Budget negotiations between Arizona Senate Republicans and Governor Katie Hobbs’ administration are continuing at the Capitol after the Governor vetoed the Senate Republican budget proposal on May 5th.
The Republican plan included one of the largest tax cuts in Arizona history while fully funding education and public safety priorities.
Hobbs described the budget as “unbalanced and reckless.”
In her veto letter she stated, “This budget is unbalanced and reckless. With it, Arizona would default on our debt obligations, endanger vulnerable children, slash critical public safety funding, and pay for tax breaks to billionaires, data centers and special interests by kicking Arizonans off their healthcare and taking food off their tables. Arizonans cannot afford chaotic and dysfunctional Washington-style budgeting in our state government. I have made it clear that I will engage in good-faith negotiation. But I will not sign a budget that brings Washington-style chaos and dysfunction to Arizona’s budget. Let’s get back to the negotiating table and get serious about delivering for Arizonans. I am ready when you are.”
Despite the Governor’s public criticism, her team returned to negotiations almost immediately. On Thursday, May 14th, Governor Hobbs lifted the month-long bill signing moratorium she had imposed on April 13th.
The moratorium had been conditioned on Republicans publicly releasing a budget proposal and engaging in what she described as “good-faith” negotiations. It has severely limited the Senate’s ability to conduct normal floor business for weeks, stalling progress on unrelated legislation and disrupting the regular legislative process.
Senate Republicans noted that work never stopped despite the moratorium and recent media reports. Members have continued meeting with stakeholders, addressing constituent issues, reviewing legislation, and participating in budget discussions nearly every day.
This last week, the Senate Committee on Director Nominations convened to consider Governor Hobbs’ nominee, Brig. Gen. John Conley, to lead the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.
The Republican budget proposal, unveiled on April 27, fully conformed Arizona’s tax code with federal changes made through President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” It funded the tax relief through targeted fund sweeps and reductions to most state agencies outside of core priorities.
Senate Republicans remain focused on completing a responsible budget that controls spending, protects core priorities such as education and public safety, and delivers historic tax relief for Arizona families facing affordability challenges.
The Senate returned last week for additional floor work, committee activity, and ongoing budget negotiations. With the moratorium now lifted, Senate leaders expressed optimism that both the budget process and the broader work of the Legislature can move forward without further delays.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Legislative District 13 candidate Debra Schinke is looking to get into government to reduce its footprint, and ensure it further prioritizes faith, law, and families.
Schinke, a Chandler Citizens Police Review Board member, also wants to apply her 17 years as a fraud prosecutor to cutting down on waste within the presently struggling state budget.
The former president of Chandler Republican Women (2020-2023) told the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce in a candidate interview last month that she experienced the injustice of bureaucratic bloat during her upbringing in a California farming community.
During her youth, Schinke said she helped around her father’s gas station in addition to taking up customer service and accounting for his propane company. The former Grace Community Christian School board member attested to the struggles imposed by copious regulations on her father’s small businesses.
Schinke said freedom can’t exist without freedoms in the marketplace.
“Some of us need to stand up and defend the small businesses in our communities,” said Schinke. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy.”
Schinke decided to run for public office because of her son, a member of the Air Force stationed in Japan. During her time as a precinct committeewoman, Republican state committeewoman, and Arizona Federation of Republican Women leadership team, she has spent years working campaigns for candidates running for city councils, school boards, the legislature, and Congress.
“It just spoke to my heart again, that if our sons and daughters are over fighting for us and our freedom and liberty, then I need to be here on the frontlines, too,” said Schinke.
Schinke’s platform consists of historically standard perspectives like: encouragement of public faith in God, protection for parental rights, resistance to bureaucratic growth, a strict view of borders, implicit trust for law enforcement, and an open mind for school choice.
While Schinke generally opposes a larger government presence, she has taken exception to the ongoing issue of water. Schinke indicated that the state ought to lead on conservation measures, but without creating additional burdens on residents.
On this and other pressing issues in the Valley, like public transit and housing, Schinke said she needed to conduct more research. In all cases, Schinke said her litmus would be the impact on Arizona families.
Per her latest campaign finance report, Schinke has raised nearly $40,400.
Other candidates in the LD13 race are Democratic candidate Racquel “Rockee” Armstrong and Republican candidates Kevin Hartke, Chandler mayor, and Janet Weninger, wife of State Rep. Jeff Weninger (R-LD13).
Armstrong’s platform encourages increased government spending to deflate costs by expanding affordable housing and public transportation.
Both Weninger and Harktes’ platforms appeared similar to Schinke’s, but with more openness to select government spending to improve social outcomes.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
The Common Sense Institute (CSI) released the first report in its 2026 Ballot Guide series, examining the fiscal, educational, and family impacts of the proposed “Protect Education Act.” The analysis concludes that the measure would immediately disqualify approximately 20,300 current universal ESA families through a new income cap, while gradually excluding more than half of Arizona families with school-aged children over time as incomes rise faster than the cap’s limited adjustment.
The proposal would also impose new accreditations, testing, and spending restrictions on participating schools, potentially disrupting educational choices for over 100,000 Arizona students currently using Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs).
Arizona’s K-12 landscape has been shifting for more than a decade, with district enrollment declining since 2008 as families increasingly turned to charter, private, homeschool, and micro school options. District schools lost roughly 50,000 students in 2021-2022 alone—before universal ESA eligibility—and today enroll about 75,000 fewer students than in 2019-2020.
Fewer than 70% of Arizona’s school-aged children now attend district schools, down from 80% a decade ago.
In response to these trends and parent demand for alternatives, lawmakers expanded ESA eligibility in 2022 to all school-aged children, removing prior public-school attendance requirements. Participation surged to more than 100,000 students (nearly 10% of Arizona’s K-12 population), with annual awards totaling around $1.1 billion. One quarter of participants remain in pre-universal categories, including a rapidly growing share of students with disabilities.
Key Impacts of the Proposed Act
The Protect Education Act would limit universal ESA scholarships to households earning under $150,000 annually, require participating private schools to register, accredit, and/or conduct mandatory state testing, and further restrict allowable uses of funds by tightening definitions of “noneducational” and “luxury” items.
CSI’s analysis estimates that 24% of current ESA users have household incomes above the proposed threshold, immediately affecting roughly 20,300 universal-eligibility families.
Statewide, approximately 400,000 school-aged children—potentially up to 40% when accounting for family sizes—could be permanently excluded from universal ESAs based on 2024 income distributions.
Although the cap includes a 2% annual inflation adjustment. Arizona household incomes have historically risen closer to 4% per year, leading CSI to project that more than 52% of families with school-aged children could be income-excluded by 2045.
The restriction could also indirectly reduce participation in other eligibility categories. Growth in ESA usage among students with disabilities accelerated after universal expansion; without it, there might have been roughly 10,000 fewer participants in those targeted groups.
“Arizona’s K-12 system has been evolving for more than a decade as enrollment patterns, family preferences, and educational models continue to diversify,” stated Director of Policy & Research at CSI, Glenn Farley. “This analysis finds the proposed Act would not simply adjust ESA eligibility requirements, but could significantly reshape access to nontraditional education options over time. More families are signaling that one size does not fit all and are seeking educational choices that better meet their children’s needs.”
Fiscal Analysis: ESA Delivers Savings
ESA students receive significantly less funding than their public-school peers. The average universal ESA award is approximately $7,700 per student, compared to nearly $15,000 per public-school student. CSI estimates that shifting 20,000 universal ESA students back into district classrooms would increase annual taxpayers costs by about $115 million.
Despite serving over 100,000 students, the total number of publicly funded K-12 students (district, charter, and ESA) remains consistent with pre-2020 projections. The funding mix has simply shifted to better align with actual enrollment and family preferences, producing net savings for taxpayers. Arizona is also spending 30% more per-public school pupil (inflation-adjusted) than a decade ago, yet the share of funding reaching classrooms has declined slightly while support services have grown.
Academic Performance and Oversight
According to CSI, Arizona district students score low on state assessments with only 39% proficient in reading, 32% in math, and 27% in science. Available data indicate stronger outcomes in private and homeschool settings.
ACT scores show private school students outperforming public school counterparts by 19% and homeschool students by 12%. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results similarly suggest private school students outperform roughly 70% of their public peers where comparable data exist.
CSI’s survey of participating private schools revealed that 84% already administer standardized testing and about two-thirds hold accreditation from recognized bodies. All respondents imply background checks and staff qualification standards. Private school leaders warned that the Act’s new requirements would create administrative burdens, with three-quarters indicating possible tuition increases and one in five suggesting they might stop accepting ESA students—potentially displacing over 4,600 reported ESA users.
Oversight mechanisms already exist in the ESA program. Arizona Department of Education audits found only 1.9% of sampled spending “unallowable” and 0.3% “egregious”—rates lower than many other public programs.
“Arizona was one of the first states to broadly expand Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, and a growing number of states have since adopted similar programs as demand for educational flexibility has increased,” added Farley. “If approved by Arizona voters, the proposal could significantly narrow access to options many Arizona families have increasingly turned to as part of the state’s changing education landscape.”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) is once again facing another Open Meeting Law complaint over a non-public advisory committee.
The complaint, filed last month with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, claims that SUSD Superintendent Scott Menzel has again violated Open Meeting Law during his phased approach to closing schools.
The Scottsdale resident who filed the complaint told AZ Free News that he felt compelled to look into SUSD’s process for school closures in response to the community shock over the governing board’s decision to close Pima Elementary School and Echo Canyon School last December.
The closures brought $2.5 million in savings to the district. SUSD began looking into the closing and consolidating of schools, among other solutions, to address an $8 million budget deficit driven by declining enrollment.
This latest complaint claims that SUSD’s non-public Phase II Design Advisory Team was formed at the direction of the board and therefore required to be open to the public. Superintendent Menzel encouraged the governing board to authorize the design advisory team during a regular governing board meeting last November.
The next month, during the same meeting to close the Pima and Echo Canyon schools, the governing board discussed the design advisory team’s formation. In that meeting, Menzel and SUSD governing board president Donna Lewis strategized on ways for the board to direct the design advisory team’s formation but style it as a superintendent’s committee. The board indicated that it wanted Menzel to move forward with the team, but didn’t take a vote to create the team.
The design advisory team operates under the classification of a Superintendent Advisory Committee, which is exempt from Open Meeting Law requirements. The newly filed complaint alleges that the governing board’s involvement in the creation of the Phase II Design Advisory Team makes that classification untrue.
The Phase II Design Advisory Team is charged with crafting recommendations on schools to the board, including further closures or consolidations.
The resident behind the complaint told AZ Free News that he filed against the district after SUSD personnel denied him entry to one of the design advisory team’s meetings in person.
SUSD told AZ Free News that it hasn’t received notification of this complaint.
SUSD got into trouble last year for similar non-public advisory committees.
Last summer, Attorney General Kris Mayes found SUSD had violated Open Meeting Law for using advisory committees in a manner similar to the alleged violation outlined in the complaint.
“The Open Meeting Law does not permit a governing board to evade the public meeting requirements by ‘informally’ forming or establishing, or by directing a superintendent to establish, a committee to perform work that would otherwise need to be conducted in public,” stated Mayes. “[W]e caution against an overly narrow reading of the law focused exclusively on the circumstances of a committee’s creation.”
The Phase II Design Advisory Team has held five meetings since it began in March. The team consists of two facilitators, Karen Benson and Quintin Boyce, and 45 members.
28 parents or guardians on the team represent current students at 11 schools: Anasazi Elementary School, Cheyenne Traditional School, Copper Ridge School, Desert Canyon Elementary School, Desert Canyon Middle School, Desert Canyon Mountain High School, Redfield Elementary School, Laguna Elementary School, Saguaro Middle School, Mountainside Middle School, and Mohave Middle School.
Other team members include eight SUSD staff members, six homeowners in the community, one community organization member, and one university partner.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
State Rep. Ralph Heap (R-LD10) would like to take the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) off the path of green energy and onto a different path in line with President Trump’s energy agenda.
The state’s largest regulated utilities, APS and TEP, are pursuing 14 percent rate hikes with the ACC after receiving other double-digit ratehikes the past few years. Heap, an “Arizona First” candidate, argues that the ACC should be prioritizing ratepayers, and that his approach to the ACC would end the constant upward trend of rates.
Heap’s platform prioritizes individual ratepayers over trendy policy and cash-flush companies: implementing greater protections for rural Arizonans’ energy and water access, rejecting “radical” agendas like the Green New Deal and “corporate welfare” programs, encouraging a free-market energy system, and creating more resistance to rate hikes.
The lawmaker laid claim to the engrossment, passage, or sponsorship of multiple energy-related bills from 2024 to present. Those bills were:
HB4097: authorizing “bring your own power,” or self-supply, for large customers to expand energy supply options without creating an open retail-choice program;
HB2679: establishing a defined legal path for financing utility transition costs;
HCR2022: committing support for nuclear generation through the Palo Verde Generating Station;
HB2042: creating enforcement on geoengineering activity by prohibiting intentional in-state release of materials for solar radiation management, prohibiting public funding for those technologies, and authorizing attorney general investigations;
HB2328: limiting rate disparity in intermunicipal water service by requiring municipal providers selling water to another municipality’s public to charge rates constrained by specified comparators;
HB2331: ensuring reliability within long-range resource planning by requiring covered public power entities and electric utilities to ensure at least 85 percent of relied-on generating capacity comes from reliable resources by 2030;
HB2915: granting county-administered property tax reductions to homeowners suffering depleted property values due to nearby renewable energy facilities; and,
HB2918: ending property tax breaks for new utility-scale renewable energy projects.
Since taking office last January, Heap has maintained several leadership positions, including vice chairmanship of the Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee.
Prior to his legislative service and ACC run, Heap practiced orthopedic medicine in the East Valley for nearly 40 years. During that time, he participated in medical missions to developing countries where the presence or absence of reliable energy meant life or death. Heap attributes his “ratepayer first” attitude and interest in reliable, affordable energy to those experiences.
Heap married his high school sweetheart, Denise. Together they have three children—including Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap—and eight grandchildren.
As part of his “ratepayer first” approach, Heap qualified as a Clean Elections candidate. He has sworn against taking money from regulated utilities or their PACs.
Heap has received many endorsements from grassroots leaders along with state and municipal elected officials, including former ACC Commissioner and current state representative Justin Olson (R-LD10), Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ-02), and a leading Republican lawmaker who resigned earlier this year to run for Congress, Joseph Chaplik.
Many of the heavyweights in the Arizona legislature put in their support for Heap: Arizona Freedom Caucus leader and State Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-LD15) as well as State Reps. Michele Pena (R-LD23), Laurin Hendrix (R-LD14), Khyl Powell (R-LD14), Lisa Fink (R-LD27), Rachel Keshel (R-LD17), Alexander Kolodin (R-LD03), Beverly Pingerelli (R-LD), Michael Way (R-LD15), John Gillette (R-LD30), Teresa Martinez (R-LD16), Leo Biasiucci (R-LD30), Pamela Carter (R-LD04), and Chris Lopez (R-LD16).
Among those municipal endorsements were supervisors from Gila and Navajo counties; the mayors of Payson, Snowflake, and Springerville; and council members for Payson.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Arizona continues to experience relatively slower inflation than much of the nation, according to a new analysis from the Common Sense Institute (CSI) examining the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for April 2026.
The Phoenix metro area CPI rose 3% year-over-year in April, up from 1.7% in February. While this marks an acceleration, it remains well below the national rate, which increased from 2.4% to 3.8% over the same period.
The uptick in both local and national figures was driven primarily by surging energy prices amid fallout from the conflict with Iran.
In the Phoenix Metro area, energy costs climbed 22.9% year-over-year, outpacing the national increase of 17.5%. Stripping out this volatile category reveals significantly more moderate underlying price pressures: Phoenix inflation excluding energy stood at 1.7% (down from 1.9% in February), compared to 2.8% nationally (up from 2.6%).
Since April 2019, consumer prices in the Phoenix metro area have risen 34.6%, resulting in an estimated additional $1,647 in monthly costs for a typical Arizona household. Nationally, prices have increased 30.2% over the same seven-year period. In a typical seven-year span, cumulative inflation would be expected to total closer to 14.9%.
More recently, however, Phoenix inflation has tracked below the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual benchmark. Cumulative inflation in the metro area since April 2024 stands at just 3.4%, below the roughly 4% that would align with steady 2% annual growth.
Among the 23 metro areas tracked by the CPI, Phoenix recorded the 8th slowest year-over-year inflation rate in April. For the 14 regions that reported data, it posted the 2nd slowest. A key contributor is the shelter category, where Phoenix inflation measured just 0.8% year-over-year — substantially lower than the national figure of 3.3%.
While headline CPI figures are conventionally used as a proxy for inflation, CSI noted that the metric measures a fixed basket of goods and can be heavily influenced by volatile components like energy.
The recent national spike to 3.8% is largely attributable to relative price increases in energy rather than broad-based inflationary pressure. Core inflation (excluding energy) remains meaningfully lower, though national prices have not returned sustainably to the 2% target.
Sustained inflation above 2% since 2021 reflects structural challenges, including elevated federal deficits. National inflation trends have historically followed federal deficits patterns with a 12 to 24-month lag, and persistent high deficits — averaging $2.2 trillion annually from 2020 to 2024 — continue to complicate efforts to achieve price stability through monetary policy alone.
The annualized federal deficit for early 2026 remains at $2.2 trillion.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
