Special Edition: FY 2021 Executive Budget

January 17,2020 | TRIADVOCATES

January 17, 2020

This afternoon, Gov. Doug Ducey unveiled his FY 2021 Executive Budget—a $12.3 billion spending plan that boosts state spending by $727 million, roughly 6%, over the budget enacted last year.

• $175 million for the last piece of a three-year plan to boost teacher salaries by 20%;
• $44 million to fund what’s being called Project Rocket, a program to give $150-per-student grants to certain low-performing schools and schools with a high percentage of students living in poverty (the money, $44 million per year for three years spread among 554 district and charter schools, would have to be spent on “proven turnaround strategies”);
• funding to fully restore – two years ahead of schedule – the money schools get for textbooks, school buses, technology and other needs, which was cut during the economic downturn;
• $35 million to expand the state’s results-based funding program, bringing it to $107 million in total, which pencils out to roughly $225 to $400 per student;
• $38 million in additional funding for the state's school safety grant program, which would cover more than 400 new school counselors, social workers and on-campus police officers;
• an additional $35 million, a 44% increase, for the School Facilities Board, the state agency that funds construction and major repairs

Higher Education

• $35 million to universities for a “New Economy Initiative” targeted at specific fields and at increasing the number of graduates in high-demand industries like coding and artificial intelligence, while reducing the amount of time to get a degree;
• $35 million in operational money for the universities (including $10 million in state matching funds for research);
• an additional $1 million for the Arizona Teachers Academy, which allows future teachers to receive free college if they teach in Arizona after graduation;
• $11 million to fully fund STEM and workforce programs formulas for Maricopa, Pima and Pinal community college districts;

• $33 million to transfer more than 3,800 inmates currently housed in the Florence prison to private and county facilities (closure of the state’s oldest prison is projected to save between $150 million and $400 million that would be needed to maintain the facility);
• allocates $48 million to fix broken locks and fire, heating and air-conditioning systems at the Lewis and Yuma state prisons;
• $42 million to fund a 5% pay raise for correctional officers, who received 10% pay raises last year, as part of a retention strategy designed to address ongoing staffing shortages;
• $8 million from the state's medical marijuana fund to fund substance abuse treatment programs;

• $5 million to equip all sworn DPS officers with body cameras;
• $15 million to replace two of the Department of Public Safety's five helicopters;
• $20 million lease-purchase plan for its patrol vehicles designed to replace all vehicles by 2026;
• $16 million to upgrade the state police radio network;
• $421 million in investments spread over several projects, including new bullet-proof vests and helmets, computer replacements and crime lab testing;
• $2 million to establish a DUI Investigative Task Force;
• $24 million to the Secretary of State’s Office to manage this year's election and improve cybersecurity;

• $28 million in state cash for a new I-10 bridge over the Gila River—the missing link in an ongoing $78 million project to widen the corridor linking Phoenix and Tucson;
• $60 million to lay broadband conduit along Interstates 40, 17 and 19, which would enable the state to deploy “smart highway” technologies, including wrong-way driver detectors, and increase telecommunication access in rural areas;
• $1 million to market state parks and other rural destinations throughout the state; and

• a $25 million deposit into Arizona's Rainy Day Fund, the state savings account.

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