Assigned to TTMC AS PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1184
continuation; department of transportation
Purpose
Continues the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for two years, establishes a
state preemption on commuter rail projects and any nonmotorized use of highways, streets and
roadways and outlines additional prohibitions, and related requirements.
Background
Established in 1973 to provide an integrated and balanced state transportation system, ADOT
is granted the exclusive control and jurisdiction over state highways and routes, state-owned airports
and transportation systems and must register motor vehicles and aircrafts, license drivers, collect
revenues, enforce motor vehicle and aviation statutes and perform related transportation planning
functions. To carry out these responsibilities, ADOT is organized into six divisions: 1) motor
vehicle; 2) transportation planning; 3) highways; 4) aeronautics; 5) public transit; and 6) administrative
services. ADOT also works cooperatively with regional transportation planning organizations, as
well as county and local authorities, on transportation-related projects and development (A.R.S.
§§ 28-331 and 28-332).
ADOT receives funding through legislative appropriation, non-appropriated funds and
federal funds, as well as private sources, including donations and fees. ADOT's operating budget
for FY 2025 includes $251,996,900 and 3,402 full-time equivalent positions (JLBC).
The Joint Senate Transportation and Technology and House of Representatives
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of Reference (COR) held a public meeting on
January 4, 2024, to receive public testimony and review and evaluate ADOT's response to the
sunset review factors and special audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General. The COR
recommended that ADOT be continued for four to six years (COR Report). ADOT terminates on
July 1, 2024, unless continued by the Legislature (A.R.S. § 41-3024.25).
A controlled-access highway is a highway, street or roadway to or from which persons
have no legal right of access, except at such points only and in the manner determined by the public
authority that has jurisdiction over the highway, street or roadway (A.R.S. § 28-601).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
ADOT Continuation
1. Continues, retroactive to July 1, 2024, ADOT until July 1, 2026.
2. Contains a purpose statement. FACT SHEET – Amended
S.B. 1184
Page 2
3. Repeals ADOT on January 1, 2027.
Restrictions and Requirements
4. Removes the authority of ADOT, or a local authority, to prohibit the use of any part of a
controlled-access highway, including a highway, street or roadway, by pedestrians, bicycles or
other nonmotorized traffic or by any person operating a motor driven cycle.
5. Prohibits the use of any part of a controlled-access highway, including a highway, street or
roadway, by pedestrians, bicycles or other nonmotorized traffic or by any person operating a
motor driven cycle.
6. Requires the Director of ADOT, or a local authority with a controlled-access highway under its
jurisdiction, to erect and maintain official signs displaying the restrictions on the controlled-access
highway, including a highway, street or roadway.
7. Requires ADOT to:
a) prioritize the separation of modes of travel for safety and convenience; and
b) presume that the separation of pedestrians, bicycles or other nonmotorized traffic from
motor vehicle traffic is safer.
8. Prohibits ADOT from spending public resources:
a) to reduce existing lane miles on a highway or state highway;
b) to build or maintain facilities that charge motor vehicles;
c) to develop a carbon reduction plan or a plan or strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; or
d) on any training, orientation or therapy that presents any form of blame or judgment on the
basis of race, ethnicity or sex.
9. Excludes, from the prohibition on building or maintaining vehicle charging facilities, the
installation of charging equipment on government-owned property for the charging of
government-owned motor vehicles.
10. Prohibits ADOT from adopting a target or considering a target for adoption relating to the
number of privately-owned vehicles that may need charging in Arizona in the future.
11. Requires ADOT to pay an aggrieved employee an amount equal to the public resources spent
for violating the prohibition on specified training, orientation or therapy.
12. Prohibits the Transportation Planning Division from considering or adopting a vehicle travel
mile reduction plan.
Commuter Rails
13. Establishes a state preemption on the construction, maintenance and operation of a commuter
rail or commuter rail project.
14. Stipulates that the state preemption on commuter rails does not require a county, city, town or
other political subdivision of the state to spend its monies or resources, or assess or impose a
tax or fee, for the construction, maintenance and operation of a commuter rail or commuter rail
project. FACT SHEET – Amended
S.B. 1184
Page 3
15. Allows a county, city, town or other political subdivision of the state to opt out, by a majority
vote of the elected governing body, of any stations, office buildings or parking facilities
relating to commuter rails within its jurisdiction.
16. Prohibits ADOT from:
a) entering into an intergovernmental agreement or a private contract to construct, operate or
maintain a commuter rail or commuter rail project; and
b) accepting federal grants, donations or other monies to construct, operate or maintain a
commuter rail or commuter rail project.
17. Excludes commuter rail projects in operation on or before January 1, 2024, from the
prohibitions on ADOT relating to commuter rails.
Miscellaneous
18. Defines the following terms for transportation planning:
a) accessibility as with consideration for individuals who are elderly or have physical
disabilities;
b) air quality as the standards required by federal air quality and emissions limitations;
c) congestion reduction as alleviating recurrent travel impediments that diminish free flow
speeds;
d) connectivity as numerous direct and indirect linkages in the system that maximize the flow
of passengers and freight travel;
e) cost-effectiveness as the gains in mobility relative to the financial subsidization to plan,
construct, operate and maintain a project or service;
f) economic benefits as all the net gains that can be quantified in monetary terms;
g) environmental impacts as changes to the natural and constructed environment resulting
from a project;
h) integration as a seamless combination of different transportation modes that preserves the
capacity of the highway system and major arterial roadways;
i) mobility as the ability to move freely, easily and efficiently;
j) operational efficiency as optimizing resource allocation for maximizing the performance
criteria relative to cost-effectiveness;
k) project readiness as the fewest impediments present to implement a project;
l) safety improvements as projects that are proven to reduce the number of fatalities or serious
injuries based on an analysis of crash data; and
m) system preservation as the recurring maintenance of the federal highway system.
19. Defines commuter rail as rail passenger service, operating primarily on a dedicated
right-of-way, in whole or in part on existing railroad tracks, used for intercity rail passenger
service between and within metropolitan and suburban areas, connecting these areas with large
business or urban centers, for the purposes of public conveyance.
20. Defines commuter rail project as a facilities project for commuter rail, including any stations,
maintenance or repair facilities, operations centers, office buildings or parking facilities
relating to commuter rail. FACT SHEET – Amended
S.B. 1184
Page 4
21. Defines heavy rail as a freight rail for the purposes of transporting cargo or goods and not
human passengers.
22. Makes technical and conforming changes.
23. Becomes effective on the general effective date, with a retroactive provision as noted.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
1. Reduces the ADOT continuation from four to two years.
2. Adds the outlined restrictions and requirements relating to controlled-access highways and the
use of public resources.
3. Adds the state preemption on commuter rails and commuter rail projects, as prescribed.
4. Defines terms.
5. Makes conforming changes.
Senate Action
TTMC 2/12/24 DPA 4-3-0
Prepared by Senate Research
February 20, 2024
KJA/slp