they’re in the city. 

“Having no relief will continue to further a real problem with labor in our town, and I believe this will be the case in the city of Tucson, as that local wage mandate rises above the state’s wage and other cities that choose to adopt local wage mandates that are higher than the state wage mandate will also continue to suffer for competitive reasons,” Galli said. 

Tucson’s minimum wage will jump to $14.25 next January. The Tucson Metro ˿����Ƶ of Commerce supports the bill. 

The bill passed the Senate on a party-line 16-14 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives.

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The Arizona business community on Monday reiterated its strong support of a legislative effort to lift the state’s school spending limit for this academic year. 

Last week, a resolution to exceed the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL) cleared its first hurdle, bringing Arizona one step closer to saving school districts from looming budget cuts, layoffs, or school closures.  

The state Legislature last year passed a budget that made historic investments in public schools, but the AEL restricts how much school districts can spend each year. introduced by Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, would lift the limit by March 1. The bill passed out of the House Education Committee on Tuesday with bipartisan support, with eight members voting yes, one voting no, and one voting present.  

The move was welcome news to Arizona business leaders, who have been calling on lawmakers since the beginning of the legislative session to act swiftly to lift the cap.  

The Arizona ˿����Ƶ of Commerce & Industry, Greater Phoenix ˿����Ƶ, Greater Phoenix Economic Council and Greater Phoenix Leadership last month sent a letter to legislative leadership reinforcing the business community’s support for exceeding the limit and encouraging legislators to do so “as soon as practicable.”  

Doing so, the letter noted, “will not only be consistent with the adopted FY 23 budget and fulfill the Legislature’s intent, but it will also remove any doubt that Arizona’s school districts will have the resources they need to complete the school year without implementing dramatic cuts.”  

Arizona ˿����Ƶ President and CEO Danny Seiden on Monday lauded members for their efforts to advance the measure.  

“Addressing the AEL remains among the highest priorities of Arizona’s business community this session, and we’re encouraged to see the effort moving forward with bipartisan support,” he said. “We hope the Legislature will act promptly to approve the resolution and get it sent to Gov. Hobbs’ desk as soon as possible.”  

In testimony in a House Appropriations Committee subcommittee hearing last month that examined the AEL, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne stressed the importance of securing a vote to exceed the AEL, noting that a failure to do so would run counter to the Fiscal Year 2023 budget lawmakers passed with bipartisan support last June. 

“The work of the Legislature must be respected,” Horne said. “It is the Legislature that passed the budget this year, and it would be a travesty to undo the work that the Legislature did and have such a horrible impact on our schools.”  

HCR 2001 and companion legislation, SCR 1009, are expected to proceed to votes of the full House and Senate Monday afternoon. Exceeding the limit will require a two-thirds vote of each legislative chamber.     

The AEL dates to 1980, when voters approved the constitutional amendment that set a spending cap for school districts based on the total expenditure of all districts. Legislators have until March 1 to pass the measure and ensure school district operations won’t be interrupted.

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Determined not to exacerbate the state’s massive housing shortage, stakeholders from across the Arizona business community are speaking out against an onslaught of rent control proposals put forth recently by national and state-level Democrats.  

The measures – which supporters claim would help make housing more affordable – actually would do the exact opposite, according to Courtney Gilstrap LeVinus, president and CEO of the Arizona Multihousing Association, which represents more than 2,300 property owners and managers across the state.  

“The verdict on rent control is in and it has been for decades,” LeVinus said. “In cities from coast to coast that have passed measures to stymie the marketplace, the results have been unfortunate. New construction of homes comes to a crashing halt as builders flee the market. Property owners, who need to cut costs to stay afloat, stop investing in existing homes. Property tax revenues plummet and renters at the lowest income levels find themselves with fewer housing options.” 

Danny Seiden, the head of the Arizona ˿����Ƶ of Commerce & Industry, echoed this opposition, adding that his organization will fight any and all rent control proposals. Rent control is currently illegal under Arizona law.  

“The Arizona ˿����Ƶ will oppose any attempts to impose a rent control scheme on property owners,” Seiden said. “We need to increase our housing supply to keep pace with demand, but rent control will do just the opposite by making it harder for developers and rental property owners to recoup their investments, which will just discourage more homes from being built. Meanwhile, demand will continue to tick up along with prices.” 

The Arizona Department of Housing has estimated that the state needs to build about 270,000 new homes in the near future to keep up with demand. More than 100,000 new residents a year have relocated to the state annually for the past several years, making Arizona one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S.  

At the federal level, the Biden Administration recently a Blueprint for a Renter’s Bill of Rights. The proposal’s direct the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to examine limits on rent increases for future investments and actions promoting renter protections. This new guidance, alongside the document’s sweeping recommendations, represents an unprecedented federal attempt to influence rental policy, which is typically handled by municipal and state governments. 

In a statement opposing the Blueprint, the National Multifamily Housing Coalition skepticism, saying “we are disappointed (the Biden Administration) are pursuing potentially duplicative and onerous regulations that are already appropriately addressed under state and local law. These efforts will do nothing to address the nation’s housing shortage and could discourage much-needed investments in housing. We continue to urge the Administration to prioritize enacting the they issued in May. The best renter protection is an abundant supply of housing.” 

This administration plan coincides with 50 progressive Democrats who united to urge Biden to direct different agencies, including the FHFA, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement national policies.  

The idea was promptly panned by The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, which wrote: “If there’s any consensus in economics it’s that rent control achieves the opposite of its intended goal. It leads to housing shortages by discouraging new development and maintenance of existing properties. Rents rise faster in properties not subject to controls.” 

In Arizona, meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers proposed several to impose new regulations on rental property owners and rental rates  

, legislation by state Rep. Judy Schwiebert, D-Phoenix, seeks to cap annual rent increases. Business community advocates, who support policies to increase the number of available homes, are expected to oppose the bill, which is scheduled to be heard Wednesday in the House Regulatory Affairs Committee. 

Four bills by Rep. Analise Ortiz, D-Glendale, would allow for the implementation of rent control and put constraints on how landlords can manage their properties.  

“While rent control sounds good in theory, the practice has been disastrous,” said LeVinus of the AMA. “You only need to look at the most recent experience in St. Paul to see what would happen here. Rent control passed, builders fled and housing starts plummeted. In just a few months,. It didn’t work there, and it won’t work in Arizona.” 

Although rent prices slightly in Phoenix in 2022, remains a challenge and housing remains a major driver of inflation. 

Arizona home prices continue to rise as a result of a. This has led business community advocates to argue that the government should drive attention to removing barriers to the construction of new single and multifamily homes.  Criticism of rent control does not come solely from the political right. The Brookings Institution, a center-left think tank based in Washington, D.C., argues that the evidence that rent control appears to help current tenants in the short run, but in the long run, it decreases affordability, fuels gentrification, and creates negative spillovers in surrounding neighborhoods

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Arizona ˿����Ƶ President and CEO Danny Seiden testified before the Arizona state Senate Commerce Committee last week, delivering a “State of Arizona Business” address to committee members. 

Seiden began his testimony by highlighting Arizona’s competitive economic rankings against other states, indicating that the state’s economic climate is going in the right direction. 

“We are number 1 on economic performance, and number 3 on economic outlook by Rich State Poor States,” said Seiden, referring to the annual rankings of states in several economic performance categories. “Our economic ranking has gone from 19 to number 7 and job growth, which is very important, went from number 12 to number 1.” Seiden also mentioned the outsized role that the expansion of Arizona’s advanced manufacturing industry has played in making Arizona more economically prosperous.

Seiden stressed throughout his testimony that policy matters, and that the state’s economic success to-date was no accident. He argued that government and industry needs to focus on three broad categories through at least 2030 to build on this prosperity:  talent, competitiveness, and infrastructure.

Seiden said that there “is a war for talent right now” and that the state needs to prioritize education, which produces the workforce of tomorrow, and that the state and private enterprise both play an important role in developing and attracting a skilled workforce to the state of Arizona. 

“If you poll our members, businesses’ number 1 issue across the board is talent and workforce shortages,” Seiden said. Such shortages could be solved through further development of the state’s workforce development pipeline. Universities, trade schools, community colleges, and the state’s K-12 education system are integral to the fulfillment of that mission.

In his discussion on competitiveness, Seiden focused on unemployment, household income, and tourism. The state’s unemployment rate is 4.1% right now, with the workforce participation rate at 60%.

Seiden emphasized the need for lawmakers to focus on developing and maintaining the infrastructure that businesses need to operate and grow. Infrastructure is a key for attracting new business to Arizona. He signaled support for further investment in roads, telecommunications, energy systems, and water infrastructure. “Our manufacturers love knowing that they have reliable energy here in Arizona. We need to work with Salt River Project, Arizona Public Service, Southwest Gas, and Tucson Electric to make sure” the state continues to produce reliable energy, he said.

The tax climate and Arizona’s new flat income tax make it even easier for business to grow in Arizona, he argued. “In the last 18 months we have had tremendous success, we have reduced commercial property tax, we have reduced business personal property valuation tax.” 

Seiden also unveiled the Arizona ˿����Ƶ Foundation’s 10-year plan, known as “Arizona 2030”. The plan focuses on the three major categories he discussed earlier in his testimony: talent, workforce, and infrastructure. In 10 years, Arizona is projected to have a population of over 8 million people, necessitating coordination between industry and government to manage growth.The population is projected to hit 9 million by 2040, with Arizona outpacing national growth by two times. Seiden concluded his testimony by saying that “Arizona is well-positioned for future growth, but we cannot go backward.”

“The ˿����Ƶ stands with you and will partner with you this session as you evaluate additional policies that will help us with our talent, competitiveness, and infrastructure.”

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A new website launched earlier this month charts the many accomplishments of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s highly successful eight years in office.  

compiles highlights of the two-term governor’s tenure, dating back to his winning 2014 campaign for the office, where he won a tough, crowded primary, and a general election where he won with 53% of the vote.

In its editorial of Ducey in the 2014 race, The Arizona Republic newspaper, which at that time still published candidate endorsements and maintained a daily opinion page, said of Ducey, “He has a keen understanding of how to set out a plan for growth — and the determination to stick to it.” 

That endorsement turned out to be a predictor of the two terms to come, which were marked not only by economic recovery, but a return to a level of prosperity and high growth that seemed almost unfathomable following the deep recession the state had experienced in 2009-2010 and, in 2014, was still struggling to shake off. 

Americans voted with their feet to come to Arizona during Ducey’s time in office, with the state ranking fourth nationally for in-migration from 2010-2019, and an annual employment growth rate that was twice as fast as the national average. 

Since January 2015, the state added more than 500,000 private sector jobs, placing Arizona in the top tier of states for job growth over the past eight years. Arizona ranks sixth for the total number of jobs added and fourth among all states for employment rate of growth. 

“When I took office, our economy was broken, and fixing it was a top priority,” Ducey said in a. “The engine of our economic growth has always been our people. Today, Arizonans have access to abundant jobs as well as the opportunity to work in good-paying industries with the potential for advancement. With this kind of momentum and our incredible talent, Arizona is unstoppable.” 

The size of government, however, has not grown. Arizona has eliminated or improved more than 3,000 regulations since 2015, and the number of state government employees has shrunk by 5,000. 

Other fiscal highlights found on the new website include: 

• Ducey presided over the lowest unemployment rates since the Great Recession.
• Rainy Day Fund grew to $1.4 billion.
• Permanently indexed the state income tax brackets to inflation.
• Oversaw passage of Proposition 123, which injected $3.5 billion in K-12 schools over the course of a decade.

The governor’s final year in office capped off his campaign promise to pursue an income tax rate that was as close to zero as possible.

Thanks to sustained high growth and record revenues, the state hit the required triggers to implement the tax reform bill Ducey signed into law in 2021, resulting in the country’s lowest flat income tax rate, 2.5%, beginning in January 2023, one year ahead of schedule.

“It’s time to deliver lasting tax relief to Arizona families and small businesses so they can keep more of their hard-earned money,” the governor wrote in a September letter to the state Department of Revenue. “This tax relief keeps Arizona competitive and preserves our reputation as a jobs magnet and generator of opportunity.

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The Arizona ˿����Ƶ of Commerce & Industry in 2023 will once again offer an internship program for Arizona college students, providing future leaders the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of advocacy and state government.

The ˿����Ƶ’s legislative internship program gives undergraduate or graduate students the opportunity to work directly with the ˿����Ƶ’s legislative affairs team, staff ˿����Ƶ policy committee meetings, work with stakeholders to advance pro-business legislation, and attend committee hearings at the state Capitol.

“The Arizona ˿����Ƶ is at the forefront of crafting pro-business policy that advances Arizona,” said Courtney Coolidge, the ˿����Ƶ’s vice president of government affairs. “Our internship program gives students the chance to be a part of the ˿����Ƶ’s advocacy work and gain a deeper understanding of the legislative process.”

The internship is a gateway to personal and professional growth. In addition to developing a variety of skills through the internship’s activities, it is also a fantastic networking opportunity.

“Staffing Public Affairs meetings and attending hearings at the state Capitol, I had the opportunity to acquaint myself with and even befriend business leaders across the state and state legislators from both parties,” said Stephen Matter, an ASU student who participated in the internship during the 2022 legislative session.

Interns do several things, including:

• Staff policy committee meetings
• Attend state House and Senate committee meetings
• Draft meeting minutes
• Draft notes on policy discussions and debates
• Interact directly with legislative team and ˿����Ƶ board members

This internship will be the first formal work experience for many interns, who will benefit from an orientation that teaches them about the Legislature, the lawmaking process, workplace etiquette, event planning and production, and occasional tours of ˿����Ƶ member facilities. 

The internship is offered during the spring academic semester, from January through the end of the legislative session in late spring. 

This is a valuable opportunity for undergraduate students from Arizona universities who want to pursue a career in public policy, politics, and law. Previous knowledge of the legislative process is not required to apply, but some familiarity is encouraged.

The legislative internship is a paid internship and consists of about 20 hours per week.

Applications

Applications for 2023 legislative interns are open from Nov. 22, 2022, through Dec. 15, 2022. Applications should be sent to jpitts@azchamber.com and include:

• ��é���ܳ�é
• Cover letter
• Letter of recommendation

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As Arizona nears the official canvass of the Nov. 8 General Election, special interests are already assessing how their path to the ballot in 2024 might be different thanks to passage of two propositions. 

Voters passed Proposition 129 with 55% of the vote. The measure, which was referred to the ballot by the state Legislature, requires that citizen ballot initiatives be limited only to one subject. 

A single-subject rule applies to the bills considered by the state Legislature, so Proposition 129’s passage brings the initiative process into alignment with the regular legislative process. The Legislature’s failure to adhere to its single-subject rule resulted in several provisions of the state budget adopted in 2021 being tossed out under a court challenge.

Proposition 129 was strongly supported by the business community. 

“Proposition 129 ensures that out-of-state special interests can’t use Arizona’s ballot box to cram unrelated policies into a proposition without voters being at least accurately informed about each policy,” Arizona ˿����Ƶ of Commerce & Industry President and CEO Danny Seiden said. “Prop. 129 protects the integrity of the initiative system by requiring that an initiative stick to a single subject and stops special interests from hiding parts of their agenda.”

Another reform to the ballot initiative process adopted by voters on Election Day involves initiatives that ask voters to institute a new tax or raise an existing one. 

amends the state constitution to require that initiatives that would institute a new tax or raise taxes must now pass with at least 60% of votes cast, rather than just a simple majority.

Passage of the proposition brings tax initiatives into alignment with a supermajority requirement that already applies to the state Legislature, which also requires tax increases to pass with at least two-thirds of the votes cast in the state House and Senate. Voters instituted the two-thirds vote requirement with passage of Proposition 108 in 1992. 

Arizona’s business community and Governor Doug Ducey Proposition 132’s passage. 

“Years ago, Arizonans wisely passed Prop 108 that requires a supermajority vote of the legislature to pass any tax increase. It’s only fair that at the ballot, we have the same protections: a 60% threshold to pass any tax hike on hardworking Arizonans,” Gov. Ducey said. 

The ˿����Ƶ’s Seiden said, “Arizona’s current system is highly attractive to special interests seeking to game the system to push through tax hikes that they would not be able to pass through traditional legislative means. Moreover, Arizona law makes it virtually impossible to fix the often-unintended consequences of laws passed at the ballot.”

Due to voters’ passage of Proposition 105 in 1998, laws passed by voters cannot be amended by the Legislature without a three-fourths vote of each legislative chamber and only if the amendment “furthers the purpose” of the original measure. A ballot measure in 2022 intended to loosen the constraints on the Legislature’s ability to amend a voter-approved initiative in cases where a portion of the law was found to be unconstitutional was rejected by voters. 

Special interests are already gearing up for 2024, with a group seeking to raise the minimum wage and to remove the credit granted to employers for employees who earn tips having already filed a petition.

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Two weeks ago, four intrepid adventurers traveled nearly 7,000 feet deep into the earth during their visit to Resolution Copper, a mining project located in Superior, Arizona. The Arizona Junior Fellows, a project of the Arizona ˿����Ƶ Foundation, were joined by representatives from the Arizona Mining Association and led by employees of Rio Tinto, the parent company of Resolution Copper, as they explored the mine.

Arizona leads the nation in copper production, making up of U.S domestic production in 2021. The Copper Project has the potential to supply nearly 25% of U.S. copper demand and is expected to become the largest copper mine in North America when it initiates operations. The project is located 60 miles east of Phoenix, near the town of Superior. It’s a joint venture owned by and BHP, two of the world’s largest mining companies. The mine is estimated to as much as 40 billion pounds of copper over 40 years.

Mila Besich, the mayor of Superior, has been a supporter of the mine’s opening. “If the Resolution Copper project comes to fruition, it will employ some of the most technologically-advanced and modern mining techniques ever,” she , emphasizing the project’s innovative design. “It will have passed the most thorough and exhaustive environmental permitting ever and it will boast new jobs focused on robotics and other innovations that will make this the most sophisticated, advanced and environmentally-sensitive mine in the United States.”

In June, 2013 the Resolution copper mine a Mine Plan of Operations to the U.S. Forest Service, the federal agency in charge of the approval process. The Mine Plan of Operations document outlines how Resolution intends to design, construct, operate, and eventually close the mine. Resolution believes that it has considered and taken into account the environmental impacts that copper extraction may bring to that area such as water, air, and biology in and around the project and how the company plans to protect these valuable resources.

The approval took longer than expected from the federal agency under the Biden administration. In January 2021 the U.S. Department of Agriculture directed the Forest Service to rescind the final Executive Information System to allow the agency for further review. 

Generating approximately $61 billion in economic value and 3,700 direct and indirect jobs, Resolution is an economic juggernaut. Arizona business leaders consider the project a great source of growth and have opposed USDA’s decision to rescin the final EIS.

“I am extremely disappointed in the Administration’s decision to cease progress on Arizona’s Resolution Copper project, which is set to grow jobs and is estimated to create a direct and indirect economic impact of more than $1 billion to Arizona’s economy every year,” Governor Doug Ducey .

About the Fellows

The Arizona Junior Fellows is a program of the Arizona ˿����Ƶ Foundation, launched with the intent of mentoring and fostering a new generation of young, pro-enterprise leaders who understand both the larger societal implications of civic education, and the tactical and practical skills needed to navigate the public and private sectors with moral strength, human excellence, and civic virtue. 

Its mission is “to build and promote the next generation of civically minded, pro-enterprise Arizona leaders through hands-on, applied experience in public affairs, policy research, event planning, project-building, and business operations.”

The program’s founder and adviser is Hon. Eileen Klein, former treasurer for Arizona and president emerita of the Arizona Board of Regents. Its inaugural program director is Joe Pitts, a student at Arizona State University, who continues to hold the title.

“The Fellowship has several major components,” Pitts said. “The Fellows hear from speakers in industry and politics every week through our weekly speaker series. They write for ˿����Ƶ Business News to improve their writing and researching abilities. They help out ˿����Ƶ staff on everything from legislative work to communications. And, they participate in site tours and facility visits, like we did at Resolution Copper.”

The Arizona Junior Fellows is the only statewide program dedicated to developing next-generation, civically-minded, pro-enterprise leaders through applied experience in public affairs, business writing, communications, research and analysis, and organizational management. Its existence beneath the Arizona ˿����Ƶ Foundation gives Fellows the advantage of directly working with some of the state’s top businesses and their leadership, as well as top public officials.

The program operates from an interdisciplinary perspective, understanding that civics, business, public sector leadership, and the future of our state are all mutually reinforcing parts of the same common good. Junior Fellows come from a variety of backgrounds with diverse interests, with graduates pursuing careers in law, public policy, electioneering, executive business leadership, and other related fields. 

In addition to its direct collaboration with the Arizona ˿����Ƶ of Commerce and Industry, the Fellowship has cultivated a partnership with Arizona State University’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership (ASU SCETL). This connection allows Fellows a window into higher education and its management, culminating in the planning of panel discussions on-campus in partnership with ASU SCETL.
More information can be found .

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