Hobbs proposes housing and child care programs in State of the State

In her first State of the State address since voters expanded Republicans' legislative majorities, Gov. Katie Hobbs pledged to provide more assistance to people struggling with the costs of housing and child care.

The big picture: Hobbs' speech covered a variety of areas she hopes to find common ground with Republicans who control the House and Senate, and it was mixed with a handful of partisan proposals and jabs at the majority party.

• The governor emphasized her past struggles, talking about her family's reliance on food stamps when she was young, losing her home during the Great Recession and taking a second job as an Uber driver to buy Christmas presents for her kids.

Hobbs lamented that "the Arizona promise has slipped away" for too many and outlined several proposals she said would alleviate the problem.

On housing: The governor called for the extension of the state's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and the Arizona Is Home program, which provides aid to first-time homebuyers, and for the restriction of short-term rental "party houses," which she said are removed from the housing supply by out-of-state speculators.

On child care: The average Arizona family pays nearly $15,000 a year for child care, Hobbs said, and one in four who needs care can't access it.

• The governor said she wants to cut costs for struggling families by two-thirds through partnerships with employers.
• Reality check: We have yet to see more details about the Working Families Child Care Act.

On public safety: Hobbs proposed a 5% pay raise for frontline law enforcement officers, as well as higher salaries for state firefighters.

What she's saying: "Since I became governor, we have achieved much together by finding common ground, but we must do more. As we go forward, let us work together to make that promise a reality — today and for years to come," Hobbs said.

• Yes, but: She took a more partisan turn in the latter part of her speech, touting proposals that are unlikely to pass muster with GOP lawmakers and vowing to take action on her own in some areas.

Zoom in: Hobbs called on the Legislature to repeal the law requiring annual state reports of abortion data, calling it "government surveillance of pregnant women."

• She also called for lawmakers to protect the right to contraception and fertility treatment.

1 big lightning rod: Hobbs didn't call for the repeal of a landmark expansion of Arizona's voucher-style Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.

• She did, however, urge lawmakers to impose an income cap on the program, which currently provides state funding to families across socioeconomic backgrounds, and to enact accountability measures.

And while Hobbs said she's "committed to true bipartisan reform to protect our groundwater," she emphasized that she'll veto water legislation that she thinks undermines the state's water security, and she said she'll act if the Legislature won't, as she did last month in creating a new management area in the Willcox Groundwater Basin.