Phoenix – Democratic governor Katie Hobbs promised on Thursday to veto all the bills that were no longer in her desk in the midst of a confrontation with the legislature controlled by Republicans by funds for a state agency that provides services for some of Arizona’s most vulnerable residents.
Hobbs demands that legislators find a bipartisan commitment that guarantees financing until the end of the fiscal year for the division of the State disabilities, which supports about 60,000 people with autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Down syndrome and other cognitive and intellectual disabilities.
Before signing in a financing package, Republicans want to establish railings for the program, such as reducing the amount of remunerated hours that parents who care for their children with disabilities can receive per week. Democrats want to approve funds first and discuss reforms later.
The strategy of retaining signature invoices is not new. Hobbs Republican predecessors He also retained his signatures on budget disputes.
Republicans were frustrated after learning that Hobbs was requesting around $ 13 million more in complementary funds for the developmental division of development, despite having published their proposal for executive budget.
Republicans argue that Hobbs has badly administered funds, convening an ad hoc committee earlier this month to discuss “poor management of the executive budget.” Representative David Livingston, president of the Chamber Assignments Committee, said during an audience earlier this week that it was unacceptable that the programs within the division were closed in early May due to the lack of funds.
The president of the House of Representatives, Steve Montenegro, in a statement called the threat of the veto of the governor “political blackmail.”
Hobbs, which is in re -election in 2026, states that Republicans are taking advantage of the crisis for “political war.” The governor is willing to even veto the legislation that supports as long as a bipartisan commitment is reached, said his spokesman Christian Slater.
“We have been waiting for too long,” Slater said in an interview. “Families are on the edge.”
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Govindarao covers the government and policy of Arizona for Associated Press, with an approach to women in the state government. She has her headquarters in Phoenix.
