![]() In her first initiative as Arizona’s chief executive, Governor Katie Hobbs has unveiled a series of budget priorities that include an ambitious variety of infrastructure and water projects to be voted on by state lawmakers in the coming weeks. In announcing those priorities, Hobbs remarked that Arizona has an “opportunity to make a significant change in the lives of the families and communities of this state.” Continued the Governor: “We are committed to facing our challenges head on to build a resilient, innovating, and prosperous Arizona for everyone.” Among the priorities: a one-time General Fund deposit of $333 million in state funding to go to the Long-Term Water Augmentation Fund, which is tasked with water supply infrastructure and conservation. Some $15 million is being proposed by Hobbs to fund a grant program that will assist Indigenous, Latino, and rural communities in securing well drillers to access safe drinking water. Exactly $10 million is slated to go to the State Parks Heritage Fund, which is used for a variety of park development, preservation, and trail projects; while $7.5 million is slated for restoring interstation passenger service to the city Phoenix, which has been without that service now for nearly three decades. A smaller $5 million will go to the state’s Department of Water Resources in its ongoing effort to provide water resource management planning for local governments. The Arizona legislature, convening on January 19, is scheduled to wrap up its 2023 session on April 18. By Garry Boulard
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Get stories like these right to your inbox.
|