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House Appropriations chair sends letter to Gov. Hobbs raising alarm over developmental disabilities budget
Summary
Chair David Livingston emailed and read a letter to Gov. Katie Hobbs saying the Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) faces sharply higher supplemental needs and warning the Legislature expects a plan to prevent service interruption.
House Appropriations Chairman David Livingston said the committee has sent a letter to Gov. Katie Hobbs raising alarm about a sharp increase in the state’s projected costs for the Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), and asking what steps the executive branch will take to avoid service interruptions.
In a letter read aloud at the committee’s Feb. 5 hearing, Livingston, identified as “David Livingston, chairman of appropriations,” said the committee had been briefed that DDD supplemental needs had grown from $109,000,000 to $122,000,000 and warned that the agency could “cease operations in April” without action. “This is alarming to both the legislature and families using this program,” he wrote and read to the panel.
The letter told the governor the committee had been briefed that the program’s cost growth stems from three primary drivers: growth in eligibility, increased rates, and continuation of the COVID-era parents-as-paid-caregivers program (PPCG). Livingston asked whether the governor’s office would “choose the same posture this year” as in a prior budget cycle and sought an immediate plan for how the Administration and DDD intend to control program costs.
Committee members pressed for additional detail at the hearing. Livingston apologized for earlier remarks made in a previous meeting and said he had spent time meeting with parents and community groups over the weekend; he urged agencies to provide the committee with “specific detailed recommendations” on cost control. Committee members also asked staff to follow up on specific fund sourcing and agency cost drivers during the budget process.
The letter and Livingston’s statements do not adopt a legislative remedy or identify a concrete appropriation; instead, they ask the governor and relevant agencies to provide the committee with detailed options to address the shortfall.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the letter at the Feb. 5 meeting. Livingston said the letter and a press release would be distributed to members and the media after the hearing.
Why this matters: DDD provides services for Arizonans with developmental disabilities. Committee chair’s request for a plan signals the Legislature expects rapid executive action and that the issue will be central to FY26 budget negotiations.
