Arizona state employees get raises without needed OKs. The Legislature plans to return Thursday afternoon to take up legislation directing how the new water cash will be spent and other remaining bills, with an eye to adjourning for the year once those are completed. Hundreds of millions are set aside for water infrastructure as the state faces prolonged drought. Lawmakers in the House and Senate ended a months-long impasse, working through the night to approve the budget shortly before sunrise. Amplifying the voices of Arizonans whose stories are unheard; shining a light on the relationships between people, power and policy; and holding public officials to account. 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.. Those tax credits will be adjusted for inflation, increasing the savings to donors. Bipartisan budget boosts school funding, state employee pay raises, transportation. She says Arizona normally offers 26 weeks of payments; about the same as other states. The budget puts another $425 million into the rainy day fund, an emergency savings account, adding to $1 billion already stashed away. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. He citied Boyers leadership, your stubbornness, your perseverance, for reaching the deal. And that total is expected to grow considerably between now and July 1. He has also served as the editor and executive director of the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting. Arizona Mirror is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. But for Democrats, this may have been the last chance for the foreseeable future to make an imprint on the state budget. But for me, its encouraging that we have actually come together.. PHOENIX (AP) Arizonas 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. This is really just getting on a soap box and vilifying immigrants and creating a political point, Quezada said. And the budget includes another $200 million for school repairs and another $50 million for school safety initiatives. Kay Ivey approved of the step changes prior to the boards decision. $160 per employee a year to $186 per employee a year. 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. Web2022 Top Companies; Morning Scoop. The Lamont administration, labor leaders and other supporters of the increases have said they believe unions could have gotten even larger raises had they rejected the states offer and gone to arbitration. Nobody loves a budget once all the compromises are made, said Senate Majority Leader Rick Gray, R-Sun City. Citing the possibility of an economic recession, Republicans used the state's unusually flush surplus to sock away money and pay off debts. 0. 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. She says it's the actual payment amounts that put Arizona at the bottom of her list. Updated: 6:21 AM MST June 23, 2022 State employees will get a raise, many for the first time in a decade. Giving taxpayers their money back, especially as inflation soars, is the only truly conservative action, she said but the Senate rejected two of her amendments to do that. Long-serving state employees may be eligible for pay increases of up to 10% over the next few years. Osten said the raises reflect the valuable work state employees provide daily, and particularly throughout the coronavirus pandemic. The merit raises are separate from cost of living increases sometimes approved by the Legislature. Deputy Chief Investment Officer. $225,000.05. The budget also makes a $1.1 billion deposit into the pension fund for public safety and corrections officers, paying off the state's unfunded liability for future retirement benefits. A north Phoenix church with ties in Turkey are rallying for earthquake survivors in the transcontinental country and also Syria. 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. May 4, 2022. Today were living in a post-COVID world, where employees and not employers are ruling the job market, said Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, co-chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee. 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The bonuses, the GOP argued, are hardly the key to retaining workers, as the governor and other Democrats claim. State employees have stepped up and answered the call of "Arizona came in second to last. 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. We are overpaying. 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 cover the next two fiscal years and potentially 2024-25 as well. That is one provision I am glad to see in here, Rep. Reginald Bolding, D-Phoenix, remarked, adding that Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, had been instrumental in getting the measure, which will allow agencies to request DPS to conduct independent investigations, into the criminal justice portion of the state budget. The governor in2016 signed a bill expanding the Arizona Supreme Court to seven judges from five, saying it would improve efficiency even as the chief justice at the time objected, citing more dire court needs. Kay Ivey approved of the step changes prior to the boards decision. Arizona Department of Administration. These class-specific raises are in addition to the 3.25% raise and lump-sum payments and will also go into effect July 1, 2022 and be reflected on the July 25 paycheck. Ironically, it was the Legislature's most conservative lawmakers who forced the hands of GOP leaders when they balked at initial, smaller spending proposals. The added funding includes phasing in funding for low-income students starting at $50 million in the upcoming fiscal year and growing to $100 million in three years and special education. 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 governor this year proposed his first tax cut that would benefit low-income Arizonans, a state version of the earned income tax credit program. Doug Ducey is expected to sign the $18 billion budget approved by the Legislature this week. 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. Get the Daily News Digest in your inbox each morning. 2305. State lawmakers worked overnight and passed a $15.6 billion budget in the early morning hours of June 23. Those who have voted against it say they want to see a restructuring of DES before handing them more money. Senate Bill 531 applies to teachers, school counselors, school service personnel and State Troopers. The budget is not sound and its not reflective of my conservative values, Ugenti-Rita said. Rowan has spent the last few months going through unemployment data from states, giving context to the problems we are seeing now. Republicans last year cut $1.7 billion in income taxes. It was not a great situation," said Lisa Rowan, a consumer finance reporter with Forbes Advisor. 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. State lawmakers worked overnight and passed a $15.6 billion budget in the early morning hours of June 23. It also eliminates the state equalization tax, a property tax for education, and backfills it with $330 million from the general fund. In addition, full-time workers would receive a $2,500 bonus in mid-May and another $1,000 bonus in mid-July. Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror. Last year, Graham told ADN agencies were struggling to find employees and her department was reviewing ways to keep them. Doug Ducey was expected to approve it. Sen. Cathy Osten defending the SEBAC deal. 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. ", Education:House vote puts Arizona on cusp of largest school voucher program in US. And the minority party convinced Republicans to strip an expansion of the states school tuition organization program out of the budget. The contracts allow workers to accept the $2,500 extra payment and still retire before July 1. Republicans had sought to let parents use the scholarships to cover the entirety of a private schools tuition instead of the 90% limit that has been in place since the program was created in the early 2000s. The State Personnel Board last week voted to add four steps of 2.5% to employees pay structure. Get CT Mirror emails in your inbox daily. 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. But Osten said the agreements are essential to maintain a state workforce that is at its smallest size since the 1950s, an argument Lamont has made as well. A separate bill giving locality pay was scrapped in favor of this bill. A virtual reality experience is launching in Phoenix, allowing visitors to submerge themselves in history while touring the Anne Frank House. Ironically, it was the Legislatures most conservative lawmakers who forced the hands of GOP leaders when they balked at initial, smaller spending proposals. WebDeputy Chief Investment Officer. The Senate is adjourned until tomorrow, March 11, at 11 a.m. In 2020, state employees were paid an average of $50,312. 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. Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. Although it wasn't enough for some fiscal conservatives in the Legislature, savings can be a dry part of the budget but also an important one. Certain occupations, such as corrections officers, Department of Child Safety case workers and highway patrol officers will get more on top of that. The House is adjourned until tomorrow, March 1 at 9:30 a.m. 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. With this budget, were putting those dollars to good use and investing in priorities that Republicans and Democrats alike can agree on.. The result is a booming economy with record revenues, Ducey said in a statement. These class-specific raises are in addition to the 3.25% raise and lump-sum payments and will also go into effect July 1, 2022 and be reflected on the July 25 paycheck. The Regular Session ends Saturday March 12 at midnight. The Senate gave final approval Friday to a four-year package of raises for state employees that includes $3,500 in bonuses to help stem a surge in worker retirements. The Legislature set aside $84 million for much-needed job-class-specific pay increases. Updated: 6:21 AM MST June 23, 2022 State employees will get a raise, many for the first time in a decade. Arizona state officials gave pay raises to 169 government workers without getting the required approval from the Department of December 9, 2014 Leave a comment. Doug Ducey quietly tapped $95 million in federal coronavirus relief money in November to boost pay for state troopers, prison guards and workers in several other state departments deemed essential.