The president of the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association said Wednesday that border sheriffs want to nearly triple the funding for local border law enforcement in the next fiscal year.  

Association president and Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes told the Arizona Capitol Times Wednesday that the association is requesting about $50 million in state funding in the next fiscal year for local law enforcement agencies’ drug interdiction efforts in border communities. 

The recently enacted budget included $17 million to local border law enforcement distributed through the Department of Public Safety from Gov. Katie Hobbs’s Stopping Arizona’s Fentanyl Epidemic Initiative. 

Rhodes said the $50 million estimate is needed for border sheriffs after the passage of Proposition 314, the Secure the Border Act. 

“The citizens are expecting local law enforcement, particularly along the border, to be able to do more,” Rhodes said.

Prop 314 will make it a state crime for non-citizens to enter the state at any location other than a port of entry once it goes into effect, allowing for law enforcement to arrest non-citizens they’ve observed or have evidence of entering the state illegally.

The measure also includes penalties for people found guilty of selling fentanyl that results in the death of another person, making the act a Class 2 felony with a 4-year to 12.5-year prison sentence.

Voters overwhelmingly passed Prop 314 in November. The measure passed with more than 62% of voters supporting it. 

Rhodes said border sheriffs need more deputies, and he expected a good portion of increased funding if it’s enacted by the Legislature to go to deputy positions and their equipment. He estimated adding 20 deputies would cost about $5 million. 

“There’s $20 million annually on the four border counties right there if that comes to pass,” he said.

An increase in funds could also go toward technology for fentanyl investigators and jail renovations for an expected increase of detentions, Rhodes said. 

The need for further funding as a result of Prop 314’s passage isn’t new for lawmakers. During the 2024 legislative session, Rhodes told legislators law enforcement wouldn’t be able to enforce Prop 314 without additional funding. 

“I have heard several of the sheriffs for the counties on the border say … Prop 314 is going to be an unfunded mandate. It is expenditures that we have not put in the budget,” Rep. Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton, D-Tucson, said during a Wednesday Joint Legislative Budget Committee hearing.

The House Appropriations Committee Chairman, Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, told the Arizona Capitol Times Wednesday that he is expecting the Legislature to increase border law enforcement funding, but he’s not sure yet if they’ll get to the $50 million estimate. He has not met with the sheriffs or the governor’s office yet to discuss details, he said.

“We have to do a better job protecting our citizens,” Livingston said. “I do expect we will increase (funding). Will we increase it to that amount – I just don’t know yet.”

The Legislature will have some wiggle room in budget negotiations compared to last session when lawmakers faced a $1.8 billion deficit with recent state tax collections giving the state about a $660 million surplus to work with as of October, but JLBC staff has warned lawmakers that the state could see another budget shortfall by 2026 if they spend excessively. 

There are other big-ticket spending items lawmakers will consider in the upcoming session. An October presentation from JLBC staff projected a sharp rise of K-12 spending with costs increasing by $524 million. That estimate was calculated by backfilling the loss of Proposition 123, which funds public schools from the  State Land Trust Permanent Fund. 

Lawmakers on JLBC also removed $250,000 of funding designated toward the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office by the Department of Public Safety’s Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission. 

The committee voted on party lines to exclude the funds from Santa Cruz after Republicans raised issues with Santa Cruz Sheriff David Hathaway’s attitude of immigration enforcement. 

Hathaway, a Democrat, has publicly opposed Prop 314 because the measure had no funding mechanism. He told KJZZ in October that he also believed immigration responsibilities would distract local law enforcement from other priorities. 

DPS’s expenditure plan originally allocated $1 million to sheriff offices in Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Santa Cruz and Yuma counties. Now, Santa Cruz’s share will be reallocated to the other counties because Republicans don’t have confidence in Hathaway enforcing immigration laws.

“He’s projecting the impression that he thinks immigration enforcement is racist and xenophobic and he’s not going to do it. Well, then he’s not going to get the money,” said Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, who also serves as the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman. 

Democrats on the committee opposed taking away Santa Cruz’s funding and accused Republicans of defunding police. 

“Taking something like this away – you are going to hurt our families down in my district and people who rely on this money for their income and the support to do their job and keep them safe,” Stahl-Hamilton said. 

The county has received grants from the Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission since 2016. County Manager Jesus Valdez wrote a letter to the committee Wednesday asking them to include the county in the expenditure plan, noting both the Nogales and Mariposa ports of entry are located within the county, which contribute about $30 billion in trade each year. 

“A reduction of border security funding would increase already substantial challenges related to gang activity and transnational crime that directly impact our residents’ safety and well-being,” Valdez wrote. “Securing these funds will directly translate into a safer community for our residents and absent this important state assistance the financial burden will be borne by our local taxpayers.” 

But Valdez’s request wasn’t good enough for Republicans on the committee. They wanted to personally hear Hathaway request border funds and give assurance that he would enforce the law. 

Sen. Ken Bennett, R-Prescott, said while he wanted to see Santa Cruz get the grant funds, he couldn’t vote to include them in the expenditure plan unless he had assurance from Hathaway. 

“If we take out Santa Cruz County, that is defunding the police,” said Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, D-Tucson, the incoming House assistant minority leader.