Arizona lawmakers voted to extend the sales tax that helps fund public education, ensuring that more than $600 million in state revenues earmarked for schools will continue for another two decades. All Democrats and most Republicans joined to pass the bill 26-4 in the Senate and 53-6 in the House. Legislature passes education sales-tax extension:
The bill to extend Proposition 301 was fast tracked through the Senate and voted out of the House on Thursday afternoon amid mounting pressure from educators who have protested at the Capitol over inadequate funding for public schools.
Revenues from Prop. 301, a six-tenths of a cent sales tax approved by voters in 2000, provide funding for teacher pay and performance-based raises, among other education-related expenses.
If not extended, the sales tax is set to expire in June 2021. As approved by the House and Senate, SB 1390 ensures the tax will continue through June 2041.
A spokesman for Gov. Doug Ducey said he would sign the measure.