PHOENIX, State Capitol - House and Senate Democrats today released a joint budget that raises pay for educators, fully restores funding for school classroom supples, makes higher education more affordable, fixes crumbling roads, bridges and airports and better protects and uplifts the most vulnerable Arizonans.
The $12.5 billion plan will:
- Continue to provide large, substantial investments in Arizona's P-20 education system for students and schools.
- Provide impactful funding for homelessness, social services, and vulnerable adults.
- Enhance environmental programs that protect our long-term water future and confront climate change.
- Expand access to healthcare in a meaningful and targeted way for children and families.
- Invest in infrastructure projects statewide that create jobs while improving Arizona's roadways, bridges and airports, ensuring Arizona stays competitive with its neighbors and an attractive place to visit and do business.
-Make these investments, and more, all without raising taxes.
Senate Democratic Leader David Bradley, D-Tucson:
"We crafted this budget for two reasons. Of course, we deserve to be at the budget negotiating table for once in over a decade. We hope that can happen this year, but we know that the political will for producing a truly bipartisan budget likely isn't there," said Bradley.
"The greater purpose of this budget, however, is to show how we would govern if the people of Arizona choose to entrust us with the majority. Our budget shows that it's possible to find realistic, pragmatic solutions to funding state government and the essential services it provides; like education, social services and infrastructure. Our solutions begin to repair the hollowing out of state government we've seen over the last decade and provide the critical resources that Arizonans need to meet their full potential."
House Democratic Leader Charlene Fernandez, D-Yuma:
"This budget moves our state forward while staying structurally balanced for the future. As a statement of our values, this budget balances even better. As Democrats we are committed to the transformative power of education and investing in people and infrastructure in ways that lift people up, encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, and build a strong economy from the ground up. I sincerely hope the Governor and Republican leaders will sit down with us and work together. There is much common ground between us. But Arizona can't reach its full potential as a land of opportunity until all sides are at the table to create that future."
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