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Tag: Katie Hobbs

Arizona agencies request millions to fill the gaps left by federal funding cuts

Key Points:
  • State agencies have submitted their budget requests for fiscal year 2027, which begins July 1, 2026
  • Agencies request millions from Arizona’s general fund to address Medicaid and SNAP cuts
  • Governor will provide lawmakers with her proposed budget in January

Budget requests submitted by Arizona’s state agencies are shedding more light on what it will cost the state to conform to federal spending and tax cuts included in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Gov. Katie Hobbs and public health advocates have been warning that cuts to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other federal programs would impact both the lives of Arizonans and the state budget. Now, state agencies are saying it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars in the next few years to prepare for those changes, which are set to take effect in 2027 and 2028.

According to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, it will cost $71.4 million in fiscal year 2027 to implement the changes to Medicaid required by the One Big Beautiful Bill, known as H.R. 1. $18.78 million of that cost will come from the state’s general fund if AHCCCS’s budget request is included in next year’s budget. 

“H.R. 1 will represent a significant expansion in the cost burden on the state of Arizona and in particular, the state general fund,” the AHCCCS budget request states. “The state will incur significant increases in administrative expenses and will be asked to make tough policy decisions as providers’ revenues decrease while uncompensated care increases.”

Hobbs’ spokesman Christian Slater said the Governor’s Office will not comment on state agency budget requests, but previously told the Arizona Capitol Times that next year’s budget would be challenging “due to the reckless actions of the Trump administration.”

“H.R. 1 slashes funding for critical services Arizonans rely on while overloading the state with bureaucracy and red tape that will cost significant taxpayer dollars,” Slater said in a statement in August.

In addition to the significant cost to AHCCCS, the Department of Economic Security is estimating it will cost $87.7 million from the general fund in FY2027 to adjust eligibility determinations for both Medicaid and SNAP. DES works in tandem with AHCCCS to administer the state’s Medicaid program and is charged with administering SNAP. 

“SNAP and Medicaid program operations will be disrupted and potentially not be possible at all if these costs are not funded with state dollars,” DES’ budget request states.

DES is also requesting $18.2 million in supplemental funding for the current fiscal year, which began July 1. The supplemental will be used to manage increased workloads caused by changes to SNAP’s work requirements and H.R. 1’s provisions that shift payment error costs from the federal government to states. 

AHCCCS’ budget request notes it will need 92 full-time equivalent staff positions in FY2027 to implement the changes, while DES will need 228 full-time equivalent staff positions. AHCCCS is also estimating that an additional $5.3 million, including $1.6 million from the general fund, will be needed in fiscal year 2028, when some of the Medicaid changes will be in effect. 

Other agencies are also requesting general fund dollars to address other federal funding cuts and dwindling Covid recovery dollars in various areas, from foster care and state laboratory services to Clean Air Act compliance and border operations.

The Department of Health Services is asking for around $2 million from the general fund to backfill the loss of federal funds that supported operations at the Arizona State Public Health Laboratory. The laboratory investigates infectious disease outbreaks, conducts newborn illness screenings and tests for communicable diseases in drinking and surface waters, among other services.

ADHS provides laboratory services to cities, counties, school districts and more, but is prohibited by statute from charging for those laboratory services. ADHS’ budget request said the state funding will ensure those services are provided without interruption during a “very unstable federal funding climate.”

The Department of Child Services is asking for $24.6 million in general fund money, in part to address federal changes to eligibility for Title IV-E, a program that provides funds to assist with the cost of foster care maintenance.

The Department of Environmental Quality said in its budget request that it will not be able to meet requirements of the federal Clean Air Act if it does not get $3.9 million from the general fund in FY2027. Funding for grants related to the Clean Air Act were among those cut by H.R. 1.

And the Department of Homeland Security is requesting nearly $800,000 from the general fund annually to fund the Border Coordination Office, which was created by Hobbs in 2023 using American Rescue Plan Act funding. According to ADOHS’s budget request, that funding will run out in September 2026. 

Hobbs’ office will use the requests from state agencies to create her executive budget proposal, which she will give to the Legislature in January to kick off the 2026 budget negotiations. Any request for funding from the agencies must be approved by the Legislature and Hobbs. 

Arizona agencies request pay hikes for employees

Key Points:
  • State agencies request salary increases for staff in their fiscal year 2027 budget requests
  • Gov. Katie Hobbs’ proposal for a 2% to 3% raise for all state employees was rejected earlier this year
  • Agencies say years of rejected raise requests are leading to high turnover rates and low employee morale

Several state agencies are requesting salary increases for their staff after a proposal for a 2% to 3% raise for all state employees fell through earlier this year.

According to agency budget requests submitted to the Governor’s Office for fiscal year 2027 — which starts July 1, 2026 — several state entities are requesting employee salary increases ranging anywhere from 4% to 10%. 

All of the agencies asking for salary increases cited high turnover rates and low employee morale, with some requests noting that employees are actively seeking employment elsewhere or working two jobs to meet basic needs. Smaller agencies, like the Board of Dental Examiners and the Arizona Historical Society, are particularly struggling with low salaries. 

“The (Board of Dental Examiners) staff are currently disappointed due to the lack of pay increases, the increasing workload, and reading the news about other state agency salary increases that rely on (the board’s) shared 15% to the general fund,” the board’s request states. “While staff members continue to work overtime, when available, this has not alleviated the issues. They are tired and frustrated by the lack of resources.”

Gov. Katie Hobbs proposed enacting a 2% to 3% raise for all state employees in her executive budget proposal, but the raise was not included in the budget she ultimately signed for fiscal year 2026. Hobbs told the Arizona Capitol Times that it is too early to speak of specific budget plans for next year, but state employee pay is something she is always looking to increase.

“This is a huge challenge and one of the things that keeps me up at night,” Hobbs said. “My message to state employees is that I appreciate the work you do on behalf of Arizonans every day. I know it is not easy, and we’re doing what we can to make sure that you’re compensated for what you do.”

Many of the agencies asking for salary increases for their employees are fee-funded and would use the revenue from those fees to fund pay bumps, avoiding any costs to taxpayers. Requests for a 5% increase at the Board of Dental Examiners and 10% increases at the Board of Pharmacy and the Board of Chiropractic Examiners would not dip into the state’s general fund, which is supported by income and sales taxes. 

However, excess revenue generated by the boards goes into the general fund, meaning any increase funded by fees would take money away from the revenue lawmakers and the governor use to fund new initiatives or cover costs at other agencies. And Hobbs is already warning that there will not be much general fund money to go around next year with federal spending cuts and the dwindling of Covid recovery funds. 

That isn’t stopping agencies from asking for pay raises financed by the state’s general fund though. 

The Arizona Historical Society’s request for a 10% increase would cost around $310,500 annually from the general fund. But AHS says raises are necessary because it estimates one quarter of its staff will resign without them.

“Many of the agency’s staff have been forced into secondary employment to meet their basic needs,” AHS’s request states.

Other, larger agencies are also asking for general fund money to support staff salary increases. The Department of Juvenile Corrections and the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry are asking for 4% raises, while the Attorney General’s Office and the Administrative Office of the Courts are asking for 5% and 10% raises respectively.

ADCRR submitted the largest general fund request for salary increases at $26 million. The Administrative Office of the Courts, which encompasses the Superior Court, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, asked for one of the largest pay bumps at a cost of $5.8 million to the general fund. 

The AOC said in its budget request that many of its staff are currently underpaid.

“Our latest review found that Judicial Branch employees are paid 19% below the comparable court job market, making it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain a skilled workforce,” the AOC request noted. 

Almost all of the agencies asking for salary increases attribute low employee pay to a combination of inflation, the Covid pandemic and other economic factors. But some agencies noted that their requests for pay increases have been ignored for years, allowing the cost of living to outpace salaries. 

The last statewide salary increase of 10% was enacted in fiscal year 2023. State troopers and firefighters saw a 5% and 10% pay raise respectively in the current fiscal year. 

The requests for state employee salary increases also come after lawmakers discussed raising their own pay during the 2025 session. Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, championed a measure that would have asked voters to approve raising lawmaker salaries from $24,000 to $48,000, while other lawmakers also offered proposals for increasing their pay. 

But most proposals for pay increases for lawmakers have also gone ignored for years, making it unlikely that either elected officials or state employees can expect a raise anytime soon. 

Governor warns of ‘tough budget year’ ahead for state agencies

Key Points: 
  • State agencies submitted budget requests for fiscal year 2027
  • Requests include salary increases, new task forces, advertising campaigns and more
  • Hobbs has already warned agencies it will be a challenging budget year

Arizona’s state agencies have submitted their budget requests for fiscal year 2027 to Gov. Katie Hobbs, kicking off next year’s spending process. 

State agencies are asking the governor and Legislature to bankroll an array of new initiatives. Those include salary increases for state employees, a Human Trafficking Task Force, gambling prevention measures, advertising campaigns and more. 

But the FY2027 budget process has been complicated by federal spending and tax cuts enacted by President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and the depletion of federal Covid recovery dollars. The Governor’s Office urged agencies in July to cap requests from the state’s general fund at no more than a 2% increase from what they were appropriated from the general fund in the FY2026 budget.

“We’re facing a tough budget year and we’re faced with a lot of uncertainty coming from the federal government,” Hobbs said. “We want to act responsibly and ensure that we’re safeguarding taxpayer dollars and not increasing budgets to a level that’s not sustainable, knowing that we’re going into a tough year.”

Sen. John Kavanagh, who chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee and shepherded the budget through this year, said he expects the state will have little to no extra funds next year. Though, he said, that could be a blessing in diguise.

“It makes it easier,” Kavanagh said. “You can’t argue over nothing.” 

Hobbs’ office will use the agency budget requests to create the executive budget she will present to the Legislature in January 2026 for the FY2027 budget year. Funding would begin next July 1. Here is what agencies are hoping to get from the state budget next year.

Attorney General

Attorney General Kris Mayes outlined six budget priorities that will require an additional $6.5 million from the general fund in FY2027.

First, Mayes is asking for $1.9 million per year from the general fund and $3.4 million per year from other fee-based funds at her disposal to support a 5% salary increase for attorneys, agents and legal staff. 

Mayes’ office is also hoping to use $1.7 million from the general fund to create nine new positions to support fentanyl prosecutions, which are on the rise in the state. The proposed three prosecutors, two investigators and four support staff “will allow the AGO to prosecute more fentanyl distributors and reduce case backlogs, accelerate charging decisions, and increase conviction rates.” 

The attorney general also wants $2.3 million from the general fund and ten new staff positions to create a Human Trafficking Task Force. It would focus on identifying and rescuing victims, coordinating investigations with other jurisdictions, prosecuting traffickers and connecting survivors with care and support. 

Secretary of State

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes did not abide by Hobbs’ 2% general fund increase limit and is asking for nearly $21 million for ten different funding priorities in both FY2026 and FY2027. 

Fontes’ biggest ask is $9.4 million and seven new staff positions in the current fiscal year to address aging cybersecurity infrastructure, which led to a cyberattack on the agency’s candidate portal earlier this year. He is also requesting $3.7 million per year starting in FY2027 for cybersecurity.

Fontes also wants $8 million to administer the 2026 election, $350,000 for a security detail for himself and $750,000 for conflict counsel when Mayes’ office cannot represent his agency, among other administrative requests. 

The Corporation Commission

The Arizona Corporation Commission, tasked with regulating the state’s utility companies, railroads, pipelines and securities, is asking for around $825,000 from the state’s general fund in FY2027. The money will go toward a new staff position dedicated to federal energy issues and upkeep for the commission’s online document filing system. 

The commission also offered three different proposals for funding its Railroad Safety Program, which it noted has been underfunded for more than a decade. According to the commission’s budget request, the Railroad Safety Program has been supplemented by the Utility Assessment fee, which is meant to fund the commission’s utilities division.

Additionally, the commission plans to ask the Legislature to increase the limit of the Utility Assessment. The fee, which collects 0.25% of operating revenues over $500,000 from the state’s utilities, funds about half of the commission’s operations and the Residential Utility Consumer Office. 

In its budget request, the commission said the current Utility Assessment is no longer bringing in enough revenue to sustain the commission’s utility division and RUCO, a separate agency dedicated to representing utility customers in rate cases. 

The Judicial Branch

Arizona’s courts are also asking for salary increases for their employees, according to the budget request from the Administrative Office of the Courts. It is asking for $5.8 million per year from the general fund to implement a 10% salary increase across the state court system. 

“Our latest review found that Judicial Branch employees are paid 19% below the comparable court job market, making it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain a skilled workforce,” the budget request notes.

In addition to the salary increases, the courts want $100,000 more per year for security, $15,000 more per year to operate the Commission on Judicial Conduct and a one-time $10.1 million appropriation for probation officer payroll. 

The Department of Environmental Quality

The agency tasked with keeping Arizona’s water, air and environment clean sent a laundry list of requests to Hobbs’ office, detailing 18 different funding priorities for FY2027. Its largest ask is a $9.5 million ongoing request to fully fund the Water Quality Fee Fund, which provides money to several different areas of the department.

ADEQ is also asking for around $3.9 million to backfill Clean Air Act funding that was cut by the federal rescission package passed in July.

“These reductions would likely result in Arizona not meeting multiple requirements of the Clean Air Act,” the budget request states. 

The Department of Gaming

The Department of Gaming isn’t seeking an increase in its general fund appropriation for FY2027, but it will ask the Legislature to expand its spending authority so it can develop new programs to prevent problem gambling.

According to ADG’s budget request, it wants to spend nearly $1 million to expand programs at the Division of Problem Gambling. ADG has several ideas for support programs, including a peer recovery program, financial counseling services and an Arizona College Athlete Wellbeing Program.

The funding would come from the department’s Division of Problem Gambling Sub Fund, which is collected from the gambling industry and tribal gaming enterprises. 

The Department of Water Resources

After lawmakers and Hobbs came to a compromise on Ag-to-Urban groundwater legislation this session, the Department of Water Resources says it will need around $300,000 from the state’s general fund and three new staff positions to implement the program. 

ADWR’s budget request notes that it will likely need more than 20 new staff positions in the coming years to help landowners transition their farm land into urban land that can be used for housing. 

The department is also requesting $200,000 from the general fund and two new staff positions to support the regulation of the state’s seven Active Management Areas, basins where groundwater usage is heavily monitored and governed.

The Department of Forestry and Fire Management

The department charged with fighting Arizona’s wildfires is sounding the alarm on its lack of funding, requesting $27 million in general fund money and changes to state statutes to ensure it can continue fire suppression efforts.

The request details a “funding cliff created by state statute” due to an outdated funding formula and requirements that prevent the Legislature from appropriating more than $3 million from the state general fund into the fire suppression revolving fund. 

“Without sufficient funding to reimburse vendors and fire department cooperators, wildfire suppression activities would be severely hampered as most would refuse to continue to help if they weren’t getting reimbursed,” the budget request states. 

Arizona State Lottery

The state lottery system is entirely funded by the sale of lottery tickets and scratchoff games, but the agency is asking the Legislature to approve $6 million in spending from those revenues for advertising its products. According to the Lottery’s budget request, its advertising budget has not increased in the past 15 years. 

“The requested marketing funds are projected to generate up to an additional $26.6 million in transfers and will further the Lottery’s mission of maximizing funding for state programs,” Lottery Executive Director Alec Thomson said in the request.

 

Schweikert considers bid for Arizona governor

Key Points: 
  • US Rep. David Schweikert mulls running for GOP nomination for governor
  • Congressman’s chances, motive are questioned
  • Crowded Democratic field lines up in CD1 to challenge Schweikert

Arizona Congressman David Schweikert is considering entering the state’s gubernatorial race. If the decision is made official, he would join a crowded GOP lineup and vacate a congressional seat in one of the nation’s most competitive districts. 

Schweikert’s political consultant Chris Baker told Punchbowl News, a nonpartisan outlet that covers Congress, that Schweikert is mulling his chances in the race and will make a decision by the end of the month. 

A declaration to run would shake up a primary now headed by two frontrunners, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs and Karrin Taylor Robson, and add a new element to the Arizona GOP’s bid to challenge Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs. 

Some are not convinced Schweikert will make an official declaration. 

“I can’t imagine him doing that,” said GOP consultant Chuck Coughlin. “I don’t see that as being a significant play … What lane would he fill?”

Schweikert’s campaign didn’t return a request from the Arizona Capitol Times for comment.

After his first election to Congress in 2010, Schweikert has been Arizona’s longest-serving congressman. However, the 1st Congressional District he represents has only grown more competitive throughout his career. His seat has been heavily targeted by Democrats, and although he defeated Democrat Jevin Hodge in 2022 by less than 1% of votes and carried a greater margin of victory of nearly 4% against Amish Shah in 2024, his advantage remains slim. 

Arizona Freedom Caucus Republicans have expressed support for Biggs in the governor’s race. The group’s founder, Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, wrote in an Aug. 18 X post that Schweikert running would put a vulnerable House seat at risk for Republicans. 

“Schweikert can barely win his own House seat,” Hoffman wrote. “He’ll never win a statewide general (election).”

Congressional Republicans are attempting to hold on to their majorities in the U.S. House in the 2026 midterm election, and midterm elections have historically seen the White House’s majority party lose seats. 

Coughlin said Schweikert’s strategy to tease gubernatorial candidacy could be an attempt to negotiate for something in Congress. 

Shah, a former Democratic representative in the state House, is running again to challenge Schweikert. His campaign has already jumped on Schweikert’s consideration for governor as an opportunity to raise funds in text messages from the campaign on Aug. 18. 

“(Schweikert) knows he can’t defend his record against a strong Democratic challenger like Dr. Amish Shah,” Shah’s campaign wrote. “When he shows up, Schweikert keeps voting for policies that hurt working families — from the ‘Big Ugly Billionaire Bill’ that slashed Medicaid and raised health care costs, to an agenda that drives up inflation and strains Arizona’s rural hospitals.”

Only one Republican other than Schweikert, Brandon Sproles, has filed a statement of interest for the GOP nomination in CD1 by Aug. 20.

By contrast, twelve Democrats have filed statements of interest to try to win the Democratic nomination and challenge Schweikert, including Shah and Marlene Galán-Woods, who lost to Shah in the 2024 Democratic primary race. 

Other Democrats who are considering running in the district include Andres Barraza, the former Tempe Union High School District governing board president who recently gave up his leadership position to focus on his congressional run; and voting rights activist and attorney Mark Gordon Robert. 

Democrats have lost some ground in voter registration in CD1 since 2022, according to registration statistics compiled by the Secretary of State’s Office. 

During Schweikert’s narrow victory over Hodge in 2022, 37% of voters in the district were registered as Republicans, while about 33% were “other” and 28% of voters were registered Democrats. 

The most recent voter registration statistics from July 2025 show 38% of voters are registered Republicans, while registered Democrats have fallen to 26%. And 33% of registered voters are other and the No Labels, Libertarian and Green parties have less than 1% of voters for each party. 

Arizona PBS faces potential FCC probe over alleged bias in 2022 election

Key Points:
  • Senate President Warren Petersen has asked the FCC to investigate Arizona PBS
  • Arizona PBS allegedly favored Gov. Katie Hobbs over Kari Lake in 2022 election
  • A specialist says TV the station is unlikely to have its license revoked

Senate President Warren Petersen wants the Federal Communications Commission to investigate and potentially revoke Arizona PBS’s broadcast license after an Arizona Republic story revealed the station appeared to favor Gov. Katie Hobbs over Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake in 2022.

However, if the FCC were to take any action against the Phoenix public television station, it would more likely result in a fine than a revocation of its license due to First Amendment protections.

And a fine for a local station would also stray from the usual precedent, since the FCC usually focuses on the major networks, said Scott Flick, an attorney with Washington D.C.-based Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, who heads the firm’s communications practice.

If the FCC did investigate, the agency would have to find that Arizona PBS violated its requirement to operate in the public interest, Flick said.

Petersen sent a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Aug. 12 claiming the station broke a longstanding tradition and a contractual rule with the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, which is authorized by state law to host the debates.

The rule called for the station to offer a one-on-one interview to the candidate who agreed to debate when their opponent declines to participate. Instead, the station offered interviews to both Hobbs and Lake.

“Arizona PBS broke this long-standing debate tradition and its contractual obligations for political reasons during the 2022 general election for governor. Like she had during the primary, Katie Hobbs ducked the debate with her opponent, Kari Lake,” Petersen said in the letter.

Both The Arizona Republic story and Petersen’s letter highlighted how the decision to offer interviews to both candidates was influenced by Arizona State University President Michael Crow and Mi-Ai Parrish, managing director of ASU’s Media Enterprise, which oversees the station. 

ASU holds the station’s broadcast license. 

Petersen’s letter cited a 1998 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that stated “a broadcaster cannot grant or deny access to a candidate debate on the basis of whether it agrees with a candidate’s views” because such viewpoint discrimination would present “an inevitability of skewing the electoral dialogue.”

“Unlike the PBS station before the Supreme Court, Arizona PBS’s actions were not “in good faith;” instead, they were “the result of political pressure from … inside” Arizona PBS and were “an attempted manipulation of the political process,” according to Petersen’s letter.

Petersen’s complaint would likely fall under the FCC’s news distortion policy. This previously dormant rule was resurrected earlier this year when the agency reinstated a complaint against CBS News’ “60 Minutes” after an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, Flick said.

“If they basically said that you had interviewed one of the candidates and edited it in a way that made the candidate look better or made it look worse, that would be similar to what the accusation is about the 60 Minutes interview,” he said.

Petersen’s letter referred to the “60 Minutes” interview, along with ABC News’ election debate between former President Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump, which is also the target of a reinstated FCC complaint.

However, the complaint request against Arizona PBS doesn’t appear to reach that threshold since Hobbs and Lake were both offered interviews, Flick said.

“The FCC requires that licensees operate in the public interest, which includes, obviously, providing local news and information,” he said.

Revocations are even more rare and would likely be linked to a station operator committing a more “horrific” crime than violating the news distortion policy, especially since broadcasters are protected by the First Amendment and any revocation could be challenged in court, he said.

“I’m not sure there’s anyone alive today that could point to a license revocation under the news distortion rule,” he said.

Arizona PBS alluded to its licensing requirements in a statement posted on a webpage explaining why the station decided to offer both candidates an interview.

“When Hobbs decided not to debate Lake, the Clean Election Commission’s plan to proceed with a one-party debate conflicted with Arizona PBS’s licensing requirements,” according to the webpage. “Arizona PBS was prepared to move ahead with a different format with the Clean Elections Commission to allow each candidate to speak and be interviewed about their candidacy on Arizona PBS. Hobbs chose to accept the interview invitation. Lake ultimately decided not to do so.”

Although an investigation may appear unlikely, there has still been an increase in these investigations since Donald Trump reclaimed the presidency in January.

“There’s certainly an uptick in them,” Flick said. “The fact that none have led to a resolution so far has led many people to state that it’s more about keeping pressure on broadcasters to be careful about what content they air than it is to take away their licenses.”

State agencies told to limit budget requests due to looming federal funding cuts

Key Points:
  • Gov. Katie Hobbs’ budget director sent a letter to state agency heads imposing a limit on fiscal year 2027 general fund requests
  • Agencies can request an increase of “no more than 2%” of their FY2026 allocation for FY2027 due to a “federal fiscal cliff”
  • Hobbs’ spokesman Christian Slater blamed the limit on the passage of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”

The Governor’s Office is instructing state agencies to significantly limit their budget requests for fiscal year 2027 due to federal funding uncertainties.

A letter sent by Gov. Katie Hobbs’ budget director, Ben Henderson, to state agency heads on July 18 instructed all agencies to cap their FY2027 budget requests from the state’s general fund to no more than a 2% increase from what they were appropriated from the general fund in the FY2026 budget.

“It is imperative that we approach FY2027 with a sense of caution and realism. This is not the year to ask for significant investments from the General Fund,” Henderson wrote.

Agencies are in the midst of developing their budget requests for FY2027, which begins July 1, 2026,  and those requests must be provided to the Governor’s Office by Sept. 2. Hobbs’ Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting will then use those requests to create the executive budget the governor presents to the Legislature at the start of each legislative session.

In a statement, Hobbs’ spokesman Christian Slater blamed the limit on the “reckless actions of the Trump administration” and the recently passed federal reconciliation bill that included several spending and tax cuts. 

“H.R. 1 slashes funding for critical services Arizonans rely on while overloading the state with bureaucracy and red tape that will cost significant taxpayer dollars,” Slater said. “While the federal government raises costs, cuts funding and kills jobs even as their deficit explodes, Governor Hobbs is prepared to deliver a balanced budget that protects critical services and provides the opportunity, security and freedom Arizonans rely on.”

Henderson’s letter also noted that the uncertainties at the federal level come as pandemic-era stimulus funding is running out, creating a “cliff in federal funding unlike anything in recent history.” 

“We will do everything we can to mitigate the impacts of these decisions, but it is important to set an expectation with your staff and stakeholders that the state is unable to shoulder such a large gap in federal support,” Henderson wrote. 

Hobbs has said on multiple occasions that the state does not have the revenue to backfill cuts from the federal government. There is a chance agencies could get more than they request in FY2027, but it will depend on the status of the state’s revenues and budget negotiations between lawmakers and the governor next year. 

Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Scottsdale, served as the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman this session and shepherded the FY2026 budget through the Legislature. He told the Arizona Capitol Times that he hadn’t been made aware of the 2% limit but isn’t entirely opposed to it.

“I applaud the conservative and realistic approach that the Governor’s Office is taking, although I’m not sure if a flat 2% is wise, given that some agencies might be able to weather cuts and others might need an increase of more than 2%,” Kavanagh said. 

The 2% limit will impose significant restrictions on agencies, many of which operate on large sums from the state’s general fund. An agency like the Department of Public Safety, which will see over $300 million in General Fund appropriations in FY2026, may only ask for around $5.7 million more to work with in FY2027. 

Smaller agencies will have even less to work with. The Department of Agriculture, which will receive approximately $14 million in FY2026, will be limited to requesting up to $350,000 more from the general fund in FY2027. 

The letter from Henderson notes that any new state revenues will likely be devoted to funding caseload growth at the state’s human services agencies, state employee health insurance and other spending required by various court injunctions. 

Henderson also warned of more potential cuts, given Congress has yet to pass a budget for federal fiscal year 2026. Agencies are being asked to develop proposals for finding “savings, offsets, and other efficiencies.”

Those could include eliminating ineffective programs, developing new private sector partnerships or creating new earned revenue streams like fees. Nearly every agency collects fees from services they provide that help sustain the operations for those services, and the Governor’s Office is not expecting any impact on the fees. 

Correction: Clarified that agencies budgets increases will be capped at 2%, rather than whole budgets.

Karrin Taylor Robson edges out Andy Biggs in fundraising for 2026 governor bid

Key Point:
  • Robson reports $575,000 in individual donations and $2,500 from PACs
  • Biggs receiving outside funding support from political action committees
  • Incumbent Democrat Katie Hobbs has nearly $4.7 million cash on hand

Karrin Taylor Robson has edged out Andy Biggs in campaign fundraising for their upcoming bid for the Republican nominee for governor in 2026.

However, the donations tell only part of the story as each hopes to take on incumbent Democrat Katie Hobbs, who is seeking another four-year term.

New reports filed on July 21 show Robson, who made an unsuccessful bid to become the GOP nominee in 2022, listing nearly $575,000 in individual donations and another $2,500 from political action committees.

Biggs, a former state senator and now a member of Congress, had about $429,000 in donations. He also has $50,000 left over from a former campaign for the Legislature.

Robson, however, reports she loaned her campaign more than $2.2 million in the past quarter following an extensive media campaign that virtually all of it touting her endorsement from Donald Trump. In fact, her report states that it has spent $2.2 million on advertising.

So, even with that self-borrowed money, her cash on hand is now about $876,000.

This isn’t the first time Robson, who has never held elected office, has self-funded an election. She loaned herself $16.9 million in 2022 in her unsuccessful bid to be the GOP nominee, only to lose to Kari Lake — who, in turn, lost the general election to Hobbs.

Biggs, off to a slower start, spent only about $180,000 in the past three months, with most of that amount going toward mailing services and consultants. That leaves him with about $437,000 in the bank.

But Biggs has the lead on something that doesn’t show up in his report: Spending on his behalf.

Turning Point Action, which supports conservative candidates, reported it has already spent nearly $459,000 on behalf of Biggs. That includes $352,00 for TV ads.

Much of the PAC’s funds were funneled through 1Ten LLC, owned by state Sen. Jake Hoffman, a Queen Creek Republican who heads the Arizona Freedom Caucus. Hoffman describes his operation as a full-service agency handling everything from TV, radio and cable TV ads to social media and mail.

These independent expenditures are not subject to state law limitations. There is only a requirement they be listed and that the organizations behind them cannot coordinate with the candidate.

Robson is also getting the benefit of outside spending, this from Building a Better Arizona, a political action committee that was formed specifically to help Robson get the nomination. Former state Senate President Karen Fann chairs it.

In a January press release, Fann said she and Robert Graham, former chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, believe Robson has the best chance of ousting the incumbent, something that “has not happened in over 60 years.”

In her own report, Hobbs reported receipts of $1.3 million. That includes nearly $53,000 from Copper State Values, a separate political action committee set up to spend money on her behalf for election related “shared expenses.”

Her spending in the past quarter was close to $810,000, leaving her with nearly $4.7 million cash on hand.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the dollar amount of Biggs’ campaign donations.

Session Wrap: Gov. Hobbs on 2025’s victories and ongoing battles

Gov. Katie Hobbs managed to score legislative wins and sign a bipartisan budget during her third legislative session on the Ninth Floor, but not without lengthy battles with Republicans and a new veto record.

Hobbs sat down with the Arizona Capitol Times to recap what she calls a “very successful session” that saw movement on groundwater legislation, extended funding for individuals with developmental disabilities and the passage of a $17.6 billion budget.

But several issues were left on the table when lawmakers adjourned at the end of June, like school voucher reform, education funding and affordable housing initiatives. The governor hopes more can be done to address those areas when the Legislature reconvenes in 2026.

What do you consider your biggest wins of this session?

When we saved the funding for the developmentally disabled population, I think that set a really good tone for the budget. But in and of itself, it was a huge win. And we all watched these families come to the Capitol day after day, and the House Republicans refusing to give them a chance to speak in committee. I had a round table and just heard their stories. It was gut wrenching, and that’s why it was such a priority to save that program, and we did. I think my best day of the session was when we had that bill signing.

Some of your priorities weren’t addressed this session, which are you hoping to keep working on?

First of all, I’m really focused on what we did get done. If you look at the budget that we passed, and what I talked about in my State of the State — laying out the “Arizona Promise” — we covered a lot of those priorities. Giving state police and firefighters a much needed raise, continuing local border support and efforts on border security, investing in child care, Homes for Heroes. So there’s certainly a lot we can build on. Obviously, we didn’t get any reforms on ESAs, and that’s still going to be a priority, as well as getting a Prop. 123 to the voters that invests in public education and gives teachers a raise, I think that’s a huge priority. And then we have more to do on housing. Housing is a big one, and Low Income Housing Tax Credits. It was really unfortunate that we couldn’t get a champion there but we’re not giving up. And the rural groundwater reform is also still critical. I certainly am really proud of the work we did on the urban groundwater with the Ag-to-Urban bill, but making sure that we’re not taking that as a win and going away because rural groundwater is still a really critical issue.

What kind of changes are you hoping to see in the state’s ESA program?

Everything’s on the table. I think the plan we proposed this year was very reasonable, and something that even supporters of the program could get behind. We’re not trying to eliminate the program. We want it to go back to its original purpose and help kids with disabilities, kids in low-performing schools. The more reporting we see on the abuses, the more ammunition, for lack of a better word, it gives a reasonable proposal. It’s really mind boggling to me that Republicans want to continue to defend these abuses.

It seemed like groundwater was also going to go unaddressed this session, but the Ag-to-Urban bill came in at the last minute. What did it take to get that to the finish line?

I think it was having Senator (T.J.) Shope as the champion, and him being willing to usher that through. Last year, the bill that got to my desk … it was rushed through, and it wasn’t the right compromise. And so we came back to the table. The legislative process is always weird, and sometimes things just sail through, and sometimes they stop, and then at the end is when you see the flurry of activity. I’m really glad we got the compromise that worked to make this a good program, and I think it just took the leadership of Senator Shope to get it done.

A few of the bills you signed this session had Democratic opposition and aligned with policies proposed by conservative groups. What was the reasoning there?

I have focused on not looking at the partisan solutions, but things that are addressing problems. An example is the age verification for online content. I vetoed a similar bill last year, and I’ve heard from more and more parents who are really concerned about content that their kids are exposed to. And this seemed like the right balance, and I have no idea that it was possibly aligned with right-wing things. To me, it’s something that’s addressing an issue that a lot of parents are struggling with.

I have to ask about the veto record. Why do you feel like that isn’t the best way to measure your legislative effectiveness?

There was definitely an orchestrated attempt to run up the score on that veto record. Like I vetoed bills this year that I vetoed one or two times before, and nothing’s changed about the bill or my position on it. I’ve been really clear, I’m going to be a backstop against extreme legislation that attacks fundamental freedoms of Arizonans. And a lot of those bills did that. But I think if you point to the work that we did, when people are willing to come to the table and compromise, we can get big things done. Ag-to-Urban, the DDD funding, the Axon bill, the Diamondbacks bill, the bipartisan budget — those are all things that have impact and and those are fewer and further between than the partisan stuff that goes on. Being willing to stay at the table is a lot harder than just ramming something through that you know is going to get vetoed. And I didn’t come here to veto bills, but I’m going to continue to be the backstop when I need to.

You had to play hardball this session with your bill moratorium and vetoing two different budgets. How do you feel about those decisions looking back?

What we saw with the developmental disability funding and with the two House rogue budgets (was) that they decided that they didn’t have to work together and that they could just do whatever they wanted and not need my support. But I’m the person that signs bills into law, and it seemed like they weren’t willing to understand that. Hopefully now they do.

What lessons did you learn from this session and what lessons do you hope the Legislature learned?

We had a very successful session, and I think it’s because we’ve been willing to do the hard work of staying at the table, not just our office, but legislators on both sides of the aisle. We worked really hard to have support on both sides of the aisle for our budget. I think this may be the most successful budget we’ve had of the three. It’s just that compromise is important and it’s important to stay at the table even when it gets really hard. And I don’t know that those are lessons that were learned or just reconfirmed again this year.

Gov. Hobbs looking to 2026 for action on housing, water and education

Key Points:
  • Governor believes this year’s session was successful
  • Law enforcement pay, urban groundwater and budget shortfalls
  • Some of Hobbs’ priorities still unaddressed

With Arizona in its third year of divided government, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs was forced once again to work alongside the Republican-controlled Legislature to advance her policy and budget goals. Despite months of contention, the governor managed to eke out a few wins.

Despite uneasy compromises, Hobbs told the Arizona Capitol Times that she thought the 2025 session was particularly productive, and even hailed the recently passed $17.6 billion budget as “the most successful budget we’ve had” in her time as governor.

“I’m really focused on what we did get done…” Hobbs said. “There’s certainly a lot we can build on.”

The governor cited approval of emergency funding for the Division of Developmental Disabilities, a process which included nearly a month of heated negotiations with Republicans, partisan attacks on her fiscal responsibility, and a mini-crisis which nearly halted payments to parents of children with disabilities, as her best day of the session.

Her office also touted a few more legislative victories, including the passage of an Ag-to-Urban groundwater bill, a bipartisan compromise on foreign adversaries owning land in the state, a funding bill for the Arizona Diamondbacks stadium and legislation allowing local company Axon to build its new headquarters in Scottsdale.

But Hobbs and legislative Democrats failed to make progress on several key priorities, like oversight for the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program and the repeal of several unenforceable abortion restrictions still in law after voter approval of Prop. 139. Those areas were both outlined in the governor’s State of the State speech in January, but did not see any movement.

Hobbs’ office proposed an income cap on the ESA program to reduce its cost, but that provision wasn’t implemented via legislation or through the budget. Hobbs said she isn’t planning on giving up on reform for the program and will come back to the table with similar ideas in 2026.

The session also lacked meaningful legislation in the areas of affordable housing and rural groundwater management, though not for lack of trying on both the part of the governor’s office and the Legislature. Hobbs said conversations in those areas stalled late in the session and have not yet picked back up. 

The governor also signed several bills that put her at odds with her own party members and activists who have argued she capitulated to right-wing interests. The two most contentious bills for fellow Democrats involved a public utility company financing measure and an age verification requirement for explicit online content.

“Certainly a lot of legislation is political, and I certainly don’t think about it through that lens,” Hobbs said. “I’m looking at what’s going to address issues that Arizonans are concerned about.”

The governor did score wins in budget negotiations and secured funding in many of the areas she outlined in her executive budget proposal. However, due to the size of the state’s revenue streams and uncertainty at the federal level, many of her initiatives did not receive nearly the amount of funding she proposed.

The bipartisan budget included funding for law enforcement raises, drug smuggling and human trafficking prevention at the southern border, expanded child care access, the DDD program and Colorado River litigation. But it didn’t extend the Low Income Housing Tax Credit or provide nearly as much funding as Hobbs proposed for housing initiatives.

“When we first passed the Low Income Housing Tax Credits, that had bipartisan support and we really need a Republican champion to get that done again,” Hobbs said. “I’m not sure why it wasn’t there this session.” 

The final budget also left out smaller, niche proposals the governor included, like $7 million in funding for the University of Arizona to speed up efforts to return the remains of Native American ancestors to their tribes. 

The governor also made headlines this session for implementing her first-ever bill moratorium during the funding battle for the DDD program and for setting a new state veto record. Hobbs said she hopes both moves show Republicans that she means business when it comes to standing up for Arizonans. 

Hobbs did score some wins in another area: director nominations. Twelve of her nominees to lead state agencies were confirmed this session after many faced difficulties in the Senate in 2023.

She still has six director positions to fill after several were rejected by the Senate or its Director Nominations Committee or withdrawn because they would not be confirmed. Hobbs said, “it continues to be frustrating” that the confirmation process will extend into the final year of her first term as governor. 

Both Hobbs and the Legislature will have a lot to focus on when the body reconvenes in January 2026, including Proposition 123 funding and federal Medicaid cuts. And they will do it all while staring down the barrel of the midterm election season, during which Republicans hope to oust the governor. 

Hobbs’ appointee gets new $170K contract at DES amid staff layoffs

Key Points:
  • Dana Allmond to receive $170,000-a-year contract renewal at DES
  • The agency recently eliminated 5% of staff due to federal grant reductions 
  • An opponent of Hobbs calls the contract a ‘slush fund’ for governor’s friends
Dana Allmond (2023 photo from Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services)

Dana Allmond is going to get another $170,000-a-year contract in a job created by the Hobbs administration after the governor replaced her as head of the Department of Veterans’ Services.

The Department of Economic Security confirmed to Capitol Media Services that it is renewing the contract for Almond to be a “senior executive consultant” for the agency. Christian Slater, press aide to Gov. Katie Hobbs, said she is part of the DES “senior engagement team” helping veterans access the services they need from the agency.

The new contract comes as DES has just announced the elimination of 5% of its regular staff due to both the reduction of federal grants and the federal government’s shifting of costs to the state. The fired workers got a 2 1/2-week notice with their final day last week, just days after Allmond’s new contract took effect.

Slater, however, said that development is irrelevant to Allmond’s new contract.

“The workforce reduction at DES was an unfortunate consequence of the Trump administration’s reckless cuts that endanger DES’s work to combat fraud and efficiently deliver the critical services Arizonans rely on,” he said.

And what of the money being spent — not only on Allmond, but on a $114,00-a-year separate contract for Marcus Trombetta, to work with her, while DES staffers are losing their jobs?

“To conflate the two is nonsensical,” Slater said.

This is her third position with the state in less than three years.

Hobbs hand picked Allmond in 2023 to run the Department of Veterans’ Services after the Marana Democrat, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, lost a 2022 bid for the Legislature.

Last year, the governor had a fight with Sen. Jake Hoffman and the Republican-led Senate over getting her nominees approved, including Allmond. After a judge ruled that the governor had illegally avoided the required Senate confirmation, Hobbs agreed to resubmit most of their names for proper consideration.

Allmond, however, was not on that list.

Instead, Hobbs withdrew her nomination and replaced her with John F. Scott, who had been her deputy. Allmond was demoted to deputy but allowed to keep the same $170,000 salary.

Then, at the beginning of this year, DES created a new position for her, also at the same salary.

The issue came up earlier this year when Michael Wisehart, appointed to head DES, was quizzed during his own confirmation hearings. Hoffman, who chairs the Committee on Director Nominations, asked him about what exactly Allmond was being paid to do.

Wisehart responded that she was going to help connect veterans with services.

Hoffman countered that was the responsibility of the Department of Veterans’ Services. Wisehart did not dispute that, but said DES also has programs that work with veterans.

Wisehart also made it clear during that hearing that hiring Allmond wasn’t his doing. He said she was already under contract when Hobbs named him DES director in January.

The renewed contract caught Hoffman’s attention.

“Katie Hobbs’ jaw-dropping, nearly $600,000, handout of taxpayer money to a former Democrat politician and her assistant for newly invented jobs reeks of corruption,” he told Capitol Media Services.

And Hoffman noted that, unlike the first contract, the renewal came while Wisehart was in charge.

“Wisehart could previously wipe his hands of Hobbs treating Arizona’s government like her personal friends-and-family slush fund,” he said.

And now?

“He’s lost his ability to distance himself from her corrupt and wasteful hiring schemes,” Hoffman said.

But Slater, defending the contract renewal, said that Allmond and Trombly are needed even though DES already has a program designed to help veterans and eligible spouses obtain employment and job training.

“As many veterans continue to face economic challenges, this is important work that will help Arizona better serve the brave men and women who served us,” he said. Slater said the pair are helping military veterans and their families “navigate the range of services available to them, and identifying barriers they face in obtaining assistance.”

However, he would only dismiss as “nonsensical” any questions about why the state awarded new contracts to the pair during the layoffs.

Wisehart said those layoffs were necessary.

“We have been closely monitoring our fiscal situation with a strong commitment to avoiding staff reductions,” Wisehart said in a statement prepared for Capitol Media Services about the job cuts. “Despite implementing cost-saving measures to maintain workforce stability while addressing budget constraints, the financial challenges have persisted, making it impossible to sustain our current staffing levels.”

And that will affect the Arizonans whom the agency is supposed to serve, not just with job training and unemployment compensation, but also other DES-administered programs like food stamps.

“We cannot compensate for millions in funding cuts without significant impacts to clients,” he said.

Layoffs alone may not solve the agency’s financial issues.

Generally speaking, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is paid for with federal dollars, with the states sharing in the cost of administration.

Now, the new federal budget is shifting a greater cost to the state, boosting administrative costs to the state by $38 million, to $113 million.

And the federal budget also includes a new charge to states based on their payment “error rates.” Here, too, DES is expected to absorb about $115 million a year.

Hobbs signs ‘Ag-to-Urban’ bill, paves way for new water management in Arizona

Key Points:
  • New law expected to conserve groundwater
  • Could spur homebuilding in Phoenix, Pinal County
  • Despite bipartisan support, some foes raise concerns

Legislation designed to save huge amounts of water by allowing farmers across central Arizona to sell their land and associated groundwater rights to developers was signed into law on June 30 by Gov. Katie Hobbs.

The Democrat said the legislation will preserve the state’s limited supply of groundwater while allowing growth to continue, create jobs and help lower the price of new homes. 

Senate Bill 1611 was prompted by a moratorium on issuing new certificates of 100-year assured water supplies to builders. That initiative was imposed in 2023 over the Pinal and Phoenix “active management areas.” It didn’t bar new buildings if the area was served by an existing water supplier.

The halt that triggered screams from homebuilders was prompted by new analyses from the Arizona Department of Water Resources showing there just wasn’t enough groundwater to support new housing. 

Although the new law only initially applies to the Phoenix and Pinal AMAs created by the state’s landmark 1980 Groundwater Management Act, the Tucson AMA could be added to the new Ag-to-Urban program if a similar moratorium on development is issued there.

Builders in outlying areas of Maricopa and Pinal counties are increasingly relying on groundwater instead of Colorado River or Salt River Project supplies, and the moratorium halted developments in parts of Buckeye and Queen Creek and other far-flung suburban areas. 

But the state has faced cutbacks in its Colorado River supply and is fighting to avoid much steeper cuts as federal officials work on new allocations among the western states that tap into the river. Long-term drought and climate change have lowered the amount of water in the river. 

Hobbs was joined by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in touting the legislation she called “historic.”

“The Ag-to-Urban water conservation legislation shows what we can achieve when state policymakers come together to focus on solving the problems that Arizonans care about most,” Hobbs said in a statement. “Arizona has long led the country in water management, and today we have shown that we will continue this legacy of addressing our most pressing challenges.” 

While there was bipartisan support for the measure, not everyone was happy.

Hobbs faced some criticism for not using the builders’ push for the Ag-to-Urban law as leverage to secure new groundwater rules in rural areas like Cochise and Mohave counties not currently in an active management area. But she said in the June 30 statement that she is not giving up on efforts to stop overpumping in those areas by large corporate farms that have moved into Arizona in recent years.

“I will continue fighting to protect groundwater in rural Arizona so every community throughout our state will know they have the tools they need to secure their water future,” she said

The legislation passed the Senate on a 26-4 vote and the House by a slimmer, but still bipartisan, 35-20 margin. Hobbs negotiated with Republican lawmakers led by Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, to reach a deal after vetoing a similar measure last year over concerns it would not actually save water.

“The Ag-to-Urban plan represents nearly two years of painstaking negotiations between the Legislature, the executive, stakeholders, water experts, water users, and community leaders,” Shope said. “I’m proud of the end result.”

He also touted the law’s potential impacts on home prices and said it also will allow farmers who are ready to retire cash out while cutting overall water use.

The law limits pumping from former farms to 1.5 acre-feet per acre a year in the Phoenix AMA and 1 acre-foot a year in the Pinal AMA. Farms in the area currently pump about three times that much water, said Spencer Kamps, a lobbyist for the Home Builders of Southern Arizona, which pushed for the bill. 

An acre foot is about 326,000 gallons – enough water to cover an acre of land one foot deep and, more to the point, typically enough to supply three homes.

Homebuilders have been pushing for higher density developments to lower costs for buyers. Kamps said the small pumping allocation will be a challenge.

“This is a new program and time will tell about the success of that program,” Kamps said. “We’ve done a lot of analysis about projects getting through at 1.5 (acre-feet per year) and we’re concerned about that because it’s such a low water amount.” 

Kamps also noted that many of the developers who have been targeted on the far western fringes of the metro Phoenix area won’t be helped because they’re desert areas with no nearby farmland. That’s because the law requires land initially to be within a mile of the farm it would be getting its water from.

Despite the wide vote margin, there were critics in the Legislature, including Rep. Chris Mathis, D-Tucson. 

Although Mathis said this year’s version of the bill is much better than the one Hobbs vetoed last year, he opposed it because of new groundwater replenishment rules that Ag-to-Urban will trigger.

Farmland owners generally are not required to put water into the ground to make up for what they pump. But new homes that rely on groundwater do, and that is the job of the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District, known as CAGRD. 

The district is overseen by the Central Arizona Project, which has a massive canal that transports water from the Colorado River to Phoenix and then south to Tucson. The district has relied on that water to recharge aquifers in the region.

The district has seen cutbacks in its river water supplies and doesn’t have extra water to cover additional areas, Mathis said.

“There are already structural concerns with the CAGRD system,” Mathis said.

“There’s just no way to do this Ag-to-Urban program without adding a significant amount of new replenishment obligation onto the already fully subscribed CAGRD system,” he said. “And so for that reason, I don’t think we ought to be doing it.”

A Senate Democrat from Tucson, minority leader Priya Sundareshan, had a different take, saying details in the new law assured her it was a good move for all concerned and will lower groundwater use. 

“Importantly, it contains many key guardrails designed to ensure that groundwater savings will be achieved over the next 100 years as a result of this program,” she said. “I am pleased that the various parties were able to reach agreement here, and we must continue to strengthen our state groundwater management, including by supporting our replenishment obligations and by protecting rural groundwater.”

Whether the measure will actually lead to large tracts of agricultural lands being converted is unknown, said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University.

She said the moratorium created the unintended consequence of preventing farmers from retiring their land and cutting water use, and SB1611 would remove that disincentive. Builders have been buying up agricultural land to use for homes for decades, and now will be able to do so again.

But it isn’t clear just how much the new law will come into play in the coming years.

“The estimations of the acres of land that are available are really significant,” Porter said, with “hundreds of thousands of acres of land that essentially are available to do it.”

But that still leaves the restriction that new homes must be within a mile of the farm from which the water was retired.

“But that may not be land that anyone cares about acquiring to do this kind of development,” Porter said.

Gov. Hobbs visits the MVD for a Real ID license before May 7 deadline

Key Points:
  • Real ID required for commercial flights starting May 7, 2025
  • Governor Hobbs obtained a Real ID despite special travel privileges
  • MVD reports 85% of those getting a license are getting Real IDs

Real ID has been available in Arizona since 2015, but it took until May 1 for Gov. Katie Hobbs to obtain her own travel document. 

And none too soon: The Transportation Security Administration says that, beginning May 7, travelers will need that or other documents if they want to board a commercial flight. “There’s nothing like a deadline to spur people into action,” the governor said. 

Functionally, however, that deadline really doesn’t apply to her — at least not yet. One of the perks of the office is that the sitting governor can skip the line and be flown around the state and region in aircraft owned by the Department of Public Safety. But Hobbs acknowledged that eventually, she will no longer be the state’s chief executive, and those perks will disappear. So, this past Thursday, she showed up at a Motor Vehicle Division office, passport, bank statement, and W-2 form in hand, to obtain her Real ID. “Most people who fly are used to being able to use their state-issued ID to be able to get through TSA,” the governor said. “Without a Real ID-compliant (license), that won’t be the case any more.” 

There will be other options. A passport will suffice, as will a birth certificate and two other documents with the person’s current name and address. However, Hobbs said most people will likely find it more convenient to simply show the enhanced driver’s license. 

Several things are needed to get one of these. First is proof of identity, meaning an original or certified birth certificate, an unexpired U.S. passport, or a passport card. Applicants must also provide a social security number, although no document is required. Finally, there’s the requirement for two documents from different sources with a name and current Arizona residential address. Options include a utility bill, insurance policies, government documents, or credit card or bank statements. 

The MVD takes appointments online at “azmvdnow.gov,” which is much quicker than simply walking in and waiting. When everything is verified and a $25 fee is paid, there’s a new picture taken, and the license — with the special notation of a star in the upper right corner — is delivered in about a week. 

The May 7 deadline has been a long time coming. It started with the Real ID Act of 2005, passed in the wake of attacks by terrorists who commandeered U.S. aircraft on Sept. 11, 2001. It requires states to have licenses that comply with certain security requirements. But nothing in that law could force states to comply. Arizona legislators, fearing it was tantamount to creating a national ID card, approved a measure in 2008 prohibiting the Motor Vehicle Division from producing a Real ID-compliance license. 

Karen Johnson, then a state senator from Mesa, called the licenses an unwanted intrusion into privacy, rejecting arguments that the new licenses were necessary for security. “If you want to give up your liberty for security, you’re going to end up with neither one,” she said. Former Rep. Judy Burgess of Skull Valley expressed concerns that the new licenses would have a radio-frequency-identification chip that could be read by nearby scanners. “They could embed RFID readers in federal buildings and anywhere,” she said. “And they can, essentially, track you as a citizen everywhere you go.” 

By 2015, however, some legislators became concerned when the Department of Homeland Security threatened to enforce the law banning people from boarding aircraft without a “secure” license. They agreed to make it an option for Arizonans — albeit with a specific provision barring the use of RFID technology. Hobbs, who was in the state Senate then, stated she’s not afraid of having one of the new licenses. “I think there’s been a lot of conspiracy theories, not just recently, around elections, around vaccines,” she said, just like there were about Real ID. “People don’t have a reason to be skeptical of it.” 

So what happens to would-be travelers without either a Real ID or other acceptable documents? TSA indicates that it may still be possible to board an aircraft, at least for a domestic flight. However, the agency warns that there will be additional scrutiny, with officers asking questions to verify identity. 

They say that could take hours — even if someone eventually is cleared — possibly resulting in a missed flight. All that potential hassle is apparently prompting Arizonans to take notice.

 The MVD reports that about 85% of those entering its offices are choosing to get a Real ID instead of a standard license. There is one other benefit of getting a Real ID: it means a new photo on a license, something that might be welcome for those who have never been happy with their current one. For her part, Hobbs said she thinks she’s going to like her new one. “It looked OK on the temporary one they gave me,” she said.

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