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SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | MARCH 1, 2020
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Legislature may double state gas tax BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services
S Giada De Laurentiis and Rick Huffman of HCW Development pose for a photo at the Caesars Republic hotel and conference center groundbreaking event on Feb. 26. (Everardo Keeme/Photo Fusion Studio)
Ground broken for new Caesars hotel concept BY KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writer
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eal estate development company HCW Development has finally broken ground in Scottsdsale for the first Caesars Republic hotel and conference center – the first non-gaming boutique hotel brand from Caesars Entertainment. Slated to open in 2021, the Caesars Republic will have two new restaurants: Luna by Giada, a new concept, and Pronto by Giada, a fast-casual restaurant that will serve Food Network personality and celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis’ signature
Italian fare with California influences. De Laurentiis was among numerous VIP guests at the groundbreaking Feb. 26 at Scottsdale Fashion Square on the southeast corner of Goldwater Boulevard and Highland Avenue. “I’m so excited to be part of this team, and I’m even more excited to bring my Italian heritage and my culture to Scottsdale,” De Laurentiis said. De Laurentiis first opened Pronto by Giada last year inside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
see CAESARS page 35
tate lawmakers last week took the first steps to what could be a doubling of the state’s gasoline tax. HB 2899, approved by the House Transportation Committee on a 6-0 vote, would add six cents to the current 18-cent-a-gallon effective on July 1. That would go up an additional six cents every year until it hits 36 cents on July 1, 2023. Potentially more significant, the measure being pushed by Rep. Noel Campbell, R-Prescott, is crafted so that the levy would increase annually starting July 1, 2024 to match inflation. That would preclude the need for future legislators to have to deal with the politically sensitive issue of voting for a tax hike. Rep. Bob Thorpe, R-Flagstaff, said that’s how Arizona got to the point where it is now, with road construction needs outstripping the available revenues because the current tax has not been increased since 1991. “We haven’t had members with the backbone to adjust this,’’ he said. But it’s that inflation adjustment that is giving heartburn to the Arizona Petroleum Marketing Association which represents gasoline dealers. Lobbyist Mike Williams told lawmakers that if the 1991 legislation had an inflation index, Arizona now would have the highest gasoline tax in the Western states. Campbell is not limiting his plans to raise revenues to hitting up only drivers of gas-driven vehicles. It also addresses diesel fuel. Potentially more significant, HB 2899 imposes new taxes on hybrids and allelectric vehicles on the basis that they, too,
use the roads but, from Campbell’s perspective, are not paying their fair share of construction and maintenance costs. The move comes even as Gov. Doug Ducey has consistently said he does not believe the state needs additional gasoline taxes. Campbell is counting on a rising public sentiment for better roads to not just get him the two-thirds margin he constitutionally needs in the Republican-controlled House and Senate for a tax hike but to convince the governor that there is broad support for the plan. He even got House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, to testify in favor. And Tony Bradley, president of the Arizona Truckers Association, whose members will pick up a big share of that additional cost, added his voice. He figured the delays for truckers due to traffic congestion currently are costing more than $800 million a year. By contrast, Bradley estimated, the legislation would raise an additional $640 million a year with the higher fuel taxes on everyone. “This bill would save us by paying more,’’ he said. “And we’re willing to pay more.’’ But gubernatorial press aide Patrick Ptak said after the hearing that Ducey’s views have not changed. One sweetener Campbell built in to encourage support is kind of a reverse voter veto. It would require the state transportation board to come up with a plan to use the new revenues and have it updated every five years to show the progress that actually has been made. That report would go to legislative leaders and committees to review.
see GAS TAX page 35
