http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-864837.mp3
Phoenix, AZ – The governor said the latest official prediction of $1.5 billion
in red ink is no surprise. She said that's why she directed state
agencies last month to detail what they would eliminate if their
budgets got slashed by 15 percent. But Brewer said that, unlike
prior spending reductions, the next cuts are unlikey to be across
the board.
(It will be horizontal cuts. It will not be vertical cuts any
longer. There will be probably a lot of programs that will have
to be done away with.)
Brewer sidestepped questions of whether part of the reason for
the deficit is that she vetoed some of the fixes to the budget
adopted by lawmakers in June. Instead, she referred to the fact
that they wouldn't adopt her plan outlined in March for a
temporary sales tax hike .
(We knew that we had had an economic slump, we had overspent for
the last six years. And we knew that we had to find a solution to
it. I had my solution. And it continues to worsen. So I'm looking
forward to working with the legislators to find out just exactly
what they believe that solution's going to be.)
At this point there is no deal between Brewer and legislators
about a special session to make the necessary fixes. For Arizona
Public Radio this is Howard Fischer.