Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs calls GOP opposition to Prop 123 education funding ‘not acceptable’

PHOENIX – Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Wednesday criticized Republican lawmakers for their stance on Proposition 123 and said the state cannot continue to backfill education dollars with the general fund.

Prop 123 was a 2016 ballot measure that provided schools and teachers with an additional $300 million annually from State Land Trust Permanent Fund until it expired last summer. The Legislature must refer it to the ballot to give voters a chance to renew it.

Hobbs, a Democrat, said it plays an important role in her budget plan for the next fiscal year.

“I’ve shown how we will pay for my priorities and the role Prop 123 plays in that, which is a very important role. And the Republicans have said we’re not going to do a 123. That is not acceptable. And if they don’t want to do that, they need to show Arizonans what their plan is to invest in our schools,” Hobbs told reporters.

Prop 123 plays significant role in Gov. Katie Hobbs’ budget plan

On March 20, Hobbs’ office announced that she was cutting off budget negotiations due to the Prop 123 impasse.

Arizona Republicans are calling Hobbs’ Prop 123 plan a “raid on a critical resource” because of how much more funding she wants to take from the State Land Trust Permanent Fund for education.

Hobbs rejected that argument.

“There were concerns 10 years ago that we have addressed. … We’ve shown that the Land Trust can sustain that,” she said.

Hobbs added that she is open to discussing ways to including potential Prop 123 funding in the state budget plan, with contingencies in case voters reject it.

“We should not squander this opportunity,” she said. “I know that Arizonans are going to show up to support our public schools because they have taken quite a beating in the past 10 years since we passed Prop 123.”

However, Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman said in a post on X that his party would be “effectively underwriting” Hobbs’ reelection campaign if they cut a deal with her on Prop 123.

Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has been vocal about his support for the renewal of Prop 123, saying it would help increase teacher salaries and retention.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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