Senate Approps now debating @WendyRogersAZ's SB1653. The bill would create a study committee to examine the possibility of creating a new county out of the northern, predominantly tribal regions of northern Apache and Navajo counties.
This idea has been around for a long time. I covered a similar proposal in 2013. It had some tribal support, most notably from the Navajo Nation president. The new Sitgreaves County would be eligible for state-shared revenue, which tribes aren't.
Gov. Bruce Babbitt vetoed a similar proposal in 1982, saying, "it purports to divide territory. But, what it really divides is people" by drawing county boundaries along racial lines.
SB1653 passes on 6-4 party-line vote. Dems raise concerns about repeat of creation of La Paz Co 40 years ago, when the state had to financially bail out new county. They also ask why no one using the normal statutory process to collect petition signatures to create new county.
Due to the La Paz debacle, the legislature enacted laws to ensure that any new counties have the tax and revenue bases to fund required services
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