Republicans in the Arizona House introduced their own state budget proposal, even though they have not been involved in negotiations taking place between Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and Senate Republicans.
Rep. Matt Gress (R-Phoenix), who helped craft the bills, said Republican leaders planned to hold a vote on the spending package on Friday.
Republicans hold the majority in the House and could force through their budget package, but critics say it has little chance of reaching Hobbs’ desk.
“This so-called Republican budget in the House is a sham, a joke and a farce,” said Rep. Oscar De Los Santos (D-Laveen), the House Democratic leader. “Frankly, the House Republicans have been missing in action at the negotiating table for weeks.”
Last week, both Hobbs and Sen. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) confirmed that House Republicans were not involved in ongoing budget negotiations taking place between Senate Republicans, Democratic lawmakers and the governor’s office.
“[It’s] the first time in 20 years the House is not aligned with the Senate, and then proceeded to negotiate as a team with the governor,” Kavanagh, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said.
Hobbs’ office criticized House Republicans' decision to introduce their own budget outside of those ongoing negotiations.
“This is DDD all over again,” Hobbs spokesman Christian Slater said, referencing a prolonged fight between the governor’s office and House Republican leadership over funding for care for Arizonans with disabilities earlier this year.
Both sides eventually came to a compromise on that issue, but not before Republican lawmakers, namely Gress and House Appropriation Committee Chairman David Livingston, engaged in a scathing war of words with the governor.
“It's another circus led by the speaker, David Livingston, and Matt Gress where they have refused to participate with any caucuses, including their Republican counterparts in the Senate, in a meaningful manner and are once again just trying to score some political points even though they know their plan is going absolutely nowhere,” Slater said.
Despite those headwinds, Gress is optimistic that the House Republican budget could gain traction with Hobbs and other stakeholders.
“There are a lot of things to like about the budget and I think it includes a number of priorities that have been conveyed in public and in private, and that's what we've tried to balance in this,” he said.
Gress said the budget includes a number of the governor’s priorities, including funding for a 5% pay raise for Department of Public Safety officers and full funding for the program that pays parents who act as caregivers for their children with disabilities that was at the center of the fight between Hobbs and House Republicans earlier this year.
Other highlights include continued funding to pay for school lunches for children who qualify for reduced price lunch, funding for key highway improvements, and cuts to state university tuition costs for in-state students, he said.
And, importantly, Gress said the House budget leaves the state in a healthy fiscal position. He projected the House budget plan would leave the state with a $400 million cash balance, or the amount of money left unspent at the end of the year.
“For comparison, the budget two years ago, fiscal year 24, had an ending balance of about $11 million,” Gress said, referencing a budget that ultimately led to a massive budget shortfall.
According to a summary of the House budget framework, the House Republican proposal also includes around $50 million in cuts to spending on AHCCCS, Arizona’s Medicaid program. That spending reduction is the result of reforms to the program backed by Republicans, including making people using the program re-verify their eligibility every quarter instead of every year.
“This is about ensuring the vitality of the safety net for those who meet the eligibility criteria,” Gress said.
But De Los Santos, the House Democratic leader, criticized the proposal.
“We're fighting hard for the working families of Arizona, but the budget you see today, I think, is a desperate attempt to be relevant in the budget negotiations,” he said. “It contains $50 million in cuts to access that is going to kick thousands of Arizonans off of life, saving health care.”
The House Republican budget also includes reforms to food assistance programs, which used to be known as food stamps, according to a House spokesman. That includes monthly income eligibility verifications, a review of out-of-state purchases to verify residency, and mandatory work requirements for “able-bodied adults under 60.”
Those reforms come as congressional Republicans are considering significant cuts to federal funding for Medicaid and food assistance that could shift costs onto the states.
But Gress said the budget doesn’t account for those cuts, which are still not set in stone.
“No, it's hard to say because there are so many different pieces,” he said.
The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to review the House budget bills on Thursday.
