Legislative Update

3 Days Until the Arizona State Legislature Kicks Off the 49th Legislature - First Regular Session

Monday, January 12, the Arizona State Legislature will be sworn in and the Governor will deliver her State of the State address. The Governor's confirmation hearing is scheduled for January 15. If the process goes smoothly, she could be confirmed by month end. When the Governor is confirmed by the U.S. Senate for her new position as head of Homeland Security for the Obama Administration, she will resign as Governor and Secretary of State Jan Brewer will become Governor. Today, Secretary Brewer indicated that if these events occur, she would appoint the former Arizona Senate President Ken Bennett as her replacement as Secretary of State.

State Budget

The budget will be the highest priority when the Legislature goes to work Monday afternoon. The State budget is currently short about $1.6 B. We have heard that the Senate would like to complete the 2009 budget by the end of the month. Quick action is needed as delay in addressing the current budget actually grows the deficit in the 2010 budget, which the Legislature must also adopt this session. If nothing is done to change spending in 2009, the 2010 budget will have about a $3 B deficit.

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) is a 25-person non-partisan staff that provides the Legislature with assistance on all state fiscal issues. On their website at http://azleg.gov/jlbc.htm under "What's New" there is a document titled New Legislator Orientation (12/10/08). There you will find lots of details about the budget and the process.

Action

This year for the first time, shared revenue is a greater percentage of the city of Phoenix's operating revenue than city sales tax. It is more important than ever that the state does not sweep these funds to address their deficit. Take time to talk to your legislators about the importance of protecting shared revenues for Phoenix and the other cities.

Source: City of Phoenix