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ICYMI - Week Two
With Week 2 behind us, things are already heating up at the Arizona Legislature. The Governor's Budget, which was released last Friday, left little to be excited about. As expected, there was very little focus on restoring funding for the health and human services sector. Some highlights from the Governor's Budget include:
- $23 Million increase in Federal funding for Child Care
- $11 Million to increase pay for DCS workers
- $6 Million to address opioid abuse
- $400K to create the Suicide Mortality Review Team
- $1.5 Million for provider rate increases for the Area Agencies on Aging
- $38 Million for school counselors, school social workers, or school resource officers
In a change from previous years, House and Senate Republicans have released a budget plan months earlier than we usually see. Most of it is an overview of their priority areas, but it does provide some insight into what we might see from the legislature this year. Of note, the House and Senate Republicans have both included increased funding for the Housing Trust Fund.
With the early release of the Republican budget priorities, we could see budget bills much earlier in session than we would normally see. That being said, it's only the end of week two so there is still plenty of session left to work on priority areas and advocate for increased funding for health and human services.
Next week will bring busy committee agendas and State Agency Presentations from the Department of Economic Security, Department of Health Services, and AHCCCS. We will keep you posted with any bill movement as the week goes on.
Thank you for your continued advocacy!
Sincerely,
Shannon Schell, MSW
Executive Director
PAFCO |
