The “skinny” budget presented by Arizona Republicans narrowly failed to pass this week. It’s basically a re-write of the 2022 budget, with little to no additional investment except for $200 million due to public schools in return for ESA voucher expansion. Said vouchers, over time, will actually remove millions more from already under-funded public schools. Add to this the AEL fiasco and it’s a recipe for disaster.
Democrats, on the other hand, have a $17 billion Governor Hobbs proposed budget that returns funding to public schools, addresses healthcare needs, housing issues and supports a state child tax credit that will assist Arizona families. It’s easy to see Democrats are working hard for Arizonans and present the investments necessary to move Arizona forward, not backwards.
While we await Republicans, who are distracted by pronouns and drag shows, hopefully a compromise budget will pass soon that puts Arizona families first!