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Hobbs Halts Arizona Budget Talks Over School Funding Fight

She demands Republicans present a budget that includes serious discussion of renewing Prop. 123.

Overview

  • Gov. Katie Hobbs said she will not continue negotiations until GOP leaders release their own plan, accusing them of refusing to engage on a Prop. 123 renewal.
  • Prop. 123, a voter-approved mechanism that sent State Land Trust dollars to K‑12 schools, expired last year after providing roughly $300 million annually and was temporarily backfilled in the current fiscal year.
  • Republican legislative leaders said they have shown the governor a balanced budget with tax conformity, argued her numbers do not add up, and warned that increasing trust distributions would damage the fund.
  • Earlier this week, dozens of educators rallied at the Capitol to press for a Prop. 123 renewal and long-term school investment, citing burnout and decrying political attacks on educators.
  • Lawmakers are weighing SB 1435 and SB 1567 to make referrals of minors to sexually explicit materials a felony, with sponsor Sen. Jake Hoffman saying the goal is to protect children.