Senate Bill 1356 Summary

• Authorizes Maricopa County to levy a county transportation excise tax for 25 years starting after December 31, 2025, subject to voter approval on November 8, 2022, with revenues allocated to freeways (37.4%), major arterial streets and regional programs (22.2%), and public transportation including light rail (40.4%).

• Establishes a regional strategic transportation infrastructure investment plan process requiring the regional planning agency to develop a multimodal plan with budget constraints ensuring estimated project costs do not exceed available revenues over the tax term.

• Creates a transportation policy committee with 23 members including regional planning agency representatives, state transportation board member, county supervisors, Indian community representatives, and business interests appointed by legislative leaders.

• Implements a major investment change process requiring 180-day public comment periods, performance-based assessments, and approval from multiple entities before reallocating more than 2.5% of revenues between transportation modes.

• Mandates performance audits every five years by the auditor general to evaluate the regional transportation plan and projects, with costs paid from regional area road fund revenues.