Author Archives: Terry Hernlund

New Arizona Supreme Court Decision: Schires v. Carlat & The Gift Clause

 

By: Cameron C. Artigue

On February 8 the Arizona Supreme Court issued a major new gift clause decision, linked here.

To encourage a private university to open a campus in Peoria, the City of Peoria provided various incentives totaling $2.6 million. These were challenged as a violation of the gift clause. The trial court and the Court of Appeals upheld the validity of the City’s expenditures.

In its February 8 Opinion in Schires v. Carlat, the Supreme Court held that the City’s payments violated the gift clause. 

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Arizona’s 55th Legislature : Here’s What to Watch

By: Camila Alarcon

Arizona’s legislative session started barely 15 days ago, and is already moving at a brisk speed. The pandemic brought the 2020 legislative session to a grinding halt last March (even though adjournment did not occur until May 26, 2020). Out of 1,607 bills posted last year, only 90 made it. That is significantly less than the 350 plus bills that usually make it through the process.

Many of the 1,000 bills already posted are replicates of bills that almost made it to the finish line last year. Some of these have identical bills in the House and Senate, and will move, hopefully, seamlessly and quickly through the process.

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You May Own Half of a Road! Here’s How the Rule of “Strips and Gores” Might Impact You.

By: Jefferson Hayden & Lane Conrad

Maricopa County v. Rovey, No. 1 CA-CV 19-0659

Filed by the Arizona Court of Appeal 12-29-2020

If you own property adjacent to a public roadway, “strips and gores” and its associated concepts may be affecting your land ownership rights. The longstanding rule of “strips and gores” provides that when real property abutting a public way is conveyed by a description that only covers the lot itself, the grantee owns the property up to the center line of the public way (unless there is clear intent to the contrary).

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G&B January 2021 Newsletter

Catch up on G&B’s most recent newsletter here!

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2021 Should See Major Developments on Development Incentives

by: Cameron C. Artigue

Amidst the news 2021 will bring, we are sure to see major developments in litigation regarding the legality of development incentives in Arizona.  Common incentives include sales tax rebates, municipal contributions towards infrastructure, and transfer/leaseback arrangements to qualify for the Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET).

What is forthcoming in 2021 are two decisions from appellate courts, and possibly additional lawsuits, that will prompt questions regarding the legal rules for GPLETS and incentives for development.

Most important is the latest “gift clause” case, Shires v.

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