Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed legislation allowing the state's three public universities to borrow up to $1 billion to build new research facilities and tackle a maintenance backlog.
The bill Ducey signed Monday provides $27 million a year to help cover payments plus annual inflation increases.
While current state funding per public university student is still about $5,500 less than it was in 2008, Arizona State University President Michael Crow said he’s encouraged by this momentum in the legislature.
"I think the universities have demonstrated a new way of operating," Crow said. "So it’s much more efficient much more effective, greater outcomes. So I think it’s time for new thinking and new investments based around that model."
The bonding package was one of the most contentious of the session. Many majority Republicans opposed it until cutting deals at the last minute.
No House Democrats backed the bill, but many Senate Democrats ended up voting for it.
The funding will allow Ducey to claim a win going into his 2018 re-election bid by pointing to the new university funding. But it doesn't come close to replacing the $99 million in annual funding he cut in his first budget in 2015.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
