Overview
- Tuesday negotiators led by Gov. Katie Hobbs and Republican legislative leaders announced an $18.29 billion compromise that still must win votes in both chambers and Hobbs’s signature to become law.
- The package delivers roughly $1.45 billion in tax relief spread over four years by fully conforming Arizona law to the federal tax changes, which negotiators say avoids the need for Arizonans to refile 2025 returns.
- The deal sets aside targeted dollars for public safety and services, including $112 million for corrections operations with a 4% correctional officer stipend, $58 million for child safety, $25.5 million for county supports and $4.3 million for rural hospitals.
- Lawmakers tightened eligibility checks for SNAP and the state Medicaid program while leaving the Empowerment Scholarship Account unchanged and imposing a three-year moratorium on data-center sales tax exemptions that still allows construction to proceed.
- Sponsors say the budget lowers net ongoing spending by $68 million and blocks or alters more than $3 billion in proposed executive tax increases and fees, a result that could shape state priorities and campaigns before the July primary.