Gov. Doug Ducey wants to fund more than 90 positions across the state. Most of those are new positions.

Ducey’s recent budget proposal shows a total cost of $10 million per year. Spokesman Daniel Scarpinato said the funding would help fight drug addiction and reduce the prison population. He says Ducey is requesting $1.5 million to create a new fire crew.

“So that inmates who are trained to become firemen can go fight forest fires after they leave," Scarpinato said.

Scarpinato says Ducey’s past hiring freeze reduced the number of state employees by about 2,000. He says they want to think carefully when it comes to spending new resources.

“We see the need in areas like child safety, public safety. If we can help people and get people the help they need early on we might be able to prevent some of these problems and some of these costs,” he said. 

The number of new positions vs. already funded positions was not immediately available.