Arizona lawmakers race against the clock to avoid historic government shutdown

AZ House passes bipartisan budget deal

In a 40 to 16 vote, the Arizona House passed a bipartisan budget bill, which was an amended version passed by the Senate last week.

UPDATE: Arizona lawmakers reached a budget agreement, preventing the first government shutdown in our state's history.

Senate Republicans announced that the House and Senate have reached a bipartisan deal on the 2025-2026 state budget. The $17.6 billion budget includes $92 million in public safety funding, including raises for state law enforcement officers and firefighters, along with $119 million in new transportation initiatives, and $281 million in education funding.

This was an amended version of the bipartisan budget passed by the State Senate last week.

Lawmakers say this version was negotiated between both sides of the aisle in both the House and Senate. They have until June 30 to approve a budget to prevent a state government shutdown.

The bill now moves to the Senate. If approved there, it would go to Governor Katie Hobbs.

It's a deal Senate President Warren Petersen says the governor will sign. That is expected on June 27.

Our original story is below.

PHOENIX – The clock is ticking over at the state capitol. Lawmakers have until June 30 to reach a budget deal or face the first government shutdown in Arizona history.

There was a bit more optimism on June 26. This follows a tug-of-war struggle between House Republicans, Democrats, and the governor.

The backstory:

For weeks, lawmakers have squabbled over the budget and pointed fingers, accusing those across the aisle of engaging in partisan stunts. Even Republicans in the Senate appear to be frustrated with their party colleagues in the House.

But amidst this fighting, a threat looms on the horizon: if a deal isn’t met by June 30, the state government will be shut down for the first time ever on July 1. If that happens, it could impact government services in a variety of ways.

AZ lawmakers face June 30 deadline to pass budget

The state legislature is trying to pass a budget ahead of June 30's deadline. FOX 10's Lauren Clark has more on where things stand.

What's next:

On Thursday, lawmakers in the House are going through the more bipartisan $17.6 billion budget passed by the Senate. It includes more money for Medicaid, K-12 education, and pay increases for police and firefighters. But House members appear to have a long road ahead of them. Several people with ties to lawmakers say they’re expecting this to go on for hours.

Ahead of the session, State Senator John Kavanagh shared his optimism about a resolution.

"Things are going smoothly now, there’s pretty much an agreement," said Kavanagh. "It’s pretty much over. I would be shocked if things fell apart that monumentally."

A representative for the House Democrats also shared optimism of moving closer towards a deal to avoid a government shutdown.