HB2956

THE CONTEXT: The Arizona Legislature adopts a budget for each fiscal year (FY) that contains general appropriations. Article IV, Section 20, Part 2 of the Constitution of Arizona requires the General Appropriations Act (feed bill) to contain only appropriations for the different state departments, state institutions, public schools and interest on public debt.

WHAT THE BILL DID: The final vetoed version would increase the base level for FY 2026 from $5,013.00 to $5,113.26, increase charter additional assistance from: a) $2,090.10 to $2,131.90 per student count in preschool programs for children with disabilities, kindergarten and the 1st-8th grades; and b) $2,435.97 to $2,484.69 per student count in the 9th-12th grades, and increase the FY 2026 state support level per route mile from: a) $2.95 to $3.01 for 0.5 or less approved daily route mileage; b) $2.42 to $2.47 for more than 0.5 through 1.0 approved daily route mileage; and c) $2.95 to $3.01 for more than 1.0 approved daily route mileage.

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to make a concrete adjustment to the existing rule for k-12 education. It would increase the base level for FY 2026 from $5,013.00 to $5,113.26, and would also increase charter additional assistance from: a) $2,090.10 to $2,131.90 per student count in preschool programs for children with disabilities, kindergarten and the 1st-8th grades; and b) $2,435.97 to $2,484.69 per student count in the 9th-12th grades, rather than leave the current rule unchanged.