PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs has given up on her demand to curb a program that allows any parent already sending their child to private or parochial schools to now get the bill picked up by taxpayers.
And that could leave her without the Democratic votes she needs for what Hobbs said is supposed to be a bipartisan budget.
A deal Hobbs negotiated with GOP leaders, unveiled Monday, continues in place the universal vouchers approved last year by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed into law by Doug Ducey, her GOP predecessor. In fact, the $17.8 billion spending plan does not even pause enrollment for what are known as “empowerment scholarship accounts.”
