The Latest: House, Senate vote for school tax extension

PHOENIX (AP) - The Latest on a push in the Arizona Legislature to extend a sales tax funding schools (all times local):

4:20 p.m.

The Arizona House has joined the Senate in voting to extend a sales tax that provides more than $500 million a year for K-12 schools until 2041.

Thursday’s votes send the proposal to Gov. Doug Ducey for his consideration.

Proposition 301 was approved by voters in 2000 and levies a 6/10 of a cent sales tax to fund K-12 schools, universities and colleges. It was set to expire in 2021.

The proposal approved on supermajority votes in both chambers extends the tax for 20 years. It takes $64 million currently being used for debt service and redirects it to teacher pay after June 2021. That will provide about a 2 percent pay increase.

The sales tax brings in about $667 million a year. Public K-12 schools get the bulk of the cash, but universities and colleges and bond interest payments also get a share.

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2:35 p.m.

The Arizona Senate had voted to extend a sales tax that provides more than $500 million a year for K-12 schools until 2041.

Thursday’s 26-4 vote sends the proposal to the House, which was debating the Proposition 301 extension while the Senate voted.

The original tax was approved by voters in 2000 and levies a 6/10 of a cent sales tax to fund K-12 schools, universities and colleges. It was set to expire in 2021.

The House is taking up the Senate version and approve sends to Gov. Doug Ducey for his consideration. It extends the tax for 20 years and uses $64 million currently being used for debt service and redirects it to teacher pay after June 2021.

The sales tax brings in about $667 million a year. Public K-12 schools get the bulk of the cash, b ut universities and colleges and bond interest payments also get a share.

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10:15 a.m.

An Arizona Senate panel has unanimously approved an extension of a sales tax that provides more than $500 million a year for K-12 education.

Thursday’s 6-0 Education Committee vote sets the stage for a possible Senate debate and vote later in the day. The House is also set to debate it’s version of the Proposition 301 extension on Thursday.

Proposition 301 was approved by voters in 2000 and is set to expire in mid-2021. The Senate committee amended the proposal to give it a 20 year extension rather than making the 6/10 of a cent sales tax permanent.

It also boosted cash available for teacher pay and school operations by taking $64 million used to pay for school construction debt and moving it into that spending column.

The sales tax brings in about $667 million a year. Public K-12 schools get the bulk of the cash, with $154 million also currently going to construction debt payment, universities and colleges.

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12:01 a.m.

The Arizona House and Senate appear poised to debate and possibly vote on legislation permanently extending a sales tax that provides more than $500 million a year for K-12 education.

Companion bills to extend the soon-to-expire 6/10 of a cent sales tax approved by voters in 2000 are scheduled for House debate Thursday and a Senate committee hearing the same day. The proposals by Republican Rep. Doug Coleman and Sen. Kate Brophy McGee have been stalled since January but suddenly came back into play this week.

The proposal makes the education sales tax contained in Proposition 301 permanent. It was set to expire in mid-2021.

Instead, lawmakers are moving to pass it without sending it to the voters. The bills require a 2/3 vote to pass.

- The bills are HB2158 and SB1390 .