Overview
- Negotiations to hold a special legislative session and trade limited changes to the Empowerment Scholarship Account program for the Arizona Education Association dropping its Protect Education Act petition collapsed Monday, ending the last clear path to a negotiated settlement.
- Governor Katie Hobbs declined to call a special session, leaving the AEA to say it will file its petition and submit the required signatures by the July 2 deadline to try to place ESA reforms on the November ballot.
- Republican lawmakers had pushed last‑minute referrals including HCR2048, labeled a military‑family protection measure but drafted with language Democrats say would broadly block ESA reforms and could negate the union initiative if voters approve it.
- A push by Rep. Andy Biggs for a one‑for‑one swap that would repeal only the anti‑union referral split Republican leaders and helped sink the compromise as two GOP senators earlier joined Democrats to reject the negotiated bill.
- ABC15's analysis shows more than $1.7 billion in ESA transactions from mid‑2022 through 2025, a scrutiny that has driven calls for reform and that now leaves voters and courts to decide how the program and related union and ballot disputes are resolved.