Arizona lawmakers pass last-minute lifeline for family disability services

Arizona lawmakers finally passed a bill with bipartisan support to fund the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), after a months-long finger-pointing battle between Republicans and Democrats. 

The program provides vital services and care to nearly 60,000 Arizonans with disabilities and their families, but was set to completely run out of money by May 1 if the funding bill had not been passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor. 

Families breathe sigh of relief

Maggie Hoffert’s six-year-old son, Henry, has autism and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an eventually fatal muscle genetic condition that leads to mobility-device dependency—it has no known cure. 

For now, DDD does not cover Henry’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy diagnosis because he is still mobile, but it does cover his autism diagnosis. 

Without the DDD program, the Hoffert family wouldn’t be able to pay the tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills they’ve racked up since Henry’s diagnosis 3 1/2 years ago.  

Henry attends a specialized school for children with autism and uses an augmented communication device—helping him maintain independence and advocate for himself—both of which DDD pays for.  

As the supplemental funding debacle has been playing out at the State Capitol, many “what if” situations have been on Hoffert’s mind. 

“Our lives are stressful to begin with, our child is diagnosed with a life threatening condition,” Hoffert said. “And also dealing with another diagnosis of autism, we’re already dealing with a lot…and then to have to deal with this on top of it, it’s just kind of like, how much can one person take?”

The life expectancy for an individual diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is about 25 years. 

On top of working full time, both Hoffert and her husband balance constant doctor appointments and multiple prescriptions, and they have been preparing for when their son completely loses his mobility. 

“I think the government should be working to help make the lives of people that are disabled better and not make it more complicated and not make it more stressful,” Hoffert said.

Freedom caucus fails to block funding

The emergency funding measure passed with a bipartisan supermajority in both chambers of the Legislature—with only Republicans, mostly members of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, being the ‘no’ votes.

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the measure that covers the full $122 million shortfall the same day it passed through the Arizona Senate, lifting pressure from DDD families.

The law will take effect immediately due to its emergency language, skipping the typical 90-day delay from the governor’s signature to implementation.

The measure will fund DDD through the end of the fiscal year—after that, it’s up to lawmakers to negotiate the future of the program year by year.

This legislative action came after months of political fighting and accusations between Democrats and the Republican legislative majority that left many families concerned that lawmakers would not agree on a solution, leaving them out to dry. 

How did we get here?

For months, political theater seemed to be what would determine the fate of the program that many consider to be life-saving for Arizonans with disabilities.

The Parents as Paid Caregivers Program (PPCG) was responsible for the bulk of DDD’s budget deficit, as it doubled in participants over the last year. 

The program was started with federal money during the COVID-19 pandemic. That federal funding was set to be reduced last July. In January 2024, Hobbs proposed the use of state tax dollars in place of the federal dollars—but never came to an agreement with lawmakers.

Republicans in the Legislature blamed the Hobbs administration for deciding to continue funding the PPCG program, when the Legislature did not provide enough money in this year’s budget to sustain it.

READ MORE: Disability assistance on the chopping block as costs for Arizona’s school voucher system continue to soar

Initially, the Republican majority’s solution was just to simply cut funding, no questions asked.

After a presentation in January notifying the House Appropriations Committee that there would be a $122 million budget shortfall for DDD, a response from Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee that oversees the budget, sparked public outcry. 

“It is going to hurt,” Livingston said. “I think family members and providers need to know it is going to hurt.”

“I hope you’re not suggesting that we cut the services to our children,” Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, D-Tucson, said to the chairman. 

“Yes, I am,” said Livingston.

“It’s easy to pick on the most vulnerable…maybe he [Livingston] was thinking we wouldn’t fight,” Hoffert said about Livingston’s comments.

Since the DDD funding storm began, the disability community has been advocating at the Capitol for months, speaking to the media, and packing committee hearing rooms. 

Cutting funding would only mean that children end up institutionalized, Hoffert said. “We all know from the past that’s not a good method of treating a child with autism, or any other disability—keeping them at home, keeping them with their family, is what works.”  

“It shouldn’t be debated whether our most vulnerable in our community can be covered,” Hoffert said.

Early solutions shot down

In February, Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, D-Tucson, proposed an amendment to add the $122 million to DDD’s current year budget, but it was rejected. During the same hearing, Livingston refused to allow members of the public affected by this potential funding cut to address lawmakers. 

Gutierrez and 26 other Democrats introduced a bill that would fund DDD to the extent detailed in Hobbs’ budget proposal, House Bill 2816, but Livingston refused to hear it in committee.

The fix that Republicans proposed? Slash the pay for parents enrolled in the PPCG program in half. 

The program pays parents up to 40 hours a week to care for their severely disabled children, and Livingston, along with other Republicans, wanted to cut the program to 20 hours a week per child.  

Rep. Julie Willoughby, R-Chandler, attempted to remove Livingston’s 20-hour cap on paid care hours and increase the overall funding for DDD with an amendment to his bill—but House GOP leaders stacked the appropriations committee with three additional Republicans to block the amendment. 

After Livingston’s bill passed the committee on April 15, Hobbs announced a moratorium on signing legislation until a bipartisan supplemental funding bill was passed.

Hobbs said she would veto a previous version of the bill that Senate Republicans passed on April 23—which proposed taking $38 million from the Housing Trust Fund, a dedicated source of public funding for affordable housing projects, to help cover the DDD shortfall. 

The bill that was ultimately passed after House negotiations—with seven days to spare before funding officially ran out—then subsequently passed by the Senate and signed by Hobbs, doesn’t cut parent pay, and it implements more oversight on the program.

It covers the funding shortfall from the Prescription Drug Rebate Fund instead of the Housing Trust Fund, while keeping the maximum number of weekly hours paid to parents enrolled in the PPCG program at 40 per child. 

The law puts tighter restrictions on the PPCG program, such as establishing an electronic visit verification system from the Department of Economic Security, and only allowing parents to provide attendant care between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. 

It also allocates $355,000 to the Auditor General’s Office for a special audit of the PPCG program. 

Republicans pushed for these restrictions to make sure that the program isn’t “abused” by families who depend on assistance.

Now, Livingston, along with other GOP lawmakers, could be facing a recall for how they handled the funding crisis, the Arizona Agenda reported. 

“[The disability community has] really stepped up to the plate and defended themselves, but we shouldn’t have to do that. We defend our kids on a daily basis anyway,” Hoffert said. “I shouldn’t have to fight this hard for my son to be able to live a happy life.”