Nicole Ludden

2 days ago | arizonaagenda.com | Nicole Ludden |Hank Stephenson

Minutes after the state Senate passed two House-brewed budgets yesterday, Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed them both. Yet, things are finally looking up for keeping the state government running. After the double veto, House Speaker Steve Montenegro introduced the budget that Hobbs says she’ll actually sign. That’s the one she negotiated with the Senate, and the Senate has already approved.

3 days ago | arizonaagenda.com | Nicole Ludden |Hank Stephenson

House Republicans doubled down on their plans yesterday to pass a budget that no one likes. Republican lawmakers slammed a “skinny” budget through the House last night that funds baseline government functions for the next year without all the new spending lawmakers have spent months negotiating for. It comes with a roughly $17 billion price tag. Democrats let Republicans jump over a procedural hurdle to pass the continuation budget.

4 days ago | arizonaagenda.com | Nicole Ludden |Hank Stephenson

Arizona’s Legislature is moving alarmingly close to causing a state government shutdown. House Republicans introduced a continuation budget yesterday that mainly funds core government services, even though Gov. Katie Hobbs said any continuation budget “will immediately meet (her) veto pen.”The continuation budget, or “skinny” budget, only funds baseline needs to avoid a government shutdown. Republican Sen.

5 days ago | arizonaagenda.com | Hank Stephenson |Joe Ferguson |Nicole Ludden

“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.“We couldn’t help think of those immortal words from the “Cool Hand Luke” warden as we watched the slow motion train crash of a budget process playing out from dusk to nearly dawn on Friday morning, and the ensuing weekend war of press releases from all interested parties.

1 week ago | arizonaagenda.com | Nicole Ludden |Hank Stephenson

State senators returned to the Capitol yesterday for what they hoped would be a series of rapid-fire votes to pass a budget package and begin winding down the annual legislative session. Instead, Senate President Warren Petersen told the room full of anxious lawmakers, reporters and lobbyists that the Senate budget vote would be delayed — he’s now hoping to pull the trigger at 9 a.m. today.