PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs will deliver her annual “State of the State” speech at 2 p.m. Monday to a joint session of the House of Representatives and Senate, while looking ahead to a re-election campaign in 2026 and staring at members of a larger, more emboldened Republican majority in the Legislature.
Here are seven things to know about Hobbs’ speech and the new legislative session:
What Hobbs wants to do
In a pre-session interview last week, Hobbs checked off two priorities she says are achievable during the new session. Expect her to offer proposals to make housing more affordable, and ideas that would make child care more accessible and affordable. Child care has emerged as an economic issue that has drawn the interest of the business community.
The governor will let Arizonans know how much weight she puts on the priorities in her speech when she releases her proposed budget next Friday, revealing how much she wants to spend on those priorities.
State of the State tease
Hobbs wouldn’t reveal much about the speech beyond the larger themes. But she did say she would respond to Republican School Superintendent Tom Horne’s plan to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in school-voucher spending reimbursements without documentation up front…