Arizona: Legislature

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

First a quick update: The Accidental Governor and the GOP insane clown posse are trying for a special session this week to deal with agency funding issues. They were to have met over the weekend to hammer out the details of a plan that they hope will be a one day special session on Thursday. I checked the Governor's web page and she has not yet called for a special session, and her calendar has her going out of town this week. Things could change, but it's not looking optimistic.

There has been a troubling trend in Arizona government for years now.

Posted by azBlueMeanie:

It appears the Accidental Governor and the GOP insane clown posse leadership have come to a tentative agreement on a Special Session, but leadership hasn't polled their membership on the specifics of any proposed spending cuts to know whether the bill has the votes necessary to pass. The Accidental Governor does not want to call a Special Session unless she is assured of the vote in advance - unlike the open-ended fiasco this past summer. So the agreement in actuality remains in doubt.

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports:

Legislative leaders and the governor have reached an agreement on the framework of a special session later this month.

by David Safier

From an article in the Arizona Guardian:

State education officials say the worst is yet to come as stimulus funds are depleted and the state struggles to fill a $1.5 billion gap in the 2010 budget.

Last month, Gov. Jan Brewer asked agency directors for proposed 15 percent cuts to their budgets.

The Department of Education identified more than $11 million in cuts to five different programs, from school safety and chemical abuse prevention to family literacy programs, which among other things, helps parents obtain their GEDs.

Tom Horne, Superintendent of Public Instruction, said he picked the five programs that don’t have federal matching funds tied to them.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Here is an abbreviated version of Rep. Steve Farley's latest Farley Report (edited for state legislative issues):

Here we are in October, and our deficit is now $1.5 billion and growing.

Constitutionally, the Legislature is supposed to have delivered a balanced budget on June 30, but no one seems to want to enforce that clause.

* * *

There is some talk of the Governor calling us into special session again next week (that's Special Session Number 4 for those of you keeping score at home), and perhaps another after that one's done. But the call has not yet gone out.

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