Hope for bipartisan talks on Arizona budget?
House Democratic Leader David Lujan.Views from Turkey and beyond at RepPatterson on twitter.
PHOENIX -- As the legislature passed a motion Tuesday to adjourn sine die and end a third special session, House Democrats remained hopeful to continue productive bipartisan talks to build a better budget for a stronger Arizona.
The motion to sine die affords Gov. Jan Brewer 10 more days to sign or veto the budget, allotting more time to shape the current budget, which was sent to Brewer on Thursday.
“We are hopeful that Gov. Brewer and our Republican colleagues will continue to work in a bipartisan way with Democrats so we can solve this budget together,” said House Democratic Leader David Lujan. “Bipartisanship is necessary to pave a road toward economic recovery and prosperity for the future of education and middle-class families in Arizona.”
Democratic lawmakers have urged for bipartisan budget talks for eight months to solve the state's economic crisis. Brewer finally called all five parties — Brewer, House and Senate Democrats and Republicans — to the table on Friday, after a budget had passed and days before she is required to take action, in order to try to pass her one-cent sales tax increase. Democrats agreed to work in every capacity to create a bipartisan solution.
Democrats met in another five-party meeting Tuesday morning where they presented Brewer with their own proposed changes to the budget.
Many members of the media have asked to see the proposed changes, but Democrats gave Brewer and Republicans the proposed changes in good faith and want to honor their promise to not make those proposed changes public yet.
- from House Dems PIO
Comments
As a Democrat, I think that we all know that the state is facing a terrible fiscal crisis, and pointing fingers or asking for unrealistic concesssions won't win the day.
What Democrats do want (I am speaking only for myself but suspect that most Democrats would agree with me) is a level of funding for schools and state services that does not destroy or seriously impair the futures of our children, protects the most vulnerable and powerless members of society, and leaves intact the basic infrastructure so that what cuts may be necessary can be reversed as soon as the revenue becomes avaiable.
At the same time I don't think that Democrats want to go into debt or rely on budget gimmicks to achieve that. For this reason it is unrealistic to suggest that this is a year when the state can afford a tax cut. Many parents are also homeowners and would rather see the property tax suspension end on schedule than see any more cuts to our children's schools.