While Gov. Katie Hobbs takes heat from fellow Democrats, Sen. Warren Petersen says she negotiated in good faith and kept her promises.
Bob Christie Capitol Media Services PHOENIX — Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs took major heat from many Democrats for negotiating a state budget package with Republican legislative leaders that did not include any changes to the state’s new universal school voucher program.
"She was reasonable,'' he said."And she would keep her word. Whenever she would say, 'I agree to that,' she did it.'' Doling out moneyPetersen said he was the one who came up with the plan that doled out chunks of a big budget surplus to each of the 47 Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate. Minority Democrats got smaller amounts, and Hobbs also got a big chunk to control.
Giving each lawmaker a portion of the budget to allocate — $20 million each for GOP House members, $30 million for each GOP senator — gave them control they did not have previously. The biggest issue is the extension of a half-cent sales tax in Maricopa County that pays for transportation projects. And Petersen has little faith in the entity."MAG is completely unaccountable,'' he said."They're very, very insulated.''
Without definitions, Petersen said MAG could potentially impose limits on gasoline-powered cars or adopt cap and trade programs or who knows what. If they want flexibility for future technologies, he said a mechanism for legislative oversight should be added. Toma said recently that tying a signing of a rental tax ban and Proposition 400 in negotiations with the governor was a possibility. Petersen, however, said he’s not doing that.The other key battle remaining is a Republican proposal to override many city zoning laws in an effort to boost construction of lower-priced housing options.
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