Arizona Senate president accuses Gov. Katie Hobbs of budget ‘temper tantrum’

PHOENIX – Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen on Wednesday accused Gov. Katie Hobbs of throwing a “temper tantrum” during state budget negotiations.

“Our message is we will always stay at the table with her. We’ll always work with her at the table. … I’ve been at the Legislature 14 years. I’ve never seen a governor … throw a temper tantrum and just walk away from the budget negotiations,” Petersen told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.

Hobbs cut off budget talks on March 20, citing an impasse over an education funding mechanism known as Proposition 123.

Prop 123 is an expired ballot measure that provided schools and teachers with millions of additional dollars from State Land Trust Permanent Fund. The Legislature would have to refer it to the November ballot to give voters a chance to renew it.

Petersen argued that Hobbs’ version of Prop 123 would bankrupt the State Land Trust in 20 years. He also said it would be “irresponsible” to base an annual budget on funding that depends on future voter approval.

“She basically wanted us to balance the budget off of a Prop 123, something that would have to pass later. We said that was irresponsible. And so she threw a temper tantrum and walked away,” he said.

Gov. Hobbs’ bill moratorium is latest twist in budget negotiations

The budget situation took another turn on Monday when the Democratic governor said she won’t sign any more legislation (other than a pair of public safety bills) until Republicans release their budget plan to the public. She then cited the bill moratorium when vetoing three bills on Tuesday.

Petersen questioned the logic of the bill moratorium and called it “another strong-arm move.” He also noted that the Legislature doesn’t have much left to do this session outside the budget.

“It’s fine. We’re pretty much done with our work. We’re down to the last few bills anyways. We really are down to the budget,” he said.

Petersen said the state’s 47 GOP legislators have “pretty much” come to a consensus on their budget proposal and are “really close” to releasing it.

“We need to get her signature. She needs to have our support. We’ve got to work together, and so we’ll keep moving forward,” he said.

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