Arizona Budget Coalition

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.

...

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.