PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the fiscal year 2025 budget Tuesday that erases a $1.4 billion shortfall by curbing spending on higher education, trimming funding for state agencies and raiding a host of special funds.
The spending plan is the result of weeks of negotiations between Hobbs, a Democrat, and Republican legislative leaders. Some conservative Republicans say the plan still spends too much money, while some Democratic lawmakers were disappointed they were not part of the negotiations.
“Despite facing a $1.8 billion budget deficit, we showed Arizonans that we can work across the aisle and compromise to balance the budget and deliver for everyday Arizonans,” Hobbs said in a statement.
“I am proud that we were able to protect critical services that Arizonans rely on, including state aid to public schools and the Housing Trust Fund. We also made meaningful investments that will strengthen our health care system, support border security and fentanyl interdiction efforts, increase affordable housing, and improve the well-being of our children.”
The budget retrenchment marks an extraordinary turnabout from just a year ago, when Hobbs and lawmakers projected a massive surplus and secured overwhelming support for the budget by letting lawmakers dole out money to their own priorities pet projects. But it soon became clear the state was taking in far less money than expected. Much of the reduced spending in the current budget proposal comes from de …
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