By Ben Giles | Arizona Capitol Times
The Arizona Senate failed to pass a bill giving certain military veterans a tax break, as the 15-13 vote on Thursday afternoon fell one vote shy of approval.
Sponsored by Sen. Gail Griffin, SB 1167 would have increased a tax exemption for military retirement pay to $6,250 in 2018 and $10,000 by 2019, up from the current $2,500 exemption. It would have applied to approximately 52,000 veterans out of roughly 600,000 veterans in Arizona.
Ducey spokesman Patrick Ptak said the governor is going to continue to fight for veterans.
“This is part of our budget and will be part of budget negotiations,” Ptak said.
Three Republicans, along with 10 Democrats, voted against the measure: