Justinas Duknauskas Karina Smirnoff, Articles A

Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. Every single budgets bad, Gray said. Other state employee raises are reflected in the budget bill that is expected to be finalized before the end of the Regular Session. Nobody loves a budget once all the compromises are made, said Senate Majority Leader Rick Gray, R-Sun City. Tiny majorities in both chambers meant opposition from a single Republican lawmaker was enough to sink the budget if Democrats were united in opposition. For those in the middle of the pay range scale, the hike . A salary increase with a chosen percent pay increase. Not so much, according to public records obtained by The Arizona Republic. But some of that money is going to erect what the Governors Office is calling physical barriers along stretches of the border where they have access. Jeffrey Hawkins, president of the Arizona State Troopers Association, said the premium pay is sorely needed at the agency that not only patrols state highways but does investigations, runs a crime lab and does many other law enforcement jobs. Gov. This widespread removal of protections made possiblemass firings during the Ducey administration in a quest to shrink government. Session lurches into overtime as state worker pay raises approved in U of A's $2.3 billion budget earmarks $51.5 million for employee raises. The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. Arizonas individual income tax rates were substantially reduced starting with the 2022 tax year. "But Id say that Arizona in general has not followed the market trend when it comes to police pay.". click the box below and click the Login button under Y.E.S. The Arizona Freedom Caucus announced it would be filing a lawsuit challenging Gov. Its not just line DPS troopers that are getting premium pay; dispatchers, crime lab technicians, radio repair staff and many others are getting premium pay, which ends on June 30. If prompted, enter your YES Username and Password. And that specifically means private lands. . 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. Department of Administration Human Resources. Ducey proposes $14B budget, with tax cuts, some raises for state workers, Lawmakers want to strip 19 cities' rights but Tucson is real target, Celebrity Las Vegas chefs opening Tucson restaurant, A bunch of photos of today's snow across Tucson , The highly anticipated Portillo's is now open in Tucson, 'Attainable' apartments coming to northwest Tucson, A big ol' guide to this weekend's Tucson Festival of Books, Watch: The most notable things Tommy Lloyd said after Arizona's heartbreaking loss to ASU, New game, entertainment center makes southwest Tucson a bigger draw, South Tucson motel sold to soup kitchen for housing, Tim Steller's column: Converting Tucson's big boxes, vast parking lots into housing tantalizes, 100 fun events happening in Tucson this March 2023 , Tucson lawmaker loses first bid to dump cities' rights, 'Extreme weather' closes parts of Interstates 17, 40 in Arizona, Feds might seek $163M refund over Arizona's anti-mask mandate rules, Arizona's online portal for campaign signatures facing shut down during critical period, Lawmaker's bill would eliminate sales tax on gun purchases in Arizona, Ducey: "Summer camp" plan to differ from traditional summer school, Arizona lawmaker seeks to override HOA rules against turf, Bill would again allow local governments to regulate short-term rentals, Gov. This is your TASC card account. All rights reserved. Arizona lawmakers approve bipartisan $18 billion budget, Arizona DPS trooper praised for saving driver, Pima County man sentenced second time to life in prison for deadly shooting, Man charged with murder after girlfriends 1-year-old son dies, Suspect killed in Tucson officer-involved shooting, Tom Sizemore, Saving Private Ryan actor, dies at 61. Cleaning house: DES director fires 72 for being bullies, but did he go too far? Arizona Lawmakers Approve Bipartisan $18 Billion Budget 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. A Valley teenager was arrested on Friday for bringing a firearm to Moon Valley High School, authorities said. The state hopes a new computer program will increase efficiency and allow employees across agencies to work together better. The Senate is adjourned until tomorrow, March 11, at 11 a.m. 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. All employees in salaried positions as of April 10, 2022 and remaining employed on July 10, 2022 are eligible for the statewide salary increase. Arizona Gov. Ducey quietly approves $95M in virus cash to boost pay for It allows state and local governments to. The Senate is adjourned until Monday, March 6, at 11 a.m. For the rest of Floridians, affordable housing has been the subject of calls for more money, as the states sizzling housing market has driven rents and home prices through the roof. She says it's the actual payment amounts that put Arizona at the bottom of her list. "State employees have stepped up and answered the call of public service. But when the state alters the basis for how those taxes are assessed to reduce what business pays, it can shift the tax burden onto homeowners to pay for local governments, community colleges and other schools. Have a story idea or tip? 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. 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. Doug Ducey, despite lean budget, awards hefty pay raises to his staff, Teachers union to fight for 20 percent raises, just like Gov. "It really was just a stopgap to start trying to stop people from leaving because all the agencies around us have received considerable pay raises and we were still so far behind," Hawkins said. Keep reading with a digital access subscription. Thn 5, x hong tn,th x qung yn, tnh qung ninh. With a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2020 pushing the states minimum wage for all workers to $15-an-hour in 2026, Florida lawmakers now appear to be getting out slightly ahead of this shift. Arizona passes state budget a week before deadline | 12news.com - KPNX May 4, 2022 PHOENIX Governor Doug Ducey today expressed appreciation and gratitude for state workers on Arizona State Employee Recognition Day, thanking them for their dedication to serving the residents of one of the fastest-growing states. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Forty workers let go by the now-fired head of the Department of Economic Security got an early Christmas gift Friday: Theyre going to get their jobs back. But for Democrats, this may have been the last chance for the foreseeable future to make an imprint on the state budget. 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. Reach the reporter at craig.harris@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8478 or on Twitter @charrisazrep. Likely there will be some sort of compromise concerning the two state bills. $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. The previous Form A-4 withholding rates are no longer representative of the new lower income tax rates. 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. 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 Senate completed action on a bill Thursday evening that will provide pay raises for state employees whose wages are outlined in state code. It would raise payments from $240 to $320, with a second increase to $400 when the state's unemployment fund is back to its normal level. 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. The same is true at other agencies, according to a spreadsheet of classifications earning premium pay provided by the state Department of Administration. While pay raises look settled, Trumbull and Stargel held a later Tuesday meeting to address dozens of other spending issues. Pass it along to the KTAR News team here. 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.