PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is tired of waiting for the Legislature to send him a state budget package and is making his point by vetoing a series of bills and saying he won't sign any more until he gets a spending plan for the coming year.
Friday's move by the Republican governor came after a week of delays by the GOP-controlled Legislature as leaders tried to get enough votes to pass a budget they negotiated with Ducey.
The House gave up trying on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday, with both adjourning until June 10 unless they somehow wrangle the needed votes before then.
Today, I vetoed 22 bills. Some are good policy, but with one month left until the end of the fiscal year, we need to focus first on passing a budget. That should be priority one. The other stuff can wait. 1/
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) May 28, 2021
Once the budget passes, I’m willing to consider some of these other issues. But until then, I will not be signing any additional bills. Let’s focus on our jobs, get to work and pass the budget. 3/3
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) May 28, 2021
