The Arizona Legislature’s majority Republicans plan to have their own state budget proposal for the next fiscal year on the table before Governor Doug Ducey presents his own version in mid-January.
The Arizona Capitol Times reports that would be a departure from recent years when governors released their budget proposals before lawmakers settled on their wish-lists.
Senate Majority Leader Rick Gray says GOP lawmakers want Ducey to know early on what they want to do with more than $600 million not already allotted in preliminary budget formulas.
Possible uses for that money include increasing spending for state programs and bolstering the state’s reserves.
House Appropriations Chairman Regina Cobb says she’s been reaching out to rank-and-file House Republicans adding that key lawmakers will begin meeting soon to start drafting a budget proposal.
