Governor Katie Hobbs is the target of criticism for her decision to freeze bill signings after she walked away from budget negotiations more than three weeks ago.
According to Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro, Hobbs left the table “when it became clear her spending plan relied on revenue that did not exist, and she had no responsible path to a balanced budget.”
“Governor Hobbs quit the budget talks more than three weeks ago after it became clear her numbers did not add up, and now she is trying to distract from that failure with a bill-signing freeze. That is political theater. Arizona needs a balanced budget built on honest numbers, not press stunts and invented revenue. House Republicans are at the Capitol, doing the work and ready to govern. The Governor can end her sideshow anytime by coming back to the table, doing her job and dealing with reality.”
According to critics, Hobbs’ budget plan relies on unrealistic assumptions and adds $1.5 billion in new debt, while increasing taxes and fees.
At the center of Hobbs’ proposal is an increase in withdrawals from Arizona’s Public Land Trust, a voter-protected fund that supports K-12 education. Budget analysts warn this approach could cut the fund nearly in half over time, putting future education funding at risk.
According to legislative budget analysts, Hobbs’ proposal would cut the trust nearly in half over the next 20 years, dropping it from roughly $9.7 billion to $4.7 billion. Her latest plan calls for a 10.9 percent distribution for the next 20 years, far above the previous 6.9 percent over ten years.
“Today, I promised to veto all bills that come to my desk and again invited legislative Republicans to show their budget plans to the people of this state. I’m ready to talk, but I can’t negotiate with politicians who refuse to show the public their plans,” tweeted Hobbs. “The legislative majority needs to put forward their budget proposal and then join me in good faith negotiations so we can pass a bipartisan, balanced budget like we’ve done the past three years.”
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