Arizona’s Digital New Deal
Arizona's Digital New Deal: A Smart Future for Southern Arizona
WE HAVE WHAT OTHERS WANT
When people think of Arizona, they picture desert, farms, and small towns. But we are also becoming a leader in new technology. That is good news for places like Cochise, Graham, and Santa Cruz counties.
Big tech companies want to build giant computer centers here. They see our open land and sunny skies. But there is a problem. Their computers use huge amounts of electricity and water. In the desert, those are two things we cannot waste.
We have a choice. We can let outside companies build whatever they want, use up our resources, and leave us with the problems. Or we can build something smarter—something that works for us.
This vision is not just an idea. It is a set of specific laws I have proposed. You can read every bill here: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals
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THE PROBLEM
Most computers today waste a lot of energy. They get hot, so they need massive cooling systems that use millions of gallons of water. In fact, one large computer center can use as much water as a small town.
The programs they run are also wasteful. For the past twenty years, software developers have acted like computers have unlimited power. They write bloated programs that do more work than needed. This is like driving a big truck to go get the mail.
All of this waste costs us:
- It strains our power grid.
- It pulls water from our aquifers.
- It benefits companies that do not live here, pay taxes here, or answer to us.
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BETTER WAYS ARE COMING
New kinds of computers are being built right here in Arizona. These computers use light instead of electricity to move data. It works like fiber optic internet, but inside the computer itself.
These new computers have three big benefits:
- They use 75 to 95 percent less power than traditional computers.
- They use almost no water for cooling.
- They stay cool, eliminating the need for massive cooling systems.
A computer center that now needs 100 megawatts of power—enough for about 75,000 homes—could one day run on just 5 megawatts. The water savings are even bigger.
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ARIZONA IS ALREADY BUILDING THIS
We are not waiting for this technology to show up. It is already here.
In Tempe, Quantum Computing Inc. runs a factory making light-based computer chips.
In Tucson, the University of Arizona's new cleanroom trains students to make them.
Local companies like Lawrence Semiconductor supply the specialized materials.
We have the factories, the universities, and the people. What we need now is the will to make sure this technology serves us first.
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THE DANGERS
Big tech companies have spent billions on the old kind of computers. They do not want to switch to something new because that would make their old investments worthless. They are powerful enough to buy up new technologies just to shut them down.
But there is an even bigger danger: monopoly. If a small group of companies controls all the computing power, there is no competition to keep prices fair. A regular person with a good idea has no chance. A small business trying to grow gets locked out. A student with a dream cannot afford to build it.
That is why the Digital New Deal starts with laws to rein in monopolies and protect our environment. Before we build anything new, we clear the path.
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ARIZONA'S DIGITAL NEW DEAL: THE EIGHT STEPS
Here is what the Digital New Deal would do, laid out in the order we need to build it. Each step is backed by a specific legislative proposal.
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STEP ONE: UNDERSTAND THE OPPORTUNITY
Arizona already has the factories, the universities, the skilled people, the sun, and the need to protect our water. A smart future for southern Arizona means jobs that let our young people stay here, training at community colleges, protecting our aquifers, and independence from out-of-state corporations.
This vision works in harmony with the rural way of life. For those who choose to live simply, it does not force change. It simply offers more: resiliency, connectivity, access to markets, and assistive technologies.
Supporting proposal: The Arizona Brass Tacks Act creates a public dashboard showing where your town stands on water security, emergency preparedness, honest government, and access to healthcare, housing, and good jobs. It also creates local "fix-it" teams to help solve problems—no state mandates, just practical tools.
Read the Brass Tacks Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-brass-tacks-act
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STEP TWO: PASS LAWS TO REIN IN BIG TECH MONOPOLIES AND PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT
Before we build anything new, we have to clear the path. Big tech companies are racing to lock up power, water, and land. We need strong laws that break up monopolies, ban the practice of buying up competitors to kill innovation, and end exploitative contracts.
We also need to protect our environment from reckless development. Companies will drop data centers on farmland, suck up aquifers, and leave when tax breaks run out. We need environmental reviews, water usage caps, and community benefit agreements.
Supporting proposals:
The Arizona Free Market Act stops price gouging where you only have one supplier, protects family farms from unfair contracts, ensures fair access to critical facilities, and guarantees delivery and gig workers get paid fairly after expenses.
Read the Free Market Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-free-market-act
The Arizona Anti-Dirty Dealing Act cracks down on robocall fraud, online rental and job scams, forces dating and sales sites to verify users, demands clear labels for AI-generated content, and protects users from coordinated online harassment.
Read the Anti-Dirty Dealing Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-anti-dirty-dealing-act
The Water Rights Protection Act codifies a property owner's right to water and protects it from outside harm.
Read the Water Rights Protection Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/water-protection-act
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STEP THREE: BUILD SOLAR WHERE IT MAKES SENSE
We do not have to cover farmland with solar panels. We can put them in places that make sense: parking lots, canals, rooftops, roads, sidewalks, and playgrounds. We build batteries to store power. This protects our farms, creates local jobs, and gives us the cheap, abundant energy we need for everything that comes next.
Supporting proposal: While solar deployment is largely administrative and market-driven, the ARICC Act (see Step Four) provides the cooperative ownership model for solar installations, ensuring profits stay local.
Read the ARICC Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/aricc
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STEP FOUR: USE LOCAL CO-OPS TO OWN THE INFRASTRUCTURE
As we build solar, we make sure ownership stays local. Electric co-ops already bring power to rural Arizona. Water districts already manage our most precious resource. We can do the same with computing centers, solar installations, water treatment plants, and charging networks.
Here is how it works: The state provides seed capital to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). That PBC launches critically needed, employee-owned cooperatives. The cooperatives are charter-bound and operate under all existing Arizona laws—they have no special powers. Net profits flow back to the PBC in exchange for equity shares. The state has very little control outside how the money it expressly invests is spent. No new taxes. No state agencies. No bureaucracy.
When local people own something, they take care of it. It serves local needs, not out-of-state shareholders. The profits and jobs stay here. The decisions get made here.
Supporting proposal:
The ARICC Act (Arizona Resilient Infrastructure & Capital Cooperative Framework Act) creates and funds member-owned cooperatives for water systems, internet networks, and employee-owned businesses. Funded through voluntary retirement savings, state seed capital, and non-controlling outside bonds. You elect the board. You vote on projects. You own the wealth.
Read the ARICC Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/aricc
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STEP FIVE: BUILD COMPUTER POWER LIKE WE BUILD ROADS
With clean energy and local ownership in place, we build computing centers. But we do not let a single company own them. We treat advanced computing capacity as public infrastructure.
Just like we built highways to connect every town, we build computing centers that serve everyone: a student in Safford has the same access as a corporation in Phoenix. A rancher in Willcox can use the same powerful tools as a tech company.
We require these centers to use the most efficient technology available—technology that Arizona is already building. No more water-hungry facilities in the desert.
Supporting proposals:
The Arizona Tech Sovereignty Act ensures that if the federal government disables Arizona from regulating new technologies, this act enhances the public's capacity to seek relief and be compensated for abuse of their rights, data, and trust.
Read the Tech Sovereignty Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-tech-sovereignty-act
The Arizona Digital Bill of Rights stops government and contractors from spying with facial recognition AI and warrantless tracking. Ensures human review if an algorithm denies you benefits, housing, or opportunity. Bans biased systems and requires transparency for any AI the state uses.
Read the Digital Bill of Rights: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-digital-bill-of-rights
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STEP SIX: USE THE POWER TO MAKE MORE WATER
With clean energy and efficient computing centers that use almost no water, we turn to water security. We use our abundant power to run treatment plants that clean up contaminated water, build desalination plants that turn salty water into drinking water, and recycle every drop we can.
Supporting proposal: The Water Rights Protection Act (Step Two) and the cooperative framework of the ARICC Act (Step Four) together provide the legal and ownership structure for community-led water infrastructure.
Read the Water Rights Protection Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/water-protection-act
Read the ARICC Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/aricc
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STEP SEVEN: TEACH OUR KIDS TO WRITE SMARTER PROGRAMS
Our universities and community colleges are already doing cutting-edge research in photonics and quantum computing. We expand that work and teach students how to write programs that do more with less. A program written efficiently can use 25 percent less power. Sometimes even less.
We fund our research and training programs so Arizonans fill the jobs these new industries create. When we build new facilities, the jobs go to the people who live here.
Supporting proposal:
The Arizona Promise and Workforce Development Act provides free trade education for rural Arizonans. Covers tuition, tools, and fees for high-demand jobs like construction, healthcare, and renewable energy at community colleges and trade schools. In return, you work in Arizona after graduating. Also offers startup grants and support for those who want to start a local business.
Read the Promise and Workforce Development Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-promise-and-workforce-development-act
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STEP EIGHT: BUILD SUPER FAST AND EFFICIENT ELECTRIC PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
When we have more clean power than we need, we rethink how we move. We build light rail, high-speed buses on dedicated lanes, electric shuttles connecting small towns to each other and to larger cities, and charging networks that make it easy to get around without owning a car.
Good public transit means we replace heat-absorbing parking lots with shade trees, community gardens, or housing. We spend less on road expansions and repairs. The cost of living goes down. Families are no longer forced to own two or three cars just to function. A young person can get to work without a car payment. A senior can stay independent after they can no longer drive safely.
If you love your truck and want to keep driving it, nothing in this plan stops you. We are removing the necessity, not the choice.
When we build with clean energy, we are not at the mercy of distant wars or oil companies. We make our own fuel from the sun. We keep jobs and money here. Our towns are quieter, cooler, and safer.
Building electric transportation is about independence, security, and lowering the cost of living for every family.
Supporting proposal: While the transit build-out requires separate appropriations, the cooperative model from the ARICC Act can be extended to charging networks and local shuttle services, and the Arizona First Procurement Act ensures state contracts prefer Arizona businesses that invest in Arizona workers.
Read the ARICC Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/aricc
Read the First Procurement Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-first-procurement-act
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CROSS-CUTTING: ACCOUNTABILITY, HEALTH, AND EDUCATION
Some proposals do not fit neatly into a single step. They provide the foundation for everything else.
GOVERNMENT THAT ANSWERS TO YOU
The Arizona Open Hand Act requires disclosure of prior purchases by sponsors and cosponsors, imposes timeouts on trading related investments while a bill is debated, logs lobbyist conversations, and increases scrutiny around post-term employment.
Read the Open Hand Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-open-hand-act
The Arizona Accountability Act creates a citizens committee to assist and ensure elected officials and their appointees fulfill their duty of good faith and loyalty. The committee improves public trust, lets sunlight be a disinfectant, ensures agencies are aware of issues impairing relationships with the public, and keeps elected leaders and the public informed of problems and progress.
Read the Accountability Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-accountability-act
HEALTHY COMMUNITIES, STRONG WORKERS
The Arizona Workplace Infection Protection Act gives service workers recourse when employers lack reasonable protections against disease transmission. Mandates universal sick leave with the state sharing the cost through a 150% tax deduction and a state fund to reimburse tipped employees.
Read the Workplace Infection Protection Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-workplace-infection-protection-act
The Arizona Doctor's Orders Act stops strangers from overriding you and your doctor's decisions. Ensures that when your doctor prescribes necessary treatment, their judgment is final—no more denials by out-of-state reviewers. Cracks down on delays with strict penalties.
Read the Doctor's Orders Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-doctors-orders-act
EDUCATION THAT PUTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FIRST
The Arizona Public Education Funding and Student Nutrition Act provides free, nutritious breakfast and lunch at every public school. Prioritizes Arizona-grown foods. Guarantees public schools are fully funded first before any ESA voucher expansions.
Read the Public Education Funding Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-public-education-funding-and-student-nutrition-act
The Arizona's Commitment to Education Act transforms the ESA voucher program into a targeted safety net for students in documented crisis: victims of violence, severe bullying, or discrimination; students with disabilities whose needs cannot be met in public schools. Strict 3% enrollment cap, independent expert review, and 25% of funding dedicated to improving public schools. This Act takes effect only after public schools are fully funded. Vouchers are contingent upon full funding of all public schools.
Read the Commitment to Education Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizonas-commitment-to-education-act
FAIRNESS FOR CONSUMERS AND BORROWERS
The Arizona Right to Repair and Reliability Act says if you buy something in Arizona, you have the right to fix it yourself or take it to the repair shop of your choice. Holds companies to their promises—if they sell you a product with a 10-year service life, they better make parts for 10 years.
Read the Right to Repair Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-right-to-repair-and-reliability-act
The Arizona Borrowers' Bill of Rights caps consumer loan rates at 24%, creates a parallel system of certified "productive asset" loans at 12% APR for small businesses, skills training, and appreciating property. Backed by state-matched savings and tax breaks for lenders who fund entrepreneurs instead of consumer debt.
Read the Borrowers' Bill of Rights: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-borrowers-bill-of-rights
The Arizona First Procurement Act prefers Arizona businesses for state and local contracts. Rewards companies that invest in Arizona workers with good jobs and training. Empowers counties to create local solutions when the private market fails our communities.
Read the First Procurement Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-first-procurement-act
RESTORING LOCAL REPRESENTATION
The Restoring Local Representation Act breaks districts down to approximately 45,000 people so constituents can actually access their representatives. Provides modern tools so Arizonans who work full time or need to manage family affairs can participate in government as elected officials without maintaining two households.
Read the Restoring Local Representation Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/restoring-local-representation-act
BORDER SECURITY AND COMMUNITY RECOVERY
The Arizona Border Security and Community Recovery Act creates a comprehensive 12-year initiative establishing treatment centers, mobile health clinics, and judicial diversion programs for counties most impacted by overdoses and economic distress. Licenses and regulates foreign labor contractors to prevent exploitation. Includes workforce training pipelines and addresses rural infrastructure gaps like broadband access.
Read the Border Security Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-border-safety-and-recovery-act
BACKING THE BLUE THE RIGHT WAY
The Arizona Peace Officers' Bill of Rights and Community Safety shields law enforcement from unconstitutional federal overreach, bans corporate influence, establishes clear rules for conduct and accountability, provides access to mental health professionals for crisis calls, and creates a path for career advancement through education. Your local sheriff and deputies answer to Arizona values and the people they serve—not Washington bureaucrats.
Read the Peace Officers' Bill of Rights: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/arizona-peace-officers-bill-of-rights-and-community-safety
CIVIL RIGHTS STANDARDIZATION
The Civil Rights Standardization Act ends the ever shifting scapegoat game. It breaks civil liberties down to the principles they are based upon and protects everyone from unfair government attacks on who they are, what they believe, and where they are from.
It does not give anyone an excuse unless there is a real reason why such a thing prevents them from understanding or preventing themselves from committing an offense.
It closes the door on the fight about DEI by making sure that groups being compared have similar qualifications and can show they have been unfairly excluded. Voices that went unheard can be represented. Groups that a fair system would see having a share that reflects their portion of the state population get to fix the balance. The unique nature of affinity groups built around such traits is exempt unless they provide public accommodations.
The act starts as a statute, then goes to voters to become a constitutional amendment. It will protect all people fairly and combat the damage of old wrongs.
Read the full Civil Rights Standardization Act: https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals/civil-rights-standardization-act
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WHAT THIS MEANS FOR SOUTHEAST ARIZONA
For everyone in LD19 from Patagonia to Morenci this vision means real opportunity.
JOBS: Permanent, good-paying jobs working with computers, maintaining equipment, teaching, building vehicles, running transit, and managing co-ops. Jobs that let our young people stay here.
TRAINING: Community colleges can train local people. Students get skills without leaving home. Our region becomes a leader in manufacturing, computing, and transit.
WATER: Efficient computer centers protect our aquifers for farms and families. We do not have to choose between the needs of the people, industry, and agriculture.
COOLER TOWNS: Replacing parking lots and providing shade with solar cells and building transit makes towns cooler. Lower electric bills. Kids can play outside safely.
LOWER COST OF LIVING: When you are not forced to own a car, you keep the money that would have gone to gas, insurance, and repairs. Less road spending means lower taxes. Families keep more of what they earn. Your truck stays in the driveway. The monthly payment just becomes optional instead of mandatory. When co-ops offer sliding scale pricing on the things you need to survive corporations now have to compete on price.
RESILIENCY AND FREEDOM: For those who choose the rural way of life, this vision does not ask you to change. It gives you more tools to live the way you want: reliable power, high-speed internet, access to markets, and assistive technologies.
INDEPENDENCE: When we own our infrastructure, we make our own decisions. We are not at the mercy of distant corporations or oil cartels.
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THE CHOICE IS OURS
We are not against technology. We are for technology that fits our home.
We have the sun, the land, the universities, the factories, and smart people who know how to build things.
What we need now is the will to build it our way:
- Pass laws that protect our water and power.
- Take on the monopolies that want to control our future.
- Invest in our schools and training programs.
- Create member-owned co-ops that answer to local people.
- Build transportation that frees us from the costs of car dependency.
- Ensure every part of this vision works in harmony with rural life.
When we control the capital and the infrastructure, we create jobs that serve our communities. We are not reduced to following the robber barons around begging to shine their shoes for a penny. We set the terms. We decide what gets built, where it gets built, and who it serves.
We did this before:
- Rural electrification brought power to every farm in America.
- The interstate highway system connected every small town to the rest of the country.
We can do it again. This time with computers, clean energy, transit that puts people first, and laws that keep the benefits here. This time in a way that makes sense for the desert and honors the rural way of life that makes this place home.
The future is being built right now. The only question is whether we will help build it, or just watch it get built for somebody else's benefit.
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READ THE SPECIFIC BILLS
Every proposal in the Digital New Deal is a real bill I have written or will introduce. You can read them all here:
https://www.slawsonforazdistrict19.org/legislation-proposals
Questions? Comments? Want to get involved? Contact me. This is your future too. Let's build it together.