Governor On The Clock
On Tuesday, legislators adjourned the Third Special Session sine die, having delivered a package of budget bills to the Governor minus her temporary sales tax increase. Governor Brewer has until September 5 to sign, veto, or allow the bills to be enacted without her signature. It is unclear what she will do. Meetings continue with legislative leaders from both parties with the hope of finding the votes for a tax ballot measure in December.
Should the Governor sign this budget, the impact to Phoenix would include:
$22 million shift of vehicle license tax (VLT) revenues to school districts (Phoenix would lose between $5 and 6 million);
identification checks for any public service that Phoenix provides;
reduction of the assessment ratio for commercial property tax (impacting Phoenix's secondary property tax levy by approximately $14 million/year); and
2-year freeze on impact fees, building codes and construction sales taxes.
The Governor could also use the line-item veto as she did in previous budget bills this year or sign just a few of the nine bills in the package and call a fourth special session to complete the budget puzzle. Governor Brewer has been adamant in her request for a voter referral for the one-cent temporary sales tax, and the Legislature has not complied. Her request is for a sales tax increase that would last three years and cost taxpayers a penny for the first two years, a half-penny for the third. A state Department of Revenue analysis estimates a one-cent-per-dollar increase in the tax would generate $983.9 million a year, assuming the state does not share the new proceeds with cities, towns and counties as it ordinarily would. Although the state can backfill some of its current shortfall with federal stimulus dollars, that strategy cannot overcome the anticipated deficits in the coming years.
Speaking of the Budget . . .
Last week, Senate President Bob Burns (R - Glendale) established a commission "to streamline state agencies' organization, operation and costs . . " Senator Thayer Verschoor (R - Gilbert) heads the Arizona Budget Commission (ABC) which is expected to meet through 2010. To learn more, read the Senate news release or the August 21 article Arizona Budget Commission to seek out government waste that appeared on ABC15.com. Click here to see the video.
New Senate President Pro Tempore Appointed
Also this week, Senate President Burns appointed Senator Barbara Leff (R - Paradise Valley) to the position of Senate President Pro Tempore. The "pro tem" serves as the presiding officer when President Burns is not available. She is the third Senator appointed to the position since the Legislature began meeting last January. Initially, Senator Thayer Verschoor (R - Gilbert) was appointed and then replaced at the end of the first regular session by Senator Steve Pierce (R - Prescott).
R U On Twitter?
Yesterday, Government Relations tweeted the message that "Phoenix partners with West Valley communities to support Luke AFB – show your support by registering at www.lukeforward.com." The U.S. Air Force is beginning the process of selecting a new base for the F-35 Lightning II. If you support Luke Air Force Base and the work they do, visit www.lukeforward.com and read more about how you can help.
Source: P.L.A.N.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
P.L.A.N. Update - Budget Hot Potato Tossed to Brewer
Legislature Delivers Budget Bills
After almost seven weeks in this Special Session, on Thursday the Legislature transmitted the nine-bill 2009-2010 budget package to the Governor without the provision to send a temporary sales tax referral to the voters. This package of budget bills is very similar to the one that was vetoed on July 1, and includes a permanent repeal of the statewide property equalization tax. Because the counties must finalize their property tax bills this week (or is it next week?), there is urgency as the Governor considers her course of action.
This morning Governor Brewer signed HB 2014, Environment; Budget Reconciliation. She reportedly is putting off until next week any action on the remainder of the package. HB 2014 is important to Phoenix because it removes a requirement for a bond election for the City's Water Services Department to access about $6 million in federal stimulus dollars for water and sewer projects financed through the State's Water Infrastructure Finance Authority.
The House and Senate are adjourned until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, August 25.
Bills conveyed to the Governor include:
HB 2006 – general appropriations
HB 2008 – general government
HB 2009 – assets
HB 2010 – criminal justice
HB 2011 – K-12
HB 2012 – higher education
HB 2013 – health & welfare
HB 2014 – environment (Governor Brewer signed HB 2014 this morning)
SB 1025 – general revenues (which includes a $22M vehicle license tax cut, property tax repeal, and assessment ratio changes)
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) the budget analysts for the Legislature, have posted the following the following budget bill details:
8/20 Plan as Transmitted to the Governor
Summary of House and Senate Budget Plan (8/20/09)
Budget Legislation Summary (8/20/09)
How Long Can This Go On?
The Arizona Legislative Manual states there is no limit on the duration of a special session. Since the Legislature did not pass the temporary sales tax referral requested by Governor Brewer, her response to the remaining budget bills will determine next steps.
Concerns for Cities and Towns
As reported in last week's message, the budget bills still contain items of concern to the City, including: a $22 million shift of vehicle license tax (VLT) revenues to school districts (Phoenix would lose between $5 and 6 million); 2-year freeze on impact fees, building codes and construction sales taxes; identification checks for public services, and reduction of the assessment ratio for commercial property tax (impacting Phoenix's secondary property tax levy by approximately $14 million/year). The package does not include the proposed corporate and individual income tax cuts that could have reduced revenue sharing for Phoenix by approximately $18 million/year as of FY 2014.
Source: P.L.A.N.
After almost seven weeks in this Special Session, on Thursday the Legislature transmitted the nine-bill 2009-2010 budget package to the Governor without the provision to send a temporary sales tax referral to the voters. This package of budget bills is very similar to the one that was vetoed on July 1, and includes a permanent repeal of the statewide property equalization tax. Because the counties must finalize their property tax bills this week (or is it next week?), there is urgency as the Governor considers her course of action.
This morning Governor Brewer signed HB 2014, Environment; Budget Reconciliation. She reportedly is putting off until next week any action on the remainder of the package. HB 2014 is important to Phoenix because it removes a requirement for a bond election for the City's Water Services Department to access about $6 million in federal stimulus dollars for water and sewer projects financed through the State's Water Infrastructure Finance Authority.
The House and Senate are adjourned until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, August 25.
Bills conveyed to the Governor include:
HB 2006 – general appropriations
HB 2008 – general government
HB 2009 – assets
HB 2010 – criminal justice
HB 2011 – K-12
HB 2012 – higher education
HB 2013 – health & welfare
HB 2014 – environment (Governor Brewer signed HB 2014 this morning)
SB 1025 – general revenues (which includes a $22M vehicle license tax cut, property tax repeal, and assessment ratio changes)
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) the budget analysts for the Legislature, have posted the following the following budget bill details:
8/20 Plan as Transmitted to the Governor
Summary of House and Senate Budget Plan (8/20/09)
Budget Legislation Summary (8/20/09)
How Long Can This Go On?
The Arizona Legislative Manual states there is no limit on the duration of a special session. Since the Legislature did not pass the temporary sales tax referral requested by Governor Brewer, her response to the remaining budget bills will determine next steps.
Concerns for Cities and Towns
As reported in last week's message, the budget bills still contain items of concern to the City, including: a $22 million shift of vehicle license tax (VLT) revenues to school districts (Phoenix would lose between $5 and 6 million); 2-year freeze on impact fees, building codes and construction sales taxes; identification checks for public services, and reduction of the assessment ratio for commercial property tax (impacting Phoenix's secondary property tax levy by approximately $14 million/year). The package does not include the proposed corporate and individual income tax cuts that could have reduced revenue sharing for Phoenix by approximately $18 million/year as of FY 2014.
Source: P.L.A.N.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Budget Stalemate
Fits and Starts
The Senate took another stab at passing a package of budget bills on Wednesday afternoon. First up was HB 2015 -- a bill containing the controversial temporary sales tax ballot referral, an income tax reduction, and other tax items -- which was defeated by a vote of 14 – 11, two votes shy of the required 16 votes needed for passage. Interestingly, before the vote HB 2015 was amended to remove the ballot question that would ask voters to suspend previously-voter-approved spending mandates for education, health care and other popular items. Legislative leaders expected that the change would attract the needed 16th vote. Failing that, soon after, the Senate voted on SB 1029 --a bill containing a the same tax items, but this time including the ballot measure to suspend voter-approved spending requirements, with the hope that this approach would be more acceptable to members. That bill fell one vote shy of passage (15 – 10), killing all hope for the Governor and others for a November 3 election on the temporary sales tax question. The Senate proceeded to adopt the rest of the budget bills, effectively adopting a budget package that closely resembles the one passed by the Legislature on June 30 and vetoed by the Governor on July 1.
While the Senate was considering the budget bills, President Bob Burns (R - Glendale) called for suspension of the Senate Rules in order to call the Senate into "Sit COW" which is Capitol slang for "sitting as in Committee of the Whole," to consider and amend SB1025 on a controversial property tax issue. A process that doesn't happen very often, the Arizona Legislative Manual defines Sit COW as "a proceeding by which a house may conduct business as if it were in Committee of the Whole. Typically used to adopt minor technical corrections to bills that have already passed out of Committee of the Whole."
On Thursday, Sen. Jim Waring (R -Phoenix) made a motion to reconsider HB 2015, the sales tax referral, which failed on Wednesday. This motion passed on an 11-6 voice vote, which allows the bill to be reconsidered on a future Third Read calendar. Both chambers are adjourned until Monday, August 17 at 1:00 p.m.
Concerns for Cities and Towns
The budget bills still contain items of concern to the City, including: a $22 million shift of vehicle license tax (VLT) revenues to school districts (Phoenix impact between $5 and 6 million); 2-year freeze on impact fees, building codes and construction sales taxes; identification checks for public services, and reduction of the assessment ratio for commercial property tax (impacting Phoenix's secondary property tax levy by approximately $14 million/year). The package does include a permanent repeal of the state equalization property tax, but unless HB 2015 is resurrected does not include the corporate and individual income tax cuts proposed in the last two weeks. As presented, those income tax cuts could have reduced revenue sharing for Phoenix by approximately $18 million/year as of FY 2014.
Source: P.L.A.N.
The Senate took another stab at passing a package of budget bills on Wednesday afternoon. First up was HB 2015 -- a bill containing the controversial temporary sales tax ballot referral, an income tax reduction, and other tax items -- which was defeated by a vote of 14 – 11, two votes shy of the required 16 votes needed for passage. Interestingly, before the vote HB 2015 was amended to remove the ballot question that would ask voters to suspend previously-voter-approved spending mandates for education, health care and other popular items. Legislative leaders expected that the change would attract the needed 16th vote. Failing that, soon after, the Senate voted on SB 1029 --a bill containing a the same tax items, but this time including the ballot measure to suspend voter-approved spending requirements, with the hope that this approach would be more acceptable to members. That bill fell one vote shy of passage (15 – 10), killing all hope for the Governor and others for a November 3 election on the temporary sales tax question. The Senate proceeded to adopt the rest of the budget bills, effectively adopting a budget package that closely resembles the one passed by the Legislature on June 30 and vetoed by the Governor on July 1.
While the Senate was considering the budget bills, President Bob Burns (R - Glendale) called for suspension of the Senate Rules in order to call the Senate into "Sit COW" which is Capitol slang for "sitting as in Committee of the Whole," to consider and amend SB1025 on a controversial property tax issue. A process that doesn't happen very often, the Arizona Legislative Manual defines Sit COW as "a proceeding by which a house may conduct business as if it were in Committee of the Whole. Typically used to adopt minor technical corrections to bills that have already passed out of Committee of the Whole."
On Thursday, Sen. Jim Waring (R -Phoenix) made a motion to reconsider HB 2015, the sales tax referral, which failed on Wednesday. This motion passed on an 11-6 voice vote, which allows the bill to be reconsidered on a future Third Read calendar. Both chambers are adjourned until Monday, August 17 at 1:00 p.m.
Concerns for Cities and Towns
The budget bills still contain items of concern to the City, including: a $22 million shift of vehicle license tax (VLT) revenues to school districts (Phoenix impact between $5 and 6 million); 2-year freeze on impact fees, building codes and construction sales taxes; identification checks for public services, and reduction of the assessment ratio for commercial property tax (impacting Phoenix's secondary property tax levy by approximately $14 million/year). The package does include a permanent repeal of the state equalization property tax, but unless HB 2015 is resurrected does not include the corporate and individual income tax cuts proposed in the last two weeks. As presented, those income tax cuts could have reduced revenue sharing for Phoenix by approximately $18 million/year as of FY 2014.
Source: P.L.A.N.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Good Communications – Good Management
I’m disappointed in the way business is conducted these days. I’m disappointed in the way the Democratic Party is managed these days. I’ve always felt that managers should begin at the bottom and work their way up. This is the traditional American way.
With the coming of WWII, most managers were drafted into the armed forces. But academia came galloping to the rescue!
Anyone can be a manager, we can teach them management theory and, then, all that’s needed is to ask the right questions. But knowing the right questions comes only with experience. Modern managers think they know all the answers, but they don’t know the questions. When one of our legislators has a question, she/he contacts a lobbyist. This is a bad practice that should be ended. Where should they go for information?
When I went to school, every business curriculum included one or more classes on “Communications Theory”. Proper communications involved the “communication loop”.
Communication started at the top and worked its way down through the organizational chart. But that’s not a loop. The other half started at the bottom and worked its way to the top. That’s the part that is missing today.
State/county chairs are usually selected based on their ability to raise money for the party. I know that is an important function but it should be handled by a designated financial officer. There are plenty of other chores for the chair to do.
Have you ever tried to communicate info to the Party? The correct path is: PC, district chair, county chair, state chair and, finally, national. Then our leadership would know how its membership felt about health care and a host of other problems.
Source: Rod - The Independent Voice
With the coming of WWII, most managers were drafted into the armed forces. But academia came galloping to the rescue!
Anyone can be a manager, we can teach them management theory and, then, all that’s needed is to ask the right questions. But knowing the right questions comes only with experience. Modern managers think they know all the answers, but they don’t know the questions. When one of our legislators has a question, she/he contacts a lobbyist. This is a bad practice that should be ended. Where should they go for information?
When I went to school, every business curriculum included one or more classes on “Communications Theory”. Proper communications involved the “communication loop”.
Communication started at the top and worked its way down through the organizational chart. But that’s not a loop. The other half started at the bottom and worked its way to the top. That’s the part that is missing today.
State/county chairs are usually selected based on their ability to raise money for the party. I know that is an important function but it should be handled by a designated financial officer. There are plenty of other chores for the chair to do.
Have you ever tried to communicate info to the Party? The correct path is: PC, district chair, county chair, state chair and, finally, national. Then our leadership would know how its membership felt about health care and a host of other problems.
Source: Rod - The Independent Voice
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
State Senate in the Summertime
The Senate convened on Tuesday afternoon with the hope of voting on the FY 2010 budget that seeks to close an approximate $3 billion deficit. Since several Senators were out of town and three key GOP members – Senator Carolyn Allen (R-Scottsdale), Senator Ron Gould (R-Lake Havasu), and Senator Pamela Gorman (R-Anthem) – were not going to support the budget proposal, President Bob Burns (R-Peoria) gaveled the chamber into recess until 1 p.m. on Friday, August 7. The pressure to approve a budget continues to grow since the Secretary of State’s Office has declared Monday, August 10 as the last day the legislature can refer the temporary sales tax question to voters for a November election.
The State Senate is still working to corral enough members to pass a budget. This afternoon the Senate convened to pray and pledge before adjourning until 1 p.m. on Monday, August 10. Before recessing, two new budget bills were assigned to the Appropriations Committee. This may signal that a new budget deal is in the works
The July 31, 2009 Budget Legislation Summary as approved by the House is available on the State Joint Legislative Budget Committee website at http://www.azleg.gov/jlbc/what'snew.htm.
Source: P.L.A.N.
The State Senate is still working to corral enough members to pass a budget. This afternoon the Senate convened to pray and pledge before adjourning until 1 p.m. on Monday, August 10. Before recessing, two new budget bills were assigned to the Appropriations Committee. This may signal that a new budget deal is in the works
The July 31, 2009 Budget Legislation Summary as approved by the House is available on the State Joint Legislative Budget Committee website at http://www.azleg.gov/jlbc/what'snew.htm.
Source: P.L.A.N.
Monday, August 3, 2009
AFP Arizona Describes Pending Tax Deal as a “Mixed Bag”
The Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP Arizona) today described the pending tax and budget deal between Gov. Jan Brewer and the Arizona Legislature as a difficult trade-off, and congratulated members of the legislative majority for their hard work.
“The proposed deal is a mixed bag,” said AFP Arizona director Tom Jenney, adding that “the failure of the Legislature to arrive at a deal might still be the best outcome.”
If the Arizona Legislature can muster the majorities needed to pass a deal outlined last week, it would send a three-year sales tax increase to the ballot this November for voter approval, but would offset that tax hike over five years with the repeal of a state property tax and with reductions to the rates of personal and corporate income taxes.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, the Legislature would also refer to voters in November a temporary spending limit and a reform that would allow legislators to make reductions in areas of the budget that are currently protected from cuts by voter mandates.
Uncertainties surround the proposed deal. The referendum on the sales tax hike, which AFP Arizona calls the “Brewer Tax,” could fail at the ballot—as could the two reform referenda. Further, it is possible that the Governor and a majority of members of the Legislature could rescind the income tax cuts during the 2010 legislative session, if they wanted more revenue.
Observers are also unsure what would happen if the proposed deal fails to achieve the needed legislative majorities for passage.
For AFP Arizona, the best-case scenario would be one in which no tax increases are enacted, the state cannot borrow money to prop up spending, and the state cannot find more than a billion dollars in proceeds from asset sales and sale-leaseback schemes. In that case, the Legislature and Governor could end up having to cut an additional $1.5 billion out of the state’s General Fund budget for the coming fiscal year—for a total reduction in spending of approximately 25 percent off the FY 2009 peak.
The taxpayer group argued that spending reductions on that scale would force the state to eliminate waste in all public services and to make fundamental reforms to Arizona’s inefficient and ineffective K-12 public education system. “The sooner we get started with budget reductions,” Jenney said, “the easier it will be.”
AFP Arizona congratulated conservative stalwarts in the Legislature, such as Senators Ron Gould (R-Mohave County) and Pamela Gorman (R-North/Central Phoenix), and Representatives Andy Biggs (R-Gilbert) and Sam Crump (R-North/Central Phoenix), who have so far held out against the deal.
Other legislators fear that without the proposed deal, Gov. Brewer might be able to assemble an ad hoc majority of Democrats and marginal Republicans to refer to the ballot an even worse tax hike package. Those members have thus concluded that the best alternative is to add fiscally conservative reforms to the package in an attempt to offset the damaging effects of the Governor’s tax proposal.
“Legislative leaders and members of the Republican majority have worked very hard to neutralize the negative impact of the Brewer Tax with pro-growth income and property tax cuts,” Jenney said. Using the details about the deal that were available on Friday, the group rated the proposed deal as being close to a break-even proposition for the purpose of scoring legislators on its 2009 Legislative Scorecard.
AFP Arizona also laid the blame for the session’s prolonged tax and budget debacle squarely at the feet of Gov. Brewer. “Brewer’s insistence on referring a sales tax increase to voters has been a terrible mistake, as a matter of policy, and as a matter of politics,” said Jenney. According to AFP Arizona, Brewer should face the reality that the state needs to reduce baseline spending, and work with the Legislature to correct the wasteful excesses of the Napolitano era.
AFP Arizona also expressed its gratitude to the 14 members of the Arizona Senate who voted on June 22 to refer to the 2010 ballot a reduction in the state’s constitutional spending limit, and expressed its great disappointment that a similar bill was never brought to a floor vote in the House. The proposed reform would reduce the state’s existing constitutional spending limit from 7.41 percent to 6.4 percent of state personal income—low enough to prevent the budgetary excesses in FY 2007 that helped to push the state into its current deficit crisis.
Source: Tom Jenney
“The proposed deal is a mixed bag,” said AFP Arizona director Tom Jenney, adding that “the failure of the Legislature to arrive at a deal might still be the best outcome.”
If the Arizona Legislature can muster the majorities needed to pass a deal outlined last week, it would send a three-year sales tax increase to the ballot this November for voter approval, but would offset that tax hike over five years with the repeal of a state property tax and with reductions to the rates of personal and corporate income taxes.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, the Legislature would also refer to voters in November a temporary spending limit and a reform that would allow legislators to make reductions in areas of the budget that are currently protected from cuts by voter mandates.
Uncertainties surround the proposed deal. The referendum on the sales tax hike, which AFP Arizona calls the “Brewer Tax,” could fail at the ballot—as could the two reform referenda. Further, it is possible that the Governor and a majority of members of the Legislature could rescind the income tax cuts during the 2010 legislative session, if they wanted more revenue.
Observers are also unsure what would happen if the proposed deal fails to achieve the needed legislative majorities for passage.
For AFP Arizona, the best-case scenario would be one in which no tax increases are enacted, the state cannot borrow money to prop up spending, and the state cannot find more than a billion dollars in proceeds from asset sales and sale-leaseback schemes. In that case, the Legislature and Governor could end up having to cut an additional $1.5 billion out of the state’s General Fund budget for the coming fiscal year—for a total reduction in spending of approximately 25 percent off the FY 2009 peak.
The taxpayer group argued that spending reductions on that scale would force the state to eliminate waste in all public services and to make fundamental reforms to Arizona’s inefficient and ineffective K-12 public education system. “The sooner we get started with budget reductions,” Jenney said, “the easier it will be.”
AFP Arizona congratulated conservative stalwarts in the Legislature, such as Senators Ron Gould (R-Mohave County) and Pamela Gorman (R-North/Central Phoenix), and Representatives Andy Biggs (R-Gilbert) and Sam Crump (R-North/Central Phoenix), who have so far held out against the deal.
Other legislators fear that without the proposed deal, Gov. Brewer might be able to assemble an ad hoc majority of Democrats and marginal Republicans to refer to the ballot an even worse tax hike package. Those members have thus concluded that the best alternative is to add fiscally conservative reforms to the package in an attempt to offset the damaging effects of the Governor’s tax proposal.
“Legislative leaders and members of the Republican majority have worked very hard to neutralize the negative impact of the Brewer Tax with pro-growth income and property tax cuts,” Jenney said. Using the details about the deal that were available on Friday, the group rated the proposed deal as being close to a break-even proposition for the purpose of scoring legislators on its 2009 Legislative Scorecard.
AFP Arizona also laid the blame for the session’s prolonged tax and budget debacle squarely at the feet of Gov. Brewer. “Brewer’s insistence on referring a sales tax increase to voters has been a terrible mistake, as a matter of policy, and as a matter of politics,” said Jenney. According to AFP Arizona, Brewer should face the reality that the state needs to reduce baseline spending, and work with the Legislature to correct the wasteful excesses of the Napolitano era.
AFP Arizona also expressed its gratitude to the 14 members of the Arizona Senate who voted on June 22 to refer to the 2010 ballot a reduction in the state’s constitutional spending limit, and expressed its great disappointment that a similar bill was never brought to a floor vote in the House. The proposed reform would reduce the state’s existing constitutional spending limit from 7.41 percent to 6.4 percent of state personal income—low enough to prevent the budgetary excesses in FY 2007 that helped to push the state into its current deficit crisis.
Source: Tom Jenney
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
