Tucson Voters Reject TEP's 25-Year Franchise, Approve the Zoo Tax

Tucson voters have turned down Tucson Electric Power's 25-year franchise for the second time in three years. In early results from the November 3 election, Proposition 421 failed with 54.9% voting no to 45.1% yes — a margin of 12,181 votes (68,080 to 55,899) — while Proposition 422, extending the Reid Park Zoo sales tax through 2047, passed easily, Tucson Spotlight reported on November 4. The rejection does not change who provides Tucson's electricity. It starts a five-month countdown: the current franchise expires in April 2027, and the city now has to decide what replaces it.

By Marisol Rodriguez, editor & host of TucsonBound

November 6, 2026 · Source: Tucson Spotlight (Nov. 4, 2026), reporting early Pima County results

What voters turned down

Proposition 421 would have renewed TEP's franchise — the agreement that gives the utility access to city streets, alleys, and other rights-of-way — for another 25 years. The current franchise, which expires in April 2027, includes a 2.25% fee on customer bills. Passage would also have triggered an energy collaboration agreement under which TEP would provide $2 million a year for infrastructure and sustainability projects, rising 2% annually — about $64 million over the 25 years. That funding now does not happen. Opponents, led by the Public Power for Tucson coalition, argued a no vote kept the city from committing to TEP for another generation and opened the door to public power; as we laid out in our pre-election explainer on Proposition 421, voters rejected an earlier franchise proposal in May 2023 as well.

What happens now

TEP remains Tucson's electric utility either way — the no vote rejects a contract, not the company. What is unresolved is the framework after April 2027: the Mayor and Council can negotiate new franchise terms, study a public-power alternative (the course Prop. 421's opponents are publicly urging), or some combination. For your bill, the near-term facts are the ones TEP itself stated during the campaign: the proposition would not have raised rates, and its failure will not lower them. Any increase comes from a separate rate case before the Arizona Corporation Commission, decided on its own track. The 2.25% franchise fee stays on bills under the current agreement until it expires next spring.

The zoo tax, and the county measure still hanging

Proposition 422 was never close: voters approved extending the 0.1% Reid Park Zoo sales tax through 2047 by 71.9% to 28.1%. First approved in 2017 and set to expire at the end of 2027, the tax funds a zoo improvement fund; supporters note it paid for 85% of large capital project costs under the zoo's 2018 master plan, and the zoo drew more than 610,000 visitors from 2025 to 2026. One measure remains undecided: Pima County's Proposition 425, which would raise the county spending limit by about $610 million, stood at 50.2% yes to 49.8% no — a difference of just 1,173 votes — and was too close to call. All results are unofficial until the county canvass, which must happen by November 19.

Why it matters for movers

If you are moving to Tucson in the next year, file this under "watch, don't worry." Your electricity will come from TEP, your bill will carry the same franchise fee it does today, and the open question — who owns and governs the system after April 2027 — is a policy fight that plays out over months, not a service change. What the vote does signal is the city's mood: Tucson's electorate has now twice refused a long-term utility deal while happily taxing itself for the zoo, which tells you something real about local priorities. When you are setting up service, our Tucson utilities guide covers TEP hookups and deposits, and the newcomer checklist sequences the whole first month. We will update this story when the council takes its next step on the franchise.

My take: the number that matters for a mover's budget was never on this ballot — it is the separate rate case. This vote decides who Tucson negotiates with, and how much leverage it holds, when that conversation happens.