Weekly Legislative Reports

Budget-related accusations escalated this week, as House Republicans sharply criticized Governor Hobbs’ funding request to backfill shortfalls at the Department of Child Safety. A legislative budget committee approved the agency’s request to shift funds to cover the request, but House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-Litchfield Park) pledged to investigate operations in state agencies.

The pace of the legislative session has slowed considerably, and lawmakers have dedicated weeks to voting on bills that are still in the first legislative chamber. The original deadlines for the session provide only two more weeks for committee hearings on bills, but Republican leaders could extend that deadline in light of the slow progress.

It’s no secret that Arizona’s policymakers don’t always get along – a fact that was enhanced when voters gave Republicans and Democrats control of separate branches of state government. Those dynamics were evident this week as a high-profile feud unfolded over negotiations between the Governor’s office and Republican lawmakers about how to alter the state’s early voting to obtain election results faster.

As the 2025 legislative session enters its second month, lawmakers are settling into longer days and a faster pace of work. Both the House and Senate hosted floor debates and voting sessions, where bipartisan coalitions approved bills to change the order of candidate names on the ballot, promote water safety classes, and continue the School Facilities Oversight Board.

It was an eventful week at the Arizona Capitol. Governor Katie Hobbs (D) appointed Maria Elena Cruz to serve on the Arizona Supreme Court and launched a new discussion about groundwater, state officials worked to understand or stop a federal funding freeze, legislators called for statutory changes and investigations into a funding shortage at the Isaac Elementary School District, and the Governor’s budget director resigned.