Arizona Democrats Accuse GOP Lawmakers of Blocking LGBTQ+ License Plate Bill

One Bill Left Out

Arizona Democrats are accusing Republican lawmakers of discrimination after excluding a specialty license plate bill that would have helped LGBTQ+ college students.

The bill never received a hearing in committee, despite similar plates moving forward in an omnibus package.

The Plate That Never Made It

Representative Lorena Austin, a Democrat from Mesa and Arizona's first openly non-binary lawmaker, has tried to pass a specialty license plate for four legislative sessions.

The plate would have raised money for scholarships at Maricopa Community Colleges through a nonprofit called Equality Maricopa.

"It is discriminatory to exclude this one bill every single year simply because it is from an LGBTQ+ organization," Austin told the Arizona Capitol Times.

Equality Maricopa had already raised the $32,000 implementation fee needed to create the plate.

They also had a preliminary design ready for approval by the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Not Part of the Package

The 23 specialty license plates that did pass through the Legislature supported causes ranging from honoring military Bronze and Silver Star recipients to skin cancer prevention.

They included a Grand Canyon plate and plates for students recycling used technology.

But the LGBTQ+ college student plate was not among them.

Representative Neal Carter filed the omnibus bill but did not respond to requests for comment about why the LGBTQ+ plate was excluded.

Questions About Who Would Benefit

Representative Betty Villegas, a Democrat from Tucson, filed a version of the community college plate bill that did not explicitly state it would benefit the LGBTQ community.

Instead, her bill would benefit an organization that helps college-bound persons in need.

Austin confirmed the bill was still intended to benefit Equality Maricopa.

Villegas said Senate Republicans blocked her bill when they started asking about what group would sponsor the community college plates.

"The only giveaway is they wanted to know who the nonprofit was," Villegas said.

Senate President Warren Petersen and Senate Transportation Committee Chairman David Farnsworth did not respond to requests for comment.

Two Political Plates Already Exist

Arizona already has two specialty plates that could be considered political.

The In God We Trust plate donates funds to the Alliance Deferring Freedom, a nonprofit organization founded in Scottsdale that defends religious liberty.

During the five years from July 2022 to March 2026, it raised $1.15 million.

The Choose Life plate donates funds to the Arizona Life Coalition, a Phoenix organization that supports pro-life efforts.

It has raised $86,600 over the past five years.

Equality Maricopa Has Been Waiting

Equality Maricopa has existed in different iterations since the early 2000s.

The organization previously operated as an employee affinity resource group within the Maricopa Community Colleges district.

They became a nonprofit after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing universities and colleges to disband Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts.

"We are just getting stonewalled because we are a queer organization," said Equality Maricopa president Jay Franzen.

Voices From Both Sides

Austin, who is non-binary and prefers they/them pronouns, said it feels like the community is being told they are less than and not deserving of showing their pride.

"Some don't have family support or financial assistance to help with college," Austin said.

Villegas said she and Austin have a voice on this issue.

"We all know it. We all know why," Villegas said.

Franzen said the organization has been waiting for a specialty plate for years.

Maricopa Community Colleges did not comment on the license plate but said they welcome support from community partners and organizations that help students access and succeed in college.

The Process

In Arizona, specialty license plates cost $25.

Eight dollars goes to the State Highway Fund and $17 goes to the nonprofit organization sponsoring the plate.

Organizations must convince lawmakers to pass legislation to create them.

Laws require a sponsoring organization to come up with $32,000 to create the plates before they can benefit from ongoing fees.

Representatives and senators file dozens of bills each session attempting to benefit their preferred causes.

This year, lawmakers sent Governor Katie Hobbs a bill that would benefit the Arizona Space Commission.

A separate piece of legislation working through the Senate would authorize 22 more plates for causes from skin cancer prevention to the Grand Canyon.

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Sources:

• Arizona Capitol Times - https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2026/04/18/23-more-speciality-license-plates-possible-but-not-for-lgbtq-students/
• KJZZ - https://www.kjzz.org/politics/2026-04-01/arizona-democrats-accuse-gop-lawmakers-of-anti-gay-discrimination-over-blocked-license-plate