Arizona Education Network

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Legislative Recap:

Our legislators are back from special-interest summer camp and yesterday was a flurry of action.  Unfortunately, it appears that everyone got an extra dose of ideology while they were away and it has translated into some really bad news for education.

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The information provided below provides a general outline of the actions taken yesterday by our Governor and legislature.  Many of the bills that were approved by the House will impact K-12, Community College and University funding.  We are working to provide a comprehensive analysis of these bills and will update the site throughout the day.

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Governor Brewer’s Press Conference:

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Governor Brewer held a press conference at 4:00pm to announce her new support for the legislative budget proposals.  According to a report from the Arizona Daily Star:

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“On Wednesday afternoon, Brewer and House Speaker Kirk Adams stood side by side at a press conference after budget talks in her office.

“Brewer recalled the ‘difficult times’ between her, Adams and Burns that led to this latest (budget) agreement…Brewer, though, said the compromise reflected the priorities of both sides”.

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The Arizona Republic also reported:

“Gov. Brewer drew some perplexed reactions…when she thanked Democrats who have been working with her on the budget and supporting her tax referral.”

Despite rumors to the contrary, it turns out that this has not been a bi-partisan effort.  Brewer has pointedly not consulted with the minority party during the budget process, so Democrats in the room were understandably confused by this inference that they had been included–or supportive of the budget plan.   According to reporter Mary Jo Pitzl, “Brewer clarified that she was talking about Democrats in the non-legislative sense.  Like her neighbor, for example.”

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House Appropriations Committee

Following the press conference the House Appropriations Committee met to discuss (and ultimately approve) all of the FY 2009-2010 budget measures.  During their session they approved all of the budget measures put before them:

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HB2006 General Appropriations; fiscal year 2009-2010

HB2007 General revenues; budget reconciliation

HB2008 General government; budget reconciliation

HB2009 Assets; budget reconciliation

HB2010 Criminal justice; budget reconciliation

HB2011 K-12 Education; budget reconciliation

HB2012 Higher Education; budget reconciliation

HB2013 Health and Welfare; budget reconciliation

HB2014 Environment, budget reconciliation

HB2015 Taxes; budget stabilization

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What happened next?

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After the House Appropriations Committee approved the budget, it was passed to the Senate for their approval.  Senate President Bob Burns worked behind closed doors to try to gain enough support, but ended up calling for a recess after he failed to secure enough votes.

The legislature is scheduled to reconvene today at 1:00. You can watch the session (and any subsequent committee meetings) live via this link. (As a side note, these meetings are often very entertaining, if you have a chance it’s a great way to see who’s who and what’s what.)

(Click the “Live Proceedings” link under the FAQ column.  Committee meetings are generally held in House or Senate meeting room 1)

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FIND OUT MORE:

Sales-tax hike threatens budget plan, again (Mary Jo Pitzl & Matthew Benson), Arizona Republic, July 30, 2009

Hold on folks, the budget could get worse (Arizona Daily Star Editorial),  July 30, 2009

No state budget deal yet; GOP still sparring on sales-tax vote (Daniel Scarpinato), Arizona Daily Star, July 30, 2009

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