Republicans and Democrats continue pointing the finger at one another after the Joint Legislative Budget Committee approved a transfer of funds to help a state program.
JLBC approved a $6.5 million transfer in addition to $10 million from other Arizona programs to aid the Department of Child Safety’s Congregate Care program. The program involves a network of licensed and contracted institutions providing care for minors in group homes, shelters and treatment centers.
The Center Square reached out to Republicans and Democrats for comment and was directed to press releases dating back to last week.
Republicans on the JLBC said the program is on the edge of bankruptcy due to Gov. Katie Hobbs' “repeated failures to manage the budget responsibly” and help agencies.
Democrats in the Arizona Legislature called this “theatrics” over a routine line-item transfer to cover higher-than-estimated expenses. Senate Democratic Leader Priya Sundareshan went as far as to accuse the legislature's Republican majority of stretching facts and manufacturing outrage over something that Sundareshan said has happened in the past under Republican and Democratic governors.
