By Jeremy Duda | Arizona Capitol Times
Now that lawmakers have voted in favor of a proposal allowing the Arizona State Land Department to fund itself through the sale of state trust land, two more votes may be needed before the plan can go into effect – one from the state’s voters and one from Congress.
As part of the fiscal year 2016 budget package, the Legislature approved SCR1018, which will ask voters to amend the Arizona Constitution in 2016 to allow the department to use proceeds from the sale of state trust land for the management of those lands. Starting in fiscal year 2017, the budget calls for the Land Department to use up to 10 percent of the money from land sales to fund the department, which is expected to be about $12.6 million.
