Arizona Budget Includes Improvements But Falls Short of Meeting the Affordability Crisis

Statement from Geraldine Miranda, Assistant Director of Fiscal Policy, Arizona Center for Economic Progress

PHOENIX —  “This budget includes important improvements that will help Arizona families, but it still falls short of the long-term investments needed to address the affordability crisis and build a stronger state economy.  

“Arizona families need more than tax-cut headlines. They need a budget that fully funds health care, child care, and K-12 public schools — a budget that keeps food on the table, lowers everyday costs, and builds an economy that works for all Arizonans, not just those with the most power and influence. 

“This budget includes important steps toward that goal. Protecting AHCCCS coverage, extending food assistance and school meals, investing in child care, and pausing new data center tax giveaways for three years will avoid some of the worst harms proposed earlier this year. 

“But avoiding harm is not the same as meeting the moment. Arizona had an opportunity to do much more to address the affordability crisis and strengthen the long-term health of our economy. 

“This budget does not do enough to help restore SNAP benefits to the hundreds of thousands of eligible Arizonans who have lost food assistance. It will not solve the housing crisis, permanently lower the cost of child care, or provide the sustained investments Arizona’s public K-12 schools need. While some middle-class tax provisions may provide temporary relief, Arizona continues to give away hundreds of millions of dollars through tax policies that disproportionately benefit corporations and the wealthy. 

“The three-year moratorium on new data center tax giveaways is significant: At a time when many states are continuing to expand tax breaks for large corporations, Arizona is taking an important step by pausing a giveaway that deserves far more scrutiny. But we should also be clear: The moratorium protects a relatively small amount of revenue compared with the scale of Arizona’s long-term budget challenges. It is a meaningful win, but it is not a substitute for a broader shift in how Arizona approaches tax policy. 

“For years, Arizona has cut revenue and then asked families, schools, health care providers, and communities to make do with less. That approach has consequences. We cannot keep cutting the revenue needed to fully fund child care, public K-12 education, health care, housing, water, and food assistance and still expect to build a strong, competitive economy. 

“Those investments are not optional. They are the foundation of whether parents can work, whether businesses can hire, whether families can afford to stay in their communities, and whether Arizona can grow in a way that is sustainable. 

“This budget shows that lawmakers can make better long-term choices when there is enough pressure to protect families from harm. A responsible budget should build the revenue needed to support affordability, opportunity, and the long-term economic future of our state.”