Budget Coalition Principles
1. Transparent budget process
2. Restore massive cuts
3. Do no further harm
4. Use all available options
5. Keep people working
6. Create a fair tax structure
7. Keep state revenue sharing
Videos
PAFCO on ABC Options:
Foster Care Under Threat:
March 4 Schools:
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Arizonans News
New Budget in Limbo
Although most Legislators are ready to go forward with a budget that could grind state services to a halt, the bill doesn't appear to be going anywhere.
Brewer Pledges Budget Solution Soon
As the end of the legislative session nears, Gov. Brewer has committed to finally bringing the budget saga to a close.
With only five weeks left to finalize a budget, the Governor and Legislature have little time to reach a compromise that includes enough revenue to fund state services.
The current budget discussions have been slow moving and characterized again by controversy when proposals to cut services like education have been floated. Creating a solution that avoids the divisiveness of the last budget will be difficult, but channels of communication between the Governor and key Legislators are beginning to open.
Capitol Media Services reports that this budget has been difficult given that the Governor never presented her own budget proposal:
Senate President Bob Burns, R-Peoria, points out that last year - and the years prior to that - the governor put out her own budget proposal, as required at the beginning of every legislative session by the state constitution.
"So you had something to compare against,'' said Burns, who chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee during some of the years that Democrat Janet Napolitano was governor.
"We don't really have that this time around,'' Burns said, with Brewer, who was sworn in Jan. 21, more than a week after the legislative session started, never having provided lawmakers with an agency-by-agency list of what she wants.
Legislature Begins to Move on State Budget
Jan Brewer has signed into a law a bill that jeopordizes school boards' cash reserves in the next fiscal year.
Some measures in the bill reflect reflect our menu of budget options, such as payment delays for one day and accepting the stimulus dollars. The most troubling aspect, however, is the decision to force school districts to operate only based on cash reserves for the rest of the year.
State payments to K-12 districts will be delayed under this plan, but districts will be forced to compensate those payments from their own cash reserves.
The Arizona Republic reports that the plan is falling under bipartisan criticism:
Democratic opponents argue that the plan once more balances the state budget on the backs of schools and universities. Assistant Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios, D-Apache Junction, said the state plan to claim the school-district funding amounts to a "backdoor tax increase."
"The local-property taxpayer will make up 100 percent of the cash balance taken by the state," said Rep. Tom Boone, R-Peoria. Boone also is president of the Deer Valley Unified School District, and is one of two House Republicans to vote against the budget fix.
We can still expect more legislative movement on the budget in the weeks ahead, so be sure to keep up the pressure on the Governor and Legislature to do the right thing:
Disability Services in Jeopardy
Early intervention services for disabled children and working adults could loose significantly under the proposal being discussed in the Arizona House of Representatives. Services like these could loose as much as $100 million under the current plan.
Helping children with disabilities when they first appear not only ensures a happy childhood and productive adulthood, but could save millions in future health care costs to the state. Just like providing high quality education, making sure disabled children are well-cared for is a question of protecting Arizona's legacy.
The Arizona Republic reports on the impacts to service providers in the Valley:
Randy Gray, president and CEO of Mesa's Marc Center, said he believes services for the developmentally disabled are cut disproportionally because his clients are an easy target.
"I believe it was a convenient decision . . . to make because it's a vulnerable population and they can't speak for themselves," Gray said. "We have reverted our entire system of quality care back to the early 1970s."
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According to the proposed House budget plan, the state Department of Economic Security's share of state revenues is being cut 9.8 percent. But when federal revenue and other sources are factored in, the net impact of the cut is only 2.7 percent. That is below the 3.4 percent average for the seven largest general-fund agencies.
ABC Coalition in the News
The Arizona Republic is already reporting that following the creation of the Arizona Budget Coalition, leaders in the legislature are open to discussing our alternative budget strategies:
The Republican budget chairmen in the House and Senate said they're open to ideas, but reiterated their opposition to any tax increases.
"I'm willing to look at anything that might move the budget in the right direction," said Russell Pearce, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. But he said he believes the budget needs at least $700 million in cuts to balance, and to put the state in position to weather even tougher budget times in the near future.
A budget approved by the House Appropriations Committee earlier this week contained $650 million in cuts.
John Kavanagh, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, noted that some of the options are ideas raised by Republican leadership, such as selling state assets or borrowing against the revenue stream from the state lottery.
"Some of this stuff I find tasteful and some of this stuff I wouldn't order," Kavanagh said.
Here is a clip from the Arizona Guardian's coverage of the event:
Click here to read the AP's coverage of the coalition's campaign.
The AP also has a rundown of the different budget ideas proposed by business and comunity organizations.
Click here to listen to the Public News Service's broadcast on the budget options.
CBS Channel 5 explains how the coalition fits into the state's health care crisis.
Arizona Budget Coalition Announces Alternative Budget Options
Following massive cuts to education, health care, and other human services last January, a collection of community organizations called the Arizona Budget Coalition is proposing a menu of alternative budget options that would significantly restore state funding for services.
The proposals include maximizing use of the federal stimulus package and generating new revenue through a host of strategies, including a fair and adequate tax structure. Full details about the options are available here.
If adopted, the options would not only avoid further cuts, but would reverse many FY 2009 cuts, strengthening the resources Arizona needs to create economic recovery.
The Coalition is guided by a belief that a robust state budget for services is not just feasible, but necessary for building a prosperous 21st century economy for Arizona. A recent legislative budget proposal calls for further cuts to services and capturing unspent cash reserves from school districts.
Community organizations representing teachers, parents, public service employees, and non-profit service providers created the alternatives to give voice to public concerns over budget cuts.
"This coalition represents a broad base of support for stronger protections for Arizona families," said Dana Wolfe Naimark, President and CEO of Children's Action Alliance. "There are alternatives to deep cuts that will hurt children and families, and that's why we look forward to sharing these ideas with the Legislature and the Governor."
New Budget Plan Proposes $648 Million in Cuts
A budget plan that left the House Appropriations Committee this week eyes over a half a billion dollars in more cuts.
In addition to the direct cuts to services, the plan includes complicated alterations to voter-protected funds for education and other vital services. The Arizona Board of Regents and Arizona School Boards Association have expressed that legal action may be inevitable if the plan moves forward, potentially adding to the tally of costly lawsuits filed against the state over budget cuts.
The plan emerges just as a collection of community organizations have proposed a set of alternatives that could not only restore the FY 09 cuts, but fund a robust state budget for economic recovery in the coming fiscal year.
Capitol Media Services provides more details on the plan:
Other controversial provisions include taking $255million from what legislative leaders say is illegally accumulated excess cash being held by school districts and seeking $210 million in "voluntary" contributions by cities from their accumulated development impact fees.
Tuesday's debate centered on what Arizona can afford.
Sales tax receipts, which make up more than 40 percent of state revenues, are down sharply as people spend less. Income taxes, which make up more than 30 percent of the state budget, also are off as layoffs continue and the state collects less in withholding from worker paychecks.
Brewer Offers Few Details on Stimulus Funds
Even though the stimulus funds play an important role in most budget proposals in the Legislature, Gov. Brewer has said little about the funds, and hasn't even submitted an application that would clarify how the money would be spent.
In spite of Brewer's inaction, Legislators have decided to create budget proposals that include use of the stimulus money. So far, they are shooting in the dark, as negotiations with the Governor's office will ultimately decide how this important part of the budget will be determined.
The stimulus funding would provide support to unemployment insurance, health care, and help to create 21st century jobs that would stimulate our struggling economy. A lack of clarity on how to apply this assistance could prove costly for Arizona.
The Associated Press reports that with only 40 days left in the Legislative session, the Governor isn't willing to discuss much about the stimulus package:
The new House Republican proposal formally unveiled this week anticipates spending an additional $570 million of stabilization money on K-12 schools and universities to help close a new, growing shortfall in the same budget.
Is Brewer willing to use that much additional stimulus money or even more to keep the current budget in the black?
"That is part of the negotiations obviously," replied [Brewer spokesperson Paul Senseman].
Senseman said there are other options for keeping the current budget balanced, but he declined to identify them during an interview.
"I'm not prepared to discuss those with you," he told The Associated Press.
Legislature, Governor Move Slowly on New Budget
As Arizona suffers from the worst economic crisis in recent memory, Legislators and the Governor are doing little to fix the state budget.
Since the legislative session began, the body has passed few laws and taken little action, except to throw hundreds of people out of work and slash funding for education, health care, and services that would spur economic recovery.
With the end of the session in June almost upon us, the legislature has only moved to pass a new budget in fits and starts. When discussions have occurred, they have not included the minority party. When proposals have been leaked, they have been met with public derision and protests on the Capitol lawn.
The Arizona Capitol Times describes the confusion presiding over the legislature and on the 9th floor:
During the last two weeks of April, the Senate scheduled a budget hearing twice, only to cancel both. On April 28, legislative leaders also canceled a joint Appropriations committee meeting that had been called earlier in the week to flesh out a budget-balancing option to sweep $210 million of cities’ impact fees.
House and Senate leaders were also supposed to hold a joint press briefing early in the last week of April to update the public on the budget work both chambers have accomplished so far. That, too, was shelved.
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At least a few rank-and-file Republicans have complained privately that legislative leaders have yet to sit down with Gov. Jan Brewer to negotiate a budget, which they said would also take weeks to complete. They argued that unless Brewer weighs in and gives her green light, any budget proposal remains precisely that — just a proposal.
Health Crisis Fund Needs Support to Tackle Swine Flu
Last January the Health Crisis Fund had $500,000 to respond to the outbreak of infectious diseases. Probably not enough to deal with swine flu, but better than nothing.
Apparently that's not what the Legislature thought when it passed a budget that abolished the fund. The 2-1-1 website that was designed to help the people access services during a public health crisis also lost $800,000 in funding.
Now the Governor is resisting calls to restore funding to respond to public health emergencies, as the Arizona Republic reports:
With fears growing of a new pandemic flu strain, Democratic legislative leaders said Brewer should restore the fund by tapping $185 million at her discretion as part of the state's allocation of federal stimulus funding.
"We believe that now is the absolutely important time to get this done," said Assistant House Minority Leader Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix.
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Speaking with reporters Wednesday at the state health lab, Brewer said she's reluctant to restore the 2-1-1 or health-crisis funding. Arizona Department of Health Services officials have told the Governor's Office that they have the resources needed to respond to the flu threat.