PHOENIX — Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is directly negotiating with Republican lawmakers who control the Arizona Legislature to craft a deal to ask Maricopa County voters to extend a half-cent sales tax that for nearly 40 years has paid for new freeways, bus routes and light rail transportation projects.
Whether the efforts succeed will have implications for the rest of the state.
The bid to put Proposition 400 on the ballot has an uphill fight despite unanimous support for an updated plan from the 27 mayors, three tribes and two counties who sit on the Maricopa Association of Governments, the regional planning organization that oversees the transportation spending.
