Arizona Legislature Approves A New $18-Billion State Budget In The Early Hours Of Thursday

In the early hours Thursday morning, the Arizona state house passed the state’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget. Some of the highlights include: $330-million in property tax relief, over $1.25-billion for state debt and pension payoff, with ongoing savings of near $120-million. Also over $1.1-billion will go to protecting Arizona’s water and natural resources. There’s over a billion dollars for transportation infrastructure, $560-million in border security and over $70-million in school safety. Also in the budget is over a billion dollars in new K-12 investments including over $800-million in new ongoing K-12 education investments, $526-million in new base level education funding and over $400-million in new, one-time, education funding. Also $425-million will be added to the state’s rainy day fund. House Speaker Rusty Bowers says he’s thrilled that both sides worked together on the budget, saying “Republicans and Democrats have had enough wisdom and courage to work together to find answers to the major problems of our state.” He adds, “Reaching a bipartisan agreement on taking care of the needs of the people of Arizona shouldn’t be a rare or historic event as this was.” The state Senate also approved the budget, which now goes to Governor Ducey’s desk.