At last night’s Arizona Republican Assembly meeting in Maricopa, two of the district’s GOP lawmakers dropped in to chat with neighbors and recap how the recent legislative session went.

Sen. T.J. Shope and Rep. Teresa Martinez, both Republicans from Casa Grande, talked about the upsides of working as a cohesive “red-wave” team with their seatmate, Rep. Chris Lopez, and also previewed a few things they’re lining up for the next session.

Here’s a peek at the topics Shope and Martinez covered in their conversations with locals.

Roads remain top of mind

Shope highlighted the work lawmakers have done over the past several years to secure and maintain funding for improvements to State Route 347 and Interstate 10. Martinez added that those projects will remain front and center for the team representing Maricopa.

“Going for the 347 is our No. 1 priority,” she said. “It’s tangible, it’s easy to do, it’s easy to demand, it’s easy to measure, it’s easy to keep ADOT on track. And I typically enjoy it because I get to yell at them a lot.”

The city’s Commuting Corridors Sales Tax Fund takes effect today, raising the municipal rate from 2% to 2½% to generate millions annually for SR 347 improvements. The state’s Department of Transportation sis responsible for building the infrastructure itself.

Shope noted that constituents consistently rank transportation as their biggest concern. “Over and over, transportation issues have been No. 1,” he said.

Traffic light at Papago Road, SR 347 

Right now, the intersection at Papago Road and SR 347 is controlled by a single stop sign, forcing eastbound drivers to halt before making a left or right turn onto the busy highway. The setup has led to backups, crashes and a string of near misses.

“Several fatalities have happened, several people ending up in the gullies that run alongside the road. There’s not good traffic control down there,” said one constituent at IHOP on John Wayne Parkway.  

Martinez said she has been in talks with Pinal County Supervisor Rich Vitiello (R-Maricopa) about building a traffic light at that intersection, but the project needs $2.2 million to move forward, according to ADOT.  

During yesterday’s meeting, Vitiello noted that developers have already chipped in about $600,000 toward the project. Martinez said the rest — about $1.6 million — would need to come from state funds, depending on how the budget shakes out.

“I don’t know if we’ll have money … If we have a little bit of money, I can tell you that me, Chris and T.J. will ask for that light,” she said.

Mulling future bills

The next legislative session may still be months away, but that doesn’t mean local lawmakers are sitting idle. Martinez came prepared with a laundry list of potential bills she’s considering once session begins.

Among her ideas: requiring an English-language test for anyone seeking a state commercial driver’s license; creating a conflict-of-interest rule that would bar court employees from filing paperwork in the same court where they work; allowing AI tools to assist in court-sponsored mediation; and giving motorcyclists the option to complete a driving class instead of paying a ticket.

Martinez emphasized that none of the proposals are final. “I’m not fully decided on running any of them,” she said.