Arizona Senate president on budget talks: ‘We’re pretty much 99% of the way there’

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen said Wednesday that Republicans and Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs are nearing the finish line on a new state budget.

“There’s about 500 line items that we go through, and as we finally reach a consensus we will gray those line items out. I would say we’re pretty much 99% of the way there,” Petersen told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.

Still, Petersen couldn’t predict how long it will take for a final deal to be reached.

“The last 1% can be the hardest,” he said.

Petersen said the Republican-led Legislature and Democratic governor have developed a system over the last four years on how to resolve line-item disputes.

“The solution can’t be too far left and it can’t be too far right, and that’s the sweet spot and that’s where we land on consensus,” he said.

What will the new Arizona budget include?

Petersen was hesitant to reveal details about the settled items.

“I can’t give specifics … until we make sure our whole caucus is on board. Right now, we conceptually do have the votes,” he said.

He spoke in general terms about one unresolved issue regarding whether policy should be tied to a certain funding source. However, he clarified that he wasn’t talking about Proposition 123, which is a potential source of additional education funding.

“We’ve reached a solution on that issue,” he said of Prop 123, without saying what the solution is.

Hobbs has wanted the budget to include Prop 123 funding, although voters would have to approve it in November. Republicans have opposed including Prop 123 proceeds in the budget because there is no guarantee voters will approve the ballot measure.

Petersen also revealed that any changes to the tax code won’t affect returns already filed this year.

“That was one of the parts where we … put a line in the sand and we said we would absolutely not budge on … tax conformity for this year, which means you do not have to refile your taxes,” he said.

The new budget must be in place before the next fiscal year starts July 1.

Republicans passed a $17.9 billion spending plan earlier this month, but Hobbs vetoed it, calling it “unbalanced and reckless.”

Hobbs recently told ABC15 she was “confident” a bipartisan deal would get done.

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