By BEX Staff for AZBEX
Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed a nearly $17.6B budget spending plan.
The approval follows weeks of standoffs between the Governor’s Office and the Arizona State Legislature that raised tensions around the state, with a possible government shutdown looming July 1.
News reports say there was disappointment expressed by Hobbs, as well as by both Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature. All sides, however, expressed varying degrees of relief a compromise was reached that will allow operations to continue.
Both Democrats and Republicans claimed victory over some points and conceded losses on others.
Other reports provided details on various components of the new spending plan. Construction and development-centric portions of the budget include:
- State universities borrowing authorization for a new medical school and nursing school: up to $325M;
- Statewide K-12 school repair funding: $183M;
- State Route 347 between Phoenix and Maricopa: $54M;
- An emergency evacuation bridge in Lake Havasu City: $35M;
- Widening Interstate 10 near Buckeye: $27M;
- Interstate 11 study: $25M;
- Pinal County North-South Corridor study: $15M;
- Drexel Road Bridge improvements in Tucson: $10M, and
- Interchange design at I-10 and Cortaro Road in Marana: $10M.