Arizona has $1 billion surplus, but likely won't be restoring benefits for poor families
Four years ago, when lawmakers voted to make Arizona the strictest state in the nation for welfare benefits, their rationale was financial.
The state was facing a $1 billion budget deficit, they said, and cuts had to be made.
This year, the state has projected a $1 billion surplus. And the more than 11,000 children whose families receive welfare benefits represent only a fraction of those living in poverty.
But Democrats' efforts to return aid to Arizona's poorest households to pre-Recession levels — or at least relax current limits — appear to be a nonstarter with Republican lawmakers, who have declined to give the bills public hearings in the Legislature.
Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/02/18/arizona-welfare-benefits-likely-stay-same-despite-budget-surplus/2843404002/