The Arizona Legislature is asking voters to temporarily raise the sales tax by 1%, until May 31, 2013. The election will take place on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. The following is information that will explain the proposition’s potential impact.
The Arizona Legislature finally agreed to refer the decision to the voters on Tuesday, May 18, 2010.
As the Arizona budget continues to increase, legislators have been busy finding ways to further diminish the general fund. Several bills are making their way through the legislature under the guise of private school tax credit reform that would drastically increase the amount of the tax credit deductions for private school tuition.
On Monday, February 1st, Governor Brewer issued a proclamation, calling for a sixth Special Session to run concurrent with the regular session. Voting began in the Senate Tuesday, where legislation passed and has been transmitted to the House and was later assigned to the House Committee on Rules.
It’s beginning of a new year and a new legislative session began this week. This update recaps the end of the last legislative session and provides information on what to expect going forward.
Monday, January 11, 2010 Governor Brewer will deliver her much anticipated “State of the State” address, in which she will promise to “right our ship” and “bring Arizona back home.” Governor Brewer’s address signals the return of Arizona lawmakers to the Capitol where they will begin work to address the state’s budget crisis.
A fifth special session has been called by Governor Brewer to address the remaining $1.6 billion deficit.
A recap of recent legislation as it pertains to education.
Governor Brewer signs legislation cutting $300 million from state’s K-12 and Department of Economic Security budgets. Governor and majority party will meet following Thanksgiving holiday to discuss scheduling a fifth special session to address $2 billion dollar deficit.
The Governor called the Arizona state Legislature into special session to address the $2 billion budget deficit.
In the wake of $133 million in state cuts to education, Arizona school districts have opted to place overrides or bonds on the November 3, 2009 ballot. The Arizona Education Network encourages voters to vote “YES” to these overrides or bonds so that these school districts can restore funding back to levels necessary for educating Arizona’s future.
State tax reveues fall as Arizona awaits action on budget by Governor Brewer.
After another very contentious week of wrangling, the House and Senate finally passed a set of budget bills and sent the resulting package to the Governor for her review. A full recap and links to media articles provided.
With the recent k-12 budget cuts the AZ legislature has enacted, many students are coming back to the new school year with larger than ever class sizes.
In the midst of the protracted state budget drama, Arizona families are sending their children back to school. Since early spring of 2009, schools have been preparing their operating budgets based on worst case scenarios. But was their “worst” actually the “best” they should have been hoping for? Unfortunately, we were afraid of this.
By a vote of 14-11, the Senate fails to pass the sales tax referendum for the November 3rd ballot.
The “drop-dead” date for getting the 1-cent sales tax on the ballot has been extended to Monday, August 10th. Arizona senators are still scheduled to convene on Friday, August 7th at 1 PM.
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The fiscal year 2009-2010 budget cleared the House last week but it remains to be seen whether or not it can make it through a vote on the Senate floor.
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Opposition to the bill runs strong on both ideological ends of the spectrum. Senators Ron Gould and Pamela Gorman are withholding their vote in opposition to [...]
July 31, 2009: Remember when your parents implied that nothing good happens after midnight? After sitting bleary-eyed and watching our elected representatives in action into the wee hours of the night, we are beginning to think Mom was on to something.
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.
More cuts to education in this surprise budget.
On July 13, 2009 Governor Jan Brewer signed new legislation to extend and expand the premium corporate tax credit for private schools. This legislation was enthusiastically supported by some of the same legislative members who have been pushing for massive cuts to public education as a way to close our growing, $3.5 billion state budget [...]
Brewer OKs Budget Deal
PHX- Excerpt by Mathew Benson, The Arizona Republic, July 8, 2009
Gov. Jan Brewer today signed into law a state-budget deal that ensures funding for public education as well as Arizona’s receipt of more than $2 billion in federal assistance.
The four-bill package cleared the Legislature in bipartisan fashion Monday. Amending an earlier legislative budget plan mostly rejected by Brewer, the new proposal calls for about $10 billion in general-fund spending.
Saturday’s budget process ground to a halt when it appeared as though there weren’t enough votes to pass the budget with the sales tax increase. So where does that leave us? Running out the legislative clock, that’s where!
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Below is the rundown for Monday’s committee meetings with links to respective agendas and hearing rooms, as well as details on the budget.
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It [...]
It was a long Saturday at the Capitol today. The House Appropriations meeting was scheduled for 9 AM but was delayed until 11:38 AM due to large turnout of protesters who marched the Capitol expressing their opposition to the budget.
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Related Articles:
Arizona teachers protest budget plan’s tax cuts ~ Arizona Daily Star
Boisterous education rally briefly shuts state House doors ~ [...]
We examine House bill HB2495 (In-State Tuition; Veterans) as part of our education legislation series. There are currently 1,111 bills posted in the Arizona State Legislature – is this one a benefit to the citizens of our state?
We examine Senate Bill 1437 (Schools; gun safety instructors; certification) as part our education legislation series. There are currently 1,111 bills posted in the Arizona State Legislature – is this one a benefit to the citizens of our state?
Click into this section to learn more about recent legislation related to education.
On May 15, 2009, the Governor signed Legislation approving the sweep of funds from Arizona School Districts in excess of their year-end operating budgets. What excess are they talking about? And what does this mean? Learn more here.