PRESS RELEASE: Democrats Overwhelmingly Vote to Pass Bipartisan Negotiated Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    

June 26, 2025

PHOENIX – A large majority of the House Democratic Caucus provided key support for a negotiated bipartisan budget that passed on Thursday 40-16-4, including 20 Democratic votes, and now moves to the Senate for final approval. The plan was developed with Caucus leaders Oscar De Los Santos and Nancy Gutierrez, along with ranking Appropriations Ranking Member Stephanie Stahl Hamilton at the table with the Governor, Senate Democratic and Republican leaders.

"This bipartisan budget is the result of intense months-long negotiations and delivers important wins for Arizonans delivered because Democrats were at the negotiating table," said Leader De Los Santos. "The plan is not perfect, and nobody got everything they wanted, but I'm proud and grateful for the work Representative Stahl Hamilton and our team did to help build this plan. This is a budget that delivers for public school students, protects Medicaid, and expands health care for Indigenous Tribal members and cancer patients. We also make big investments to bring down the cost of childcare and make college tuition free for Arizona’s students from working families. And we held the line, providing no money for Trump's mass deportation agenda."

Representative Stahl Hamilton, who helped negotiate the package as ranking Democratic member of the House Appropriations Committee, added, "A truly bipartisan budget means both parties being at the negotiating table with the Governor from the beginning. That is what happened, and it made all the difference with this budget. We helped build this plan with our caucus from the bottom up, working directly with the Governor's outstanding team, and that gave me confidence in my vote."

Assistant Leader Gutierrez reminded Arizonans that House Republicans showed exactly what a state budget would have looked like without Democrats at the table by sending two starvation budgets to the Governor's desk to be vetoes.

"Far-right Republicans tried to end health insurance for thousands of Arizonans, attack Dreamers attending public universities, and cut vital funding for hospitals, especially in rural Arizona," Gutierrez said. "Democrats stood firm and we defeated every single one of these extreme proposals."

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