By Howard Fischer
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-847226.mp3
Phoenix, AZ – Governor Jan Brewer said this afternoon she's hoping a special
session finally produces a balanced budget she can sign. But the
same sticking point remains.
That sticking point remains her insistence that voters be given a
chance to hike the state sales tax by a penny. When she didn't
get that earlier this week, she vetoed key parts of the budget --
and ordered lawmakers back to the Capitol.
(But I don't think it came as a surprise. I've said all along as
we negotiated through the process that it was based on the
premise that the tax referral went out because the triggers were
in the budget. The budget didn't work in the way that it was
presented. So it was important that we start back and start
fresh.)
And the governor said that still means putting the proposal on
teh November ballot. Having a budget based on voters approving
that sales tax hike is risky. They could reject it. But Brewer
said the spending plan is crafted so that it can work -- with or
without the billion dollars a year that the tax hike would raise.
(And we have put the triggers in there so that the money would
come in. The bottom line is that you can go out, you can campaign
that you believe the budget that is intact is the one you could
support and you would think would be doing the best thing for the
state of Arizona. And if you don't like the budget then you would
go out and you would vote that you wouldn't. And then you would
end up with $220 million cut in education.)
The session begins Monday.