A bill supported by the lobbyist for Beale Infrastructure – the developer of two data centers in Pima County – is about to land on Governor Katie Hobbs’ desk. If approved, the measure would allow referendum petitioners to withdraw their petitions at any time before the measure has qualified for the ballot.
On Tuesday, HB2873 passed the Senate on a 20-9 vote, and is now headed back to the House because of changes made in the Senate.
Jackie McGuire, a Marana resident who is running for the Marana Town Council says the bill specifically targets the litigation surrounding the developing Marana data center.
“The reality is the developer [is] not actually fighting to keep the data center alive. They’re fighting to prevent a referendum and the town, the developer, they’ve all tried to paint the referendum as if the referendum happens, it’s going to kill the project. Well, that’s only true if people vote against it,” McGuire said.
The bill is sponsored by Republican State Senator Shawnna Bolick. It has an emergency clause which means if the House and Senate both pass it with a ⅔ majority, it would go into effect as soon as the governor signs it into law.
If the bill becomes law, it would apply retroactively to all written notices of withdrawal that have been filed from and after December 31, 2025.
On February 4, two referendum petitions were filed by Arizonans for Responsible Developerment – a group sponsored by the advocacy organization Worker Power – that sought to overturn a rezoning decision to allow a data center campus to be built in Marana by Beale Infrastructure.
On February 18, the Town of Marana rejected the two petitions that were submitted that could’ve put the proposed data center on an upcoming ballot. Marana officials said that the petitions did not include the legal description of the involved properties required for zoning ordinances.
In response, Marana residents including McGuire sued the town, arguing that the town clerk failed to provide the legal descriptions to the petitioners.
Attorneys representing Fremont Peak Properties – a subsidiary of Beale Infrastructure – have also sued the Town of Marana for its decision not to accept the referendum petitioners’ request to withdraw their referendums.
Lack of transparency
State Senator Priya Sundareshan says there is a lack of transparency surrounding the bill.
“The committee hearing never delved into the issues that this was directly related to a data center and so the only opportunity for us to raise that issue was on the floor of the Senate,” Sundareshan said.
She and Senator Mitzi Epstein challenged the bill’s intentions during an April 9 Committee of the Whole meeting.
“The emergency clause is very important to be pointing out specifically here on the floor amendment as to why this is very relevant to the ongoing situation in Marana around data centers,” Sundareshan said.
“The billionaires behind this amendment that is making it get done fast, and the striker itself, they are the people who will profit from this specific data center and they want to quell the voice of the people,” Epstein said.
Republican Senator Mark Finchem vehemently denied the bill’s connection to ongoing litigation surrounding the referendum petitions submitted by Marana residents, despite the fact that if the bill passed in the House this week, and quickly signed by Governor Katie Hobbs it could negate the need for an April 27 court hearing between Beale, the Town of Marana and Marana citizens.
“You’ve gone so far afield of what the text of the amendment is,” Finchem told Sundarashen, before reading the bill’s text. “For the third time, this is not about data centers.”
Republican Senator Vince Leach expressed support for the bill during the hearing, stating Marana residents have had their voices heard after he said, “You’ve explained the amendment at least twice, if not three times, and maybe I should read it…But maybe one more time, maybe somebody will catch on.”
Which way will Hobbs sway
It is unclear how Hobbs will vote on the bill if it passes the House, both Sundareshan and McGuire have reason to believe she will approve it.
“I’m a little worried that the governor’s staff may have been involved in negotiating this bill,” Sundareshan said.
“She’s come out and said that she’s in favor of repealing the tax incentives for data centers but at the same time, like a week ago she posted a post to social media with a data center company talking about how great they are for the Arizona economy,” McGuire said. “We’ve heard, unfortunately, from multiple people that she’s likely to sign it if it hits her desk.”
In an April 8 post on Instagram, Hobbs stated, “Data centers help drive Arizona’s high-tech economy – and work best for Arizonans when partnering with local communities, minimizing water use, and committing to fund their own energy costs. I’ve visited QTS’ data center campus in Phoenix with their Co-CEOs to see their efficient, water-saving technology in action and hear more about their commitment to pay for their own energy infrastructure.”
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Governor Katie Hobbs (@govhobbs)
In her January 2026 State of the State Address, Hobbs announced that her executive budget would eliminate the Data Center Tax Exemption, “We must ask ourselves: should taxpayers continue subsidizing the data center industry?”
Sundareshan has co-sponsored bills targeting data centers. One that seeks to prevent the use of non-disclosure agreements in data center development which stemmed from Project Blue. Another bill sought to protect residential ratepayers from increased electricity costs that could be a result of large load customers like data centers coming onto the grid. A third bill wanted to fully repeal the data center tax exemption.
“Unfortunately all of those bills…are stalled, they never received an initial hearing because they are bills that were introduced by Democrats and the Republican-led legislature generally does not hear Democratic bills,” Sundareshan said.
Beale Infrastructure hired Michael DiMaria to help push the proposal in the legislature. According to the Arizona Secretary of State’s lobbyist registration web page, he became the company’s registered lobbyist as of March 24. The legislature’s information page for the bill shows him in favor of the bill and representing Lumen Technology. DiMaria works for the consulting and lobbying firm Valadez and Associates. That company was founded in Sahuarita by former Pima County Supervisor Ramón Valadez.
What’s next
As of Thursday, April 23, the amended HB2873 has not yet been approved by the House.
On Monday, April 27, oral arguments will be heard in Pima County Superior Court between the Town of Marana and Marana Citizens for Ethical and Transparent Government.
