House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Livingston set the record straight in a letter to Attorney General Kris Mayes regarding misleading comments made by her staff in the Senate Appropriations meeting on Tuesday.
“Attorney General Mayes should learn the facts first, and accurately convey those facts in committee hearings, before making demands and threats to sue the Legislature and the Governor over the budget,” tweeted Livingston with a copy of his letter.
Attorney General Mayes should learn the facts first, and accurately convey those facts in committee hearings, before making demands and threats to sue the Legislature and the Governor over the budget. @AZHouseGOP pic.twitter.com/SFnElYhUtv
— David Livingston (@Livingston4AZ) May 9, 2023
Mayes had threatened to sue Governor Katie Hobbs and the Legislature in a letter, claiming that they had no say in the disposition of funds the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) secured from opioid makers during Mark Brnovich’s tenure as AG.
The funds are as result of a settlement with opioid manufacturers and are to prevent and treat opioid abuse.
Livingston pointed out to Mayes in his letter that the Legislature does in fact have a say in how the funds are used.
“…, I am puzzled why Ms. Love told the Senate Appropriations Committee that your letter was motivated by the “alarm” I caused you during our meeting. More importantly, Ms. Love also inaccurately told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the consent judgments “direct those monies” to be deposited into an account “under the Attorney General’s purview”-making no mention of the fact that the consent judgments expressly require the advice and consent of the Legislature,” explained Livingston.
“Senator Hoffman rightly expressed his concern that you threatened litigation over a budget you had not yet even seen and based only on rumors, and perhaps your own misplaced speculation. I encourage you to learn the facts in the future before wasting taxpayer money and resources on politicized demand letters,” wrote Livingston referring to Sen. Jake Hoffman, Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Committee.
According to AZ Free News, Mayes is also taking heat for her claim that “that universal school choice will bankrupt the state, despite expenditure data showing that school choice saves the state money.”
Contrary to Mayes’ claims that Arizona’s school choice program (Empowerment Scholarship Account), was a “catastrophic drain” on the state’s budget, a Goldwater Institute study found that private education may actually be helping to keep public school funding afloat. The report How Private Education Can Help Funding for Public School Students found, “A robust landscape of private education is linked not to the financial hollowing of states’ public K-12 sectors, but rather to increased levels of public school per pupil funding.”
Livingston letter:
Dear Attorney General Mayes,
This morning, your Chief of Staff, Ms. Love, stated to the Senate Appropriations Committee that your recent letter threatening litigation against the Governor and the Legislature over the budget was based on comments I made during a private meeting with you on May 3rd regarding the One Arizona Opioid Settlement Funds Agreements (“Agreements”). Ms. Love stated that your office “expressed alarm, which is why that letter was sent.”
Unfortunately, Ms. Love omitted important context from her remarks. During the May 3rd meeting, when you requested “a $30,000,000 appropriation authority” to expend funds from the One Arizona Settlement, the General Counsel for the House Majority, Ms. Wilson, requested a copy of the Settlement Agreement. You told us the Agreement was on your website, and we stated we would review it.
After that private meeting, around 3:00 p.m. that same day, your Solicitor General, Mr. Bendor, sent Ms. Wilson a press release that your predecessor issued, which contains links to the consent judgments implementing the Agreements, and referred Ms. Wilson to footnote 1 of those judgments. As you know, footnote 1 requires the Attorney General, “[w]ith the advice and consent of the Arizona Legislature,” to direct how and when the settlement funds are used. (See enclosed email and linked documents therein.) Ms. Wilson reassured Mr. Bendor that any appropriations would be consistent with the Agreements and consent judgments.Accordingly, I am puzzled why Ms. Love told the Senate Appropriations Committee that your letter was motivated by the “alarm” I caused you during our meeting. More importantly, Ms. Love also inaccurately told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the consent judgments “direct those monies” to be deposited into an account “under the Attorney General’s purview”-making no mention of the fact that the consent judgments expressly require the advice and consent of the Legislature.
Senator Hoffman rightly expressed his concern that you threatened litigation over a budget you had not yet even seen and based only on rumors, and perhaps your own misplaced speculation. I encourage you to learn the facts in the future before wasting taxpayer money and resources on politicized demand letters.