Gov. Katie Hobbs signs $18.29B budget, signaling bipartisan win

Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bipartisan $18.29 billion state budget Saturday, delivering what she called the largest tax cut for working families in her four years in office.

The budget includes $1.4 billion in tax relief, raising the standard deduction and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime. It also expands the child tax credit and adds a tax deduction for seniors.

On public safety, the budget allocates $7 million for sheriffs and border security, continues Operation Desert Guardian to disrupt cartel activity and adds $6 million for Colorado River litigation.

In education, the budget funds free school meals, $37 million being allocated for low-income school funding and $183.3 million for school facilities.

“My bipartisan Arizona First budget will make our state stronger, safer and more prosperous,” Hobbs said.

Senate President Warren Petersen, who helped broker the deal, called it a Republican victory, saying the $18.29 billion plan is “99% what we put on.”

“The big win is for Arizona, but it’s also for families, kids,” Petersen told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show. “We protected school choice. We didn’t do any of the tax increases or fees that the governor wanted.”

The budget also includes a three-year moratorium on data center tax incentives, saving the state an estimated $57 million.

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