Arizona House Republicans pass budget package as Hobbs negotiates separate deal with Senate

Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives worked late into the evening on Friday to pass a state budget package that Gov. Katie Hobbs has already said she won’t sign.

After spending much of the day working on amendments and compromises to ensure the budget package had enough support to pass, House Republicans passed their proposal around 9:30 p.m.

The spending plan passed with little margin for error with 31 Republican votes, the bare minimum number of votes needed to pass legislation. That came after two Republicans – Reps. Justin Wilmeth and Chris Lopez – were absent and all 27 Democratic representatives boycotted the vote.

Hobbs and Democrats have for days said the House budget was dead on arrival, because it can’t become law without the governor’s signature - and Hobbs is negotiating a different spending plan with Senate republicans.

“This is a silly waste of time and not a serious budget proposal. House Republicans should be ashamed of wasting time and taxpayer dollars,” House Democrats wrote on social media. “Next week we look forward to working on the real, bipartisan negotiated budget.”

But Rep. Matt Gress (R-Phoenix), who helped craft the House budget, repeated a refrain he has trumpeted all week, saying he believes the budget the Senate plans to introduce next week will actually look very similar to the House plan.

“I had the great privilege over the last couple of hours to review the Senate budget plan, and I have to say this plan is very close to what we’re voting on right now,” Gress said during the vote, noting he believes “85%” of what is in the House budget will end up in the budget Hobbs signs.

Hobbs and Senate Republicans have been engaged in negotiations for weeks without House GOP leadership, and they are expected to introduce their budget package as early as Monday next week.