From Stephanie Parra (AEA lobbyist):

Today, around 4:00 pm, the House and Senate introduced budget bills to be heard in Rules committees. House Bills (HB) 2747-2756 and Senate Bills (SB) 1548-1557 will next be heard in Appropriations committees tomorrow morning (May 22). House Appropriations is scheduled for 10:00 am and Senate Appropriations for 9:00 am. This is the only opportunity the public will have to weigh in on the state budget. This budget does not restore education funding our students need, and, instead, provides nearly $400 million in new permanent tax cuts.

We expect budget negotiations to continue tomorrow as they don’t have the votes necessary to pass them on the floor. House is adjourned until Thursday at 9:00 am, which means we won’t see any final votes until Thursday. We need you in these Appropriations committee meetings tomorrow! Thank you to AEA members and #REDforED activists who have joined us in the gallery; your presence is keeping the pressure on our elected officials.

In addition, House Rules also allowed Representative Townsend to resurrect her dead bill attacking teachers’ free speech. Contact your legislators tonight to oppose HB2032 and be sure to sign into the Request to Speak (RTS) system to voice your opposition.

Check arizonaea.org/budgetwatch, as well as AEA’s Facebook and Twitter pages for updates!