By Reagan Priest | Arizona Capitol Times
Key Points:
- Gov. Katie Hobbs is pledging to veto all bills until Republicans release a budget
- The moratorium comes three weeks after Hobbs called off negotiations
- Republicans say Prop. 123 is off the table despite Hobbs’ pressure
Gov. Katie Hobbs will not sign any bills until Republican lawmakers publicly release their own budget proposal.
Hobbs’ office announced Monday that every bill heading to her desk in the coming days will be vetoed unless Republicans produce their plan to pay for federal tax conformity, address education funding without Proposition 123 and shoulder the burden of federal cost shifts from programs like Medicaid and SNAP.
“The legislative majority needs to put forward their budget proposal and then join me at the negotiating table so we can pass a bipartisan, balanced budget just like we’ve done the past three years,” Hobbs said in a statement. “But until the legislative majority shows us their plans for a balanced budget that works for middle-class Arizonans, their bills will be dead on arrival. I know we can get big things done when we work together, but that isn’t possible when one side refuses to show us their plans.”
The bill moratorium comes a few weeks after the Democratic governor called off budget negotiations and accused Republican leadership of holding education funding hostage by flat-out rejecting any extension of Prop. 123, the voter approved funding measure that expired last year.
