Gov. Doug Ducey gave his State of the State Address Monday, loosely discussing his priorities and what to expect in the upcoming year before his 2016 budget proposal is released Friday.
Here's what you might have missed:
The budget
Ducey referenced his work to balance the current state budget, which has previously involved mass cuts to several public programs, that will be released Friday. Despite previous cuts, the legislature has extra revenue to work with this upcoming session.
"Today, because of our decisions, there’s money in the bank, we can pay our bills, and our credit rating upgrades will save taxpayers millions," he said.
In the same vein of promoting economics, Ducey asked legislatures to reduce state regulations and job licensing re-tape. He also asked for specific regulation to allow him to do away with older, “buried” regulations he deemed unnecessary.
State education
Ducey also discussed the state's K-12 education. Arizona has worked to resolve a lawsuit in the vein of adequate funding for public schools. The legislature also faces threats of another lawsuit, receiving accusations that there isn't enough funding for infrastructure upkeep.
He pitched Proposition 123 — a temporary fix for public school issues that would fund inflation costs for public schools. The proposition would take money out from primarily state land trusts and from money saved up over time. It's a $3.5 billion funding proposition that will be put to vote in May.
Ducey said he was shocked that around half of Arizona high school graduates don’t meet qualifications to attend public state universities despite cuts made in last year’s budget. To remedy this issue, he proposed to provide financial incentives for students to participate in college prep-style courses, giving extra funding to students in lower-income areas.
However, beside this temporary fix, Ducey provided no insight to restore budgetary cuts from public education.
Support and expectations
In the most general terms, the significance of the speech was not in what was said, but what was not. Ducey said very little on college education and indicated that spending, if increased, would not be an exorbitant or significant amount for schools.
Beyond that, he voiced his support for ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft, especially in the context of Sky Harbor Airport, which has been a controversial area due to its high concentration of cabs. He called for a long-range plan for Arizona’s water management which focused on conservation and long-term water sources.
Further details of Ducey's plan will be released and expanded upon when he releases his budget proposal Friday.
Related Links:
Arizona Republican legislators, Ducey agree on new budget proposal
On higher education, post-budget Ducey proves to be all talk, no action
Reach the assistant news editor at megan.janetsky@asu.edu or follow @meganjanetsky on Twitter.
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