Arizona Legislature passes bipartisan budget, Gov. Hobbs plans to sign

UPDATE:

The Arizona Senate has passed the bipartisan budget bill, and has sent the legislation to Gov. Katie Hobbs to sign. In a press release Friday afternoon, the governor as promised to sign the budgets, avoiding a potential state government shutdown.

The budget, coined the ‘Arizona Promise Budget,’ contians a 5% pay raise for state troopers, $8 million for local law enforcement toward drug smuggling and human trafficking, and $16.5 million for coordinated housing homelessness services through DES.

“By working together, we have secured pay raises for state police and firefighters, made child care more affordable and accessible, taken action to stop drug smuggling and human trafficking, and invested in public education from kindergarten through higher ed,” Hobbs said in a press release.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Months of infighting between the Arizona House and Senate over the state’s budget have finally come to an end, just days before the government was going to shut down.

Lawmakers passed the Senate’s version of the spending plan last night, after the chamber’s Republican leaders reached a deal with Senate Republicans and Governor Hobbs.

The House had passed two different budgets earlier this week, as they fought with the Senate over less than 2% of the $17.6 billion spending plan. Gov. Hobbs vetoed both budget proposals on Wednesday.

The third time, however, was the charm for the House.

Thursday night, a third budget, which the Senate negotiated with Gov. Hobbs, passed with support from members of both parties, but also with some bipartisan opposition.

The bill now heads to the Senate, which is expected to vote on it today.

If approved, it will then head to the governor’s desk.