Weeks after Arizona lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to create an independent oversight office to monitor its deeply troubled prison system, the new office's future is in question after its funding was stripped from a state budget bill.
The Arizona House and Senate passed Senate Bill 1507 late last month by wide margins, and Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed it into law. The new law will create an office tasked with independent oversight of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR), including monitoring compliance with policies and investigating complaints.
The office was originally set to receive $1.5 million in appropriations in the state's budget, but the funding became a sticking point between the legislature and Hobbs' office. To keep the bill from being scuttled altogether, it was amended to allow the office to be funded through other legislative appropriations, federal grants, and private sources.
