House Rs Go Rogue: This week, House Republicans tried to jam through a hyper-partisan, go-it-alone budget (bill numbers HB2947-HB2961). Incredibly, they refused to consult with not just Gov. Hobbs and House Democrats, but also their Republican colleagues in the Senate 🤯 On Friday night, they passed all the bills through their chamber the same way they were created: alone. The bills all advanced by 31-0 votes (Republicans Chris Lopez, R-16, and Justin Wilmeth, R-2, were missing, and all Democrats went home rather than participate in the charade).
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DOA: This hard-right proposal is full of non-starters for Hobbs, Democratic lawmakers, and even some Republicans. For example, it refuses to fund K-12 District Additional Assistance and the Opportunity Weight for low-income students, which alone constitutes a roughly $60 million cut to K-12 funding. It wraps in HB2018, a pro-privatization effort from Matt Gress (R-4) that funnels tax dollars into teacher training programs at private, for-profit universities. It fails to waive the AEL school spending cap, which would potentially shut down public schools in March due to an inability to spend funds the legislature granted them. Perhaps worst of all, it rolls back voter-approved Prop 308, in apparent violation of the Voter Protection Act, by banning DACA recipients from in-state tuition (much like MAGAs in Texas did last week).
Senate Appropriations Committee chair John Kavanagh (R-3) told reporter Mary Jo Pitzl he's never seen anything like this in his 19 years at the Capitol. Even the famously wonky Arizona Agenda said of House Republicans’ proposal, “Considering this budget is basically dead in the water, we don’t wanna get too deep in the weeds of it.” We agree: because Arizona has two chambers with a divided government, a “go-it-alone” budget simply can’t amount to anything and amounts to pure political posturing. It’s a good thing that Gov. Hobbs, Democratic lawmakers, and the Senate Republicans have continued working to draft a real budget. The Senate met Friday to approve introduction of these bills, and we expect to see them on Monday.
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So what’s the point of House Republicans’ antics? It seems they’re “playing a game of budget chicken,” trying to force Hobbs and the Senate to come around to their way of thinking. As Gress acknowledged to media, "We know that this is not the final product, but it is a major step in the right direction." However, they’re the only ones who seem to think that — because their strategy isn’t working. We’re told House Republicans have started approaching their Senate colleagues to try to get their priorities added to the negotiated Senate product. We also hear that, desperate for any kind of leverage in budget negotiations, House Republicans are trying to keep the threat of an unpopular Prop 123-voucher mashup alive to intimidate others into doing their bidding — but that scheme doesn’t appear to have the votes to pass.
So what happens next? Monday will bring work on a real budget, with Senate Republicans introducing bills and presumably passing them over three calendar days. House Republicans will need to come to the table to avoid extending the budget process into the week of June 23 (when Gress and some other Republicans are planning to leave the country for his wedding in Italy), to the June 30 fiscal-year deadline, or even beyond to a state shutdown.
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🚨 REIN IN VOUCHERS — IN THIS YEAR’S BUDGET! 🚨 |
There’s still room to negotiate: Tell your lawmakers and Gov. Hobbs that unaccountable vouchers for the rich must be reined in in this year’s budget! Our students deserve quality resources, safe buildings, and rich academic experiences that will prepare them for a strong future. Our educators deserve pay raises and quality working conditions that benefit all teachers, staff and students.
NOW is the time to demand true voucher reform and fund our public schools. Our easy-to-use, one-click email tool is preloaded with a message, but we encourage you to customize your email for maximum impact. Click HERE or the image below to send an email now! |
🚨 There’s still time to ACT — Say NO to Federal Vouchers 🚨 |
📨 EMAIL NOW: Tell your members of Congress to vote NO on federal vouchers with our easy-to-use tool ➡️bit.ly/NoFedVouchers
☎️💥 CALL TODAY: Call AZ Senators Kelly & Gallego and your US House Rep. using this easy script — 3 quick calls take 10 minutes MAX! |
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What's Happening at the AZ Leg? | |
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👑 Keeping up with the “Veto Queen”: This past week Gov. Hobbs vetoed HB2867, which would have banned Arizona’s public K-12 teachers and university professors from teaching, promoting or training on “antisemitism.” The bill’s overbroad and controversial definition would likely have led to baseless accusations, the silencing of classroom conversations, and the banning of books and other content — and perhaps worse, anyone could have sued teachers, who would have been held personally liable. We are so grateful to the governor for protecting kids, teachers, families and public schools with her veto pen.
✅ Stay in the know: The SOSAZ Bill Tracker contains full information about the bills SOSAZ supports or opposes and gives you up-to-the-minute information on where these bills stand. |
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Help Voters on Wednesdays all Summer! Want to help voters who are at risk of being kicked off the voter rolls? Join us for a virtual phone bank on Wednesday, June 18 from 4-5:30 pm or any Wednesday through July and help voters get re-registered! Training is provided — all experience levels are welcome! |
Learn how to Deep Canvass! Join us to learn about our deep canvassing efforts and how to have meaningful conversations with swing voters. Deep canvassing focuses on listening and connecting with voters to understand their concerns, questions and perspectives on public education. Sign up for one of our interactive virtual trainings so you can be ready to start having these pivotal conversations as soon as we launch canvassing efforts. |
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Contact Us
[email protected] Save Our Schools Arizona
PO Box 28370
Tempe, AZ 85285
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