The Republican-led legislature has reduced the lifetime limit for welfare recipients to the shortest amount of time in the 50 US states, and low income Arizona families are now only eligible to receive help for a one-year lifetime maximum.
Republican leaders in the state, such as Republican Sen. Kelli Ward, have compared families dependent on welfare to misbehaving children, stating: "I tell my kids all the time that the decisions we make have rewards or consequences, and if I don't ever let them face those consequences, they can't get back on the path to rewards.”
Across the nation, most states hold a 5-year limit for families to receive welfare benefits.
"The bipartisan, balanced budget passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor protects Arizona's most vulnerable, while avoiding a tax increase," Daniel Scarpinato, a governor's office spokesman, told the Associated Press.
Most long-term recipients of state welfare suffer from disabilities — whether mental or physical — and most have low levels of education.
The cuts were made quietly, during a vote in the middle of the night in March, some claim to avoid transparency.
"This is a very small investment, but it is critical to people who need it the most," Democratic Rep. Andrew Sherwood said. "You're talking about desperate families, those who are unemployed and underemployed. Single mothers and parents with kids."
The Governor called these cuts essential in protecting taxpayers as well as education spending, even though the money for these programs come from the federal government.
As a result of the cuts, at least 1,600 families, including 2700 children, will lose their assistance on July 1, 2016.
