AEL Update: This week, the Arizona Senate and House lifted the school spending cap (AEL), officially taking this fraught issue off the table for 2023. Thank you for raising your voice on this critical issue! It is evident that lawmakers acted under extreme public pressure to avoid school closures and teacher layoffs. Now, we call upon the legislature to develop a long-term solution for this outdated cap, so we don’t face the same issue every year. Read our full statement here.
ESA Voucher Accountability: We are very excited to report that the Senate Education Committee will hear SB1706 (Sen. Christine Marsh, D-4), which will create reporting requirements for the ESA voucher program. This program is costing taxpayers over $600 million per year, and better stewardship of taxpayer dollars is urgently needed. 
Runaround on Gov. Hobbs: Republican lawmakers are attempting to circumvent Hobbs’ veto pen by passing measures known as “concurrent resolutions” (SCRs and HCRs), which are referred directly to voters and cannot be vetoed by Gov. Hobbs. This week’s dangerous legislative referrals include an attempt to insert the “parental bill of rights” peddled by extremists attacking public education into the Arizona Constitution. Other ideas would damage Arizona’s citizen initiative process, mandate enormous tax cuts, and upend the legislature’s budgeting process. Your voices are extremely important to create public pressure and help stop these harmful bills before they go straight to the ballot.
Calmer Waters in Sight: Committee agendas are extra-long this week because they are piling up against the first deadline. After Friday, if House bills haven’t made it through their House committees, and Senate bills through their Senate committees, they are considered dead for the year 🥳 Next week, all committees except Appropriations (which gets an extra week) and Rules will pause while lawmakers debate and vote in an attempt to pass bills so they can move to the other chamber.
Skinny Budget Fails: The Republican-only “status quo” budget failed to pass the House due to one holdout Republican who is asking for more than $5 billion in cuts to the state budget and seems unlikely to change her mind. Lawmakers’ next step should be negotiation and compromise. We urge the legislature to do the hard task of actual governing and to work with each other and the governor to advance a responsible budget that provides for Arizonans and prioritizes public education.