“Yes In God’s Back Yard” Passes the House Appropriations & Rules Committees
Last Monday (2/19/2024), HB 2815 passed through the Arizona House Appropriations Committee with a 9-6-1 vote! You can watch a video of the Appropriations hearing, including testimonies from faith leaders, here (beginning at the 5:16:54 time stamp). Last night (2/20/2024), it passed unanimously through the Rules committee!
The Yes In God’s Back Yard bill, aka HB 2815, is one of the most exciting bills we have identified this session, and we have already published an article and an action alert about it! We are exited to see the bill’s progress: it has now made it through two influential committees and has strong bipartisan support. However, there is still work to do! We hope to see this bill go through the Senate and land on the governor’s desk by the end of the session. Before that can happen, Yes In God’s Back Yard must pass a vote on the House floor. Even as our outlook is hopeful, we are encouraging you to reach out to your representatives about this bill and urge them to vote in favor of it (or thank them for their votes in committee!). Keep reading for more information on this important piece of legislation!
About The Bill
Click here to read the full bill text.
HB 2815 has been championed by our friends at the Valley Interfaith Project and supported by Bishop Deborah Hutterer. Rep. Marcelino Quiñonez (LD11) is the bill’s primary sponsor, and co-sponsors are Leo Biasucci (LD30), Analise Ortiz (LD24), Judy Schwiebert (LD02), and Marianna Sandoval (LD23).
Yes In God’s Back Yard creates the “Use-by-Right” designation for housing projects. Use-by-right projects must be constructed on property belonging to religious institutions, and can be constructed regardless of the area’s zoning laws. This means that churches, and other houses of worship, will be able to build housing on their land, even when it was not originally designated for residential use. This will allow many more institutions participate in this type of community ministry without having to apply for extra permits and exemptions. Many of our congregations have been interested in providing housing for their neighbors, but have been prevented by the red tape and zoning restrictions in their area; the passage of this bill would clear the path for these projects.
Why LAMA Supports This Bill
Across the state, Lutheran churches are known for our outreach ministries and work with our community members dealing with homelessness. The Bible repeatedly commands us to care for the vulnerable and needy, and many congregations have elected to use their land and resources to provide affordable, accessible housing so that more folks are able to find shelter. This can look a lot of different ways—some churches have converted old or unused buildings into living quarters, some own or have purchased houses, and still others have constructed apartment complexes on land they own.
This is a vital way that we as Lutherans can help address the problem of homelessness in our state. Arizona has one of the worst and fastest growing housing crises— as more and more people move to our state, there are not enough housing units to accommodate everyone. As we continue to see cost of living and housing prices rise, this means that poorer Arizonans are often no longer able to afford the scarce housing that is available. Construction of housing helps to alleviate this issue, as it helps to meet demand and can offer affordable alternatives to those who need them.
The housing crisis is something every church is seeing in their communities, and we do our best to live out the call to walk with and minister to our neighbors in need. However, many churches are running into road blocks related to zoning policy in their areas. Zoning policies are responsible for a lot of the difficulties around housing in our state; restrictions on what kinds of residences and buildings can be constructed in certain areas often stop solutions— like affordable, multi-family housing, and shelter programs— from being brought to the areas that most desperately need them. This bill would allow churches to cut around the red tape and begin meeting the needs of their community much sooner.
Housing on church grounds can be mutually beneficial, too! While this bill would not require any group to provide housing, there are many faith communities who would now be given an option to. In addition to providing for community members in need, housing can also provide churches with additional stream of income, outreach, and community connection.
All in all, Yes In God’s Back Yard is a truly exciting piece of legislation! We support it because it would allow our churches more agency in their service to neighbor and community AND because it allows for direct solutions to the factors causing housing insecurity in our state.
What You Can Do
We hope you will join us in supporting this bill! In order to get the bill through both chambers of the legislature before the end of the session, we have to make sure that our lawmakers are aware of this policy and of how important it is to their community members.
If you have not already, please show your support with your RTS account! Click here to see this week’s step by step RTS alert on the bill, and click here to learn about signing up for a Request To Speak account.
We also ask that you contact your Representatives and let them know that you hope to see them vote “Yes” on HB 2815. Lawmakers value our input as it the best way to find out their community’s priorities. Click here to find your district number, Representatives, and contact information for their office.
If you or your congregation have experience with housing on church property, please take the time to share the stories with your lawmakers.
The following representatives voted to pass the bill through their respective committees. If you live in any of their districts, please reach out and thank them for their support: Austin (LD09), De Los Santos (LD08), Gutierrez (LD18), Schwiebert (LD02), Blattman (LD09), Dunn (LD 25) , Quiñonez (LD11), Livingston (LD28), Patty Contreras (LD12), Biasucci (LD30), Kolodin (LD03), Mathis (LD09), Griffin (LD14), Lupe Contreras (LD22), Martinez (LD16), Toma (LD27), and Grantham (LD12).
