PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs’ latest tactic to get the Legislature to approve her proposal to help workers pay for childcare is to gain the support of the business community.
As part of this effort, Hobbs on April 1 held a roundtable of business leaders from a variety of industries — technology and semiconductors, construction, insurance, banking, logistics and agriculture — in the Arizona Capitol’s executive tower to pitch her plan while learning how different businesses have been impacted by childcare needs of employees.
Hobbs, a Democrat in her third year as governor, has included an initiative as part of her proposed budget that would cut childcare costs by two-thirds for working families. The plan calls for public-private partnerships with the state matching employers’ contributions towards employee childcare costs, up to $400 per child per month. Participating businesses would get a tax credit in return.
