PHOENIX — In a letter expressing her "alarm" over state budget proposals, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes warned that her agency and others might not receive new ongoing funding for next year because of a "catastrophic drain on resources" caused by Arizona's expansion of school vouchers to all Arizona students.
"Any budget that does not adjust (funding) in a time of inflation is a budget cut," Mayes wrote.
"The effect on the Attorney General's Office and upon the safety and well-being of the people of Arizona would be disastrous."
Mayes also warns that one of the core functions of her office - protecting consumers - could run out of money for 13 of its lawyers by 2025.
The office's ability to combat the fentanyl scourge would also be impaired, she said.
Mayes' letter to Gov. Katie Hobbs, a fellow Democrat, and the Republican-controlled legislature was sent Saturday ahead of the expected start of budget hearings by legislative committees this week.
The letter was obtained by 12News.
Budget proposals haven't been publicly released.
If majorities in the House and Senate agree on a spending plan, the state budget could be passed by the end of this week.
The expansion of the school voucher program, known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, isn't funded in the state budget.
Based on estimates by the independent Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the cost of the expanded program this year could be from $200 million to more than $300 million.
Lawmakers are working with a projected $2.5 billion surplus for next year's budget, which takes effect July 1.
The surplus is forecast to plunge to $50 million in the 2025 fiscal year, starting July 1, 2024.
Hobbs' spokesman, Christian Slater, provided this response to Mayes' letter:
"Governor Hobbs is committed to working with Democrats and Republicans to pass a budget that prioritizes the needs of everyday Arizonans and helps build a state that works for every community."
Hobbs' proposed state budget in January, her first as governor, would have repealed the ESA expansion signed into law last year by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey.
The law allows all 1.1 million Arizona students to obtain tuition from taxpayer dollars to help pay for private or parochial schools. Families of about 54,000 students have signed up for ESAs, including the 12,000 students who were enrolled pre-expansion.
Republican Sen. T.J. Shope of Coolidge, the Senate's speaker pro tem, said via a Senate email:
"The Attorney General should be focusing on the core functions of her position, like defending the law, instead of trying to influence budget negotiations, as well as craft her own water policy. She will get her piece of the pie. We don't need to cut K-12 or anything else to fund her agency. With all due respect, the Legislature and the Governor will hammer out funding details."
A spokesman for the House Republican leadership hasn't responded to a request for comment.
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