Arizona governor imposes legislation moratorium until lawmakers take up disability services bill
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has announced a moratorium on signing new legislation until the state legislature addresses a bill to fund disability services. This move is a significant response to a proposed bill that would drastically cut in-home services for individuals with disabilities, which she deems unacceptable. Hobbs criticized the actions of some Republican lawmakers,accusing them of creating a crisis affecting individuals with disabilities for political gain. The state’s Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), vital for around 60,000 individuals, faces a $122 million funding shortfall, with funding set to expire soon.The governor’s moratorium will halt all bills not yet sent to her desk, though she supports two bills already submitted.The situation has led to a political standoff, with Hobbs seeking Republican support for an increase in DDD funding while GOP leaders blame her for the budget issues.
Arizona governor imposes legislation moratorium until lawmakers take up disability services bill
Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) said she will veto any new legislation that lands on her desk until the Republican-controlled Arizona state legislature moves forward on a bill to fund disability services.
Her announcement of a moratorium on signing legislation marks her most significant pushback against a bill that would make steep cuts to in-home services for Arizonans with disabilities.
“The inaction of a few, extreme Republican lawmakers is unacceptable and business as usual cannot continue until Arizonans with developmental disabilities and their caretakers have the certainty they need,” Hobbs said in a statement Thursday.
“While they leverage a crisis of their own creation to engage in political warfare, Arizonans with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and other disabilities are the ones harmed by their partisan attacks,” the governor added. “That’s unacceptable to me.”
Hobbs and the GOP-controlled state legislature have been at odds over how to fund a $122 million shortfall to the state’s Division of Developmental Disabilities, which provides services for nearly 60,000 children and adults with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and other disabilities.
The DDD’s funding is set to run out at the end of this month. A GOP plan, which recently passed in the Arizona House, would limit the number of weekly hours for paid parental caregivers to 20.
Arizona Democrats introduced legislation to increase funding for DDD, and Hobbs has been pushing for Republican support for the bill. Republicans, however, have said Hobbs messed up the budget, which led to DDD’s $122 million shortfall.
Republican Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro called the moratorium “political blackmail.”
“She created this crisis by foolishly expanding the DDD program without legislative approval or funding in place, and now she’s throwing a tantrum because the Legislature is doing the responsible thing: funding services while putting guardrails in place to keep the program from collapsing,” his statement said.
“Let’s be clear: House Republicans are already advancing legislation to fully fund the DDD program. What the Governor demands is no oversight, no reforms, and no accountability for the financial mess she clearly made. That’s not a solution,” the statement continued.
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The moratorium will affect any bill that has not yet been sent to the governor. This week, Hobbs has vetoed over a dozen pieces of legislation sent to her office.
Two bills have already been sent to the governor’s office, and Hobbs has indicated she will support both. One approves a corporate office for Axon in the affluent city of Scottsdale, and the other would criminalize those who lie about their military service for benefits.
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