0. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. House budget chair Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, and his Senate counterpart, Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, agreed to the pay raise before getting bogged down amid a host of big ticket items still unsettled across a proposed budget topping $100 billion for only the second time in state history. Those employees who will be receiving a targeted salary increase at or above 7.5 percent in fiscal year 2023 will be eligible to receive a 2.5 percent statewide increase. Doug Ducey to dole out money from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund only to public schools that do not mandate ma, Some legislative and congressional candidates hoping to be on August primary ballot will have to collect signatures with pen and paper to meet. The Phoenix City Council approved an ordinance that keeps landlords from discriminating against renters based on their source of income. The state Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry and the Department of Public Safety have been struggling to hire and retain officers, in part because of wages that are low or uncompetitive. It raises pay in January 2022 to $300 and raises employer premiums. The Arizona Freedom Caucus announced it would be filing a lawsuit challenging Gov. Lawmakers also agreed to technical changes in a formula for distributing money to schools and $4 million each for school testing and 2022 election costs. Rowan has spent the last few months going through unemployment data from states, giving context to the problems we are seeing now. State employees will get a raise, many for the first time in a decade. I was told the choice is that bill or more investment in K-12 schools, and I chose our K-12 public schools.. "But Id say that Arizona in general has not followed the market trend when it comes to police pay.". 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The improbable bipartisanship was enabled by an unprecedented surplus topping $5 billion, allowing for a broad array of new spending and savings. Floridas Republican-led Legislature has historically proved stingy with pay raises to public employees, many years doling out no annual hikes and keeping salaries low. The larger raise for troopers came out of debate about locality pay for state troopers in competitive areas, particularly Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties. State employees will get a raise, many for the first time in a decade. State employees will get a raise, many for the first time in a decade. To see your current elections and enroll, click the Employee or Retiree button in the upper lefthand corner of the page. That includes $544 million for border security, roughly half of it for a wall, and $1 billion for highway construction, including widening Interstate 10 north of Casa Grande. State Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale) tweeted on Monday, "Arizona's version of @JoeBiden's Build Back Broke (aka the legislature's . Due to this change, every employee isrequiredto fill out a new Arizona A-4 form effective for wages paid after January 1, 2023 unless they qualify to complete: A-4VVoluntary Withholding Request for Arizona Resident Employed Outside Arizona, WECWithholding Exemption Certificate for Arizona Nonresidents, WECIWithholding Exemption Certificate, Native Americans with Instructions, WECMWithholding Exemption Certificate for Military Spouses. Merit pay for selected workers raised the average pay for state employees by4.2 percent, under Ducey. PHOENIX Arizona Gov. Not so much, according to public records obtained by The Arizona Republic. This is really just getting on a soap box and vilifying immigrants and creating a political point, Quezada said. But for me, its encouraging that we have actually come together.. Nursing home employees also would reach $15-an-hour minimum pay as part of a 7% increase in Medicaid rates paid nursing homes that was also agreed to Tuesday. Ducey appointee hands out big raises, bonuses. Arizona State Government is an EOA/ADA reasonable Accommodation Employer. But the fate of dollars for the rural and family lands program remained in flux late Tuesday. With COVID still an issue and continued sentiment by many Republicans against mandatory masks or vaccinations look for early debate on ree, Governor says his final year will be to "cement our successes.''. Only a handful of dissenters from each party voted against the package of bills, and Republican Gov. 5 min read Despite failing to meet a late Tuesday deadline to finalize a 2022-23 state budget, House and Senate negotiators did manage to approve a 5.38% pay raise. Pass it along to the KTAR News team here. The Arizona Legislature is rushing to pass a budget before the 2022 session ends in a few days on June 30, but some Republican legislators are balking at agreeing to vote for the 12 budget bills due to the amount of spending: $17.9 billion. DeSantis currently uses a $15.5 million Cessna Citation Latitude jet, bought in 2019 after he took office, succeeding former Gov. But for Democrats, this may have been the last chance for the foreseeable future to make an imprint on the state budget. The employee pay raise bill got to the finish line with a $10,000 raise for State Troopers, up from the original $2,550 figure. The 12 school districts targeted in the House's original proposal were looking to get the $200 million penalty removed from the state's school funding system. But still to be settled is more than $300 million in environmental spending earmarked by the Senate for the states rural and family lands program under the Agriculture Department. The increases are tied to job performance and employees could increase two steps, or 5%, on his or her employment anniversary date. A proposed expansion of a tax credit to subsidize private school tuition was removed from the must-pass budget, likely dooming it. Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, last year successfully pushed to bring state workers up to a minimum $13 hourly wage. And even if that fails, GOP legislative leaders are planning a maneuver that effectively would quash a public vote by repealing last years version and reenacting something new and possibly different this year. Note 1: Only available if the employee had no tax liability last year and does not expect to have any tax liability in the current year. Phoenix, AZ 85007. . Cities and counties in Arizona are also struggling to fill positions because of low pay, and Ducey said in his state of the state address last week that his 15% pay hike would make troopers the best paid officers in the state. Nobody loves a budget once all the compromises are made, said Senate Majority Leader Rick Gray, R-Sun City. Republican leaders had struggled for months to craft a spending plan that could find unanimous support in the fractious GOP caucuses without relying on Democrats. That includes $544 million for border security, roughly half of it for a wall, and $1 billion for highway construction, including widening Interstate 10 north of Casa Grande. The package of budget bills passed with overwhelming support, highly unusual in the modern era. Their agreement adds $80 million in combined additional funding for Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, bringing their funding boosts in line with additional money already allocated to University of Arizona. The bipartisanship extended to opposition a handful of conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats voted against the budget deal. 2305. The bill now heads to the Governors desk to await his signature to become law. Caucus leaders claim Hobbs is illegally legislating to, advance her woke agenda, by issuing executive orders. DeSantis on masks, Florida school districts rebel against governor's mask order, presenting political test, Helped by federal aid, Gov. Despite failing to meet a late Tuesday deadline to finalize a 2022-23 state budget, House and Senate negotiators did manage to approve a 5.38% pay raise for all state employees, along with setting a new, $15-an-hour minimum wage for these workers. Here's how well Ducey rewarded his staff, agency heads. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Gov. The Senate is adjourned until tomorrow, March 11, at 11 a.m. A separate bill giving locality pay was scrapped in favor of this bill. Jan 14, 2022 Updated Feb 19, 2023 PHOENIX Buoyed by strong state revenues, Gov. 2023-01-02. . The budget does have a specific sensitivity to how the COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the shortage of nurses in the state. Now, this budget isnt perfect. Instead, they are looking at a chain-link fence, similar to what is around state prisons. The Arizona Board of Regents approved the University of Arizona's . GOP leaders decided to just take the easy road out, the path of least resistance and give up and just spend, said Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, a Scottsdale Republican who voted against the budget. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin), 3 Kansas City Officers Who Were Shot Released From Hospital, 1 Killed When Business Jet Encounters Severe Turbulence, Pot Vote Has Oklahoma Hungry to Rake in Green From Texas. Note: Elective benefits for new employees may be subject to a 90-day waiting period. Simpson, the Senate president, is running for the post of Agriculture Commissioner later this year and the spending provision sought by his chamber would not take effect until January 2023, when he could potentially be in charge of the department. The average raise for a Ducey staffer was 11 percentsince he took office. Duceys office routinely issues news releases when he allocates cash from the pot of COVID-19 relief money he controls, but that wasnt done this time. She says Arizona normally offers 26 weeks of payments; about the same as other states. They also agreed to technical changes in a formula for distributing money to schools and $4 million each for school testing and 2022 election costs. 40 workers fired by ex-DES chief may get jobs back The State Personnel Board last week voted to add four steps of 2.5% to employees' pay structure. "We werent competitive at that rate," Hawkins said. Karamargin, Duceys spokesman, said there is increasing competitiveness in all sorts of jobs. Doug Ducey, despite lean budget, awards hefty pay raises to his staff, Teachers union to fight for 20 percent raises, just like Gov. This is what our state, where voters are nearly evenly divided by party affiliation, has long asked of us to work together, said Rep. Reginald Bolding of Laveen, the top Democrat in the House. PLEASE BE AWARE:To ensure compliance with AZDOR requirements, on 12/30/22, the State will change ALL employee records to the default rate of 2.0%. All employees in salaried positions as of April 10, 2022 and remaining employed on July 10, 2022 are eligible for the statewide salary increase. C.J. PHOENIX (AP) Arizona's legislature approved a bipartisan $18 billion spending plan early Thursday that will make substantial investments in public schools, build new highways and pay down long-term debts. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. Posted: 4:27 PM, Jun 28, 2022 . DeSantis supported what advocates call the putting parents first initiative, which would have taken millions of dollars from some of the states biggest counties and send the money to Floridas 55 other counties that fell in line with the governor on mask policy. The result is a booming economy with record revenues, Ducey said in a statement. But many of his comments leave quest, For Star subscribers:Senate President Karen Fann tells the Star in a Q&A the plan is to set up a program to achieve short- to long-term g, Schools chief Kathy Hoffman called out Republican legislative leaders Tuesday for failing so far to ensure that schools across the state won't. A starting correctional officer earns just over $35,000 a year before the 20% premium pay. It's illegal for Gov. MORE:After firing auditors, state's Revenue agency gave raises to select employees. You do not have to take any action. The budget has nearly $600 million in new, permanent funding for public schools, up from about $330 million in the original proposal. The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. Doug Ducey's proposal to spend $1.1 billion on desalination and other water infrastructure ignores other potential , For Star subscribers:Gov. The Parks and Revenue departments both gave select staff members significant pay raises after mass firings at both agencies. at Revenue, ended up costing the state $83million in lost revenue, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The agency pays its starting troopers about $57,000 a year, and the new 15% stipend gets them to $65,000, Hawkins said. Along with the across-the-board pay raises, other agreements were reached to finance $20-an-hour minimum salaries for state firefighters and correctional officers. I had a bill I really cared about that I wanted included in the budget, a tax cut for low-income working families, Bowie said. Using the money to provide premium pay for essential workers is allowed under terms of the virus relief law signed by the Democratic president last March. But lawmakers have reduced that amount, targeting $209.5 million for housing initiatives, but limiting rental assistance efforts to about $100 million, with another $100 million establishing a hometown heroes program helping first responders, teachers and nurses with down payment assistance. He pointed to officer pay in Texas and California, where rookie California Highway Patrol officers start at $93,000 a year. KTARs Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives. Under the plan, DeSantis would exclusively use the Citation. The 12 districts are Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Indian River, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Sarasota and Volusia counties. It does not call for a second raise or a cut to the number of weeks people can get paid. All rights reserved. Hundreds of millions are set aside for water infrastructure as the state faces prolonged drought. Tuesday, November 8, 2022, is the General Election and all state government employees are encouraged to vote. The Republican governors office did not announce that he was using cash from President Joe Bidens American Rescue Plan Act to provide 20% pay boosts to the states corrections officers, 15% increases to state troopers and 10% increases to workers at the departments of child safety, economic security, juvenile corrections, transportation and health services. Please follow the steps below to log in: If you are not able to log in, please contact[emailprotected]or call (602) 542-4700, Option 4 for assistance. Marisol Garcia, Vice President of the Arizona Education Association, speaks during a news conference at the Arizona capitol Tuesday, June 21, 2022, in Phoenix. Sen. Martin Quezada, a Glendale Democrat, spoke out against plans to spend $335 million for a wall on the southern border, which he said would be useless in stopping people from crossing. The Supreme Court has rejected appeals from Arizona and Nevada involving the rights of same-sex couples. A proposed expansion of a tax credit to subsidize private school tuition was removed from the must-pass budget, likely dooming it. Best States is an interactive platform developed by U.S. News for ranking the 50 U.S. states, alongside news analysis and daily reporting. Rick Scott, a multi-millionaire, who had sold the states former air fleet and paid for and used his own jet for state travel. Have a story idea or tip? The new budget also is built on the premise that the 2.5% flat tax proposal approved last year will, in fact, take effect this year at an annual cost of $1.9 billion despite the fact that foes have gathered enough signatures to delay it until the public can vote on it in November. The other two aircraft would be available to the lieutenant governor, Cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, the House Speaker, Senate president and chairs of legislative committees and agency officials. You do not need to re-enroll to keep your current coverage elections for 2023. And even then, much of the money is not for grand projects like desalination but instead for shorter-term solutions like water banking and paying tribes and others to use less Colorado River water. After losing support on the right, House Speaker Rusty Bowers and Senate President Karen Fann had to look elsewhere for votes, and they found them across the aisle. Jan Brewer offered 5 percent pay raises to employees who became "uncovered," giving up certain job protections. between 12/31/22 and 01/03/23 at 1 pm, the rate you may have seen may have been incorrect. The improbable bipartisanship was enabled by an unprecedented surplus topping $5 billion, allowing for a broad array of new spending and savings. SB 1411 was introduced by Republican State Senator Karen Fann. To keep your FSA for healthcare, limited purpose, or daycare/elder care, you must re-enroll each year. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Tucson judge declares mistrial for man accused of murdering Isabel Celis, Jesse Wilson: Adoptive mother arrested in boy's death in Arizona, Family shot, killed in murder-suicide before eviction from foreclosed home: police, Phoenix condo fire leaves man and 2 kids dead; two other children in critical condition, Arrest made weeks after deadly Phoenix shooting, Police investigating shots fired incidents at Apache Junction RV resort, Suspect injured following shooting involving DPS trooper near Downtown Phoenix, Disneyland banned Rebel Wilson over selfie, actress says, Deadly I-17 crash in Phoenix caused by impaired driver, officials say, Family sues Phoenix mortuary following accidental cremation, Man shot in downtown Phoenix, no arrests made, Buckeye mom accused of killing adoptive son extradited to Arizona. Arizona governor pledges $100 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding to help students catch up. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) The Associated Press, By BOB CHRISTIE and JONATHAN J. COOPER, Associated Press. And it puts another $425 million in the rainy day fund to help the state weather a potential recession. That is far short of the $1 billion commitment he made in his State of the State speech. It also eliminates the state equalization tax, a property tax for education, and backfills it with $330 million from the general fund. This is your TASC card account. The governor wants to hire back 25 auditors. Every single budget's bad, Gray said. Hundreds of millions are set aside for water infrastructure as the state faces prolonged drought. Ducey is seeking a permanent 15% raise for state troopers, 20% for juvenile and adult corrections employees and pay boosts for several other agencies that total nearly $250 million a year. The Arizona Legislature on Tuesday began considering a $15.6 billion state budget package that pays down more than $1.2 billion in state debt but keeps in place most of a nearly $800 budget. Pursuant to State laws and rules, state employees may receive paid leave in order to exercise their voting privileges under certain conditions. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. That has proven a a nonstarter among lawmakers who have to go to those same homeowners every two years to get reelected. Take away federal money and pandemic extensions, and Arizona is left with a bare-bones unemployment insurance system. Department of Economic Security Director Tim Jeffries has canned 168 employees since he was appointed department head in February, a pace of more than four firings a week. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. That includes the nearly $26 million for would-be nurses to go to the accelerated nursing program at Creighton University, with students having to promise to work at a hospital in Arizona for four years. Ironically, it was the Legislatures most conservative lawmakers who forced the hands of GOP leaders when they balked at initial, smaller spending proposals. GOP and Democratic leaders agreed to add $526 million in new ongoing funding for K-12 schools, a substantial increase from the GOPs initial proposal. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. $400 million to complete another 20 miles of upgrading I-10 to three lanes in each direction between Casa Grande and Sun Lakes; $50 million for communities outside Pima and Maricopa counties to leverage federal dollars for shovel-ready transportation projects; $92 million for building repairs and upgrades in the state prison system; $8.2 million to increase the number of Adult Protective Services caseworkers; $177 million for projects at state parks, about half for sewage treatment systems, though $118 million of that is coming from federal cash.
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