Arizona Grapples with Budget Deficit and Drought Amid Immigration Crisis

Governor Katie Hobbs Proposes Overhaul of School Voucher Program and Groundwater Laws

Arizona is facing a budget deficit of about $850 million due to a tax cut and the escalating costs of a school voucher program.
Governor Katie Hobbs has proposed changes to the voucher program, including requiring private schools that receive voucher funding to have minimum education requirements for teachers and that students attend public school for 100 days before becoming eligible for the vouchers.
Hobbs has also vowed to update laws that allow for the nearly unfettered use of groundwater in rural areas of the drought-stricken state.
The governor has criticized the federal government for closing a key port of entry along the Arizona-Mexico border due to a surge of immigrants, and has sent National Guard members to the international boundary in response to the crisis.
Hobbs has also proposed creating a new division in state government to oversee the affordability of prescription drugs, capping prices on commonly used drugs such as insulin and preventing huge price hikes.