Arizona state Sen. T.J. Shope, the Republican representing Maricopa, wants to make your life a little easier.
Within hours of the Arizona Department of Transportation finalizing its design selection for the Riggs Road overpass Monday, Shope introduced a bill to bring its funding back to the fast lane.
Senate Bill 1617 requests the $49 million set aside for the overpass be used during the upcoming fiscal year that starts in July. The money was earmarked for the current fiscal year, but those plans were axed to help balance the state’s billion-dollar budget deficit.
After Gov. Katie Hobbs nominated the overpass project for the legislative guillotine one year ago, the lawmakers punted the funding availability years down the road to October 2027 at the earliest. The money comes from the state general fund.
Shope’s legislation, should Hobbs come to sign it — she’s famously conservative with her gubernatorial stamp for a Democrat — would make the funds available more than two years sooner.
Shope said focusing on bringing this funding back to the forefront would also help legislators “focus on further improvements to State Route 347 to make life easier for everyone in Maricopa.”
“I made a commitment to the people of Maricopa and [Legislative District 16] that I would do everything in my power to get [SR] 347 projects back on track in the budget,” Shope told InMaricopa today.
