On Monday afternoon, the seventh special session of the 49th legislature kicked off, focused on closing the state’s budget deficit. The proposal as introduced contained a $6 million hit to Phoenix’s sales tax revenue sharing, as well as an $8 million impact to the City’s portion of the local transportation assistance fund (LTAF). While the budget bills moved through their respective committees on Tuesday, the process came to a halt the following day.A major sticking point for many legislative members was the transfer of the state’s juvenile corrections function to the counties. By Thursday, the juvenile corrections item was removed from the budget package and work proceeded to pass a majority of the budget bills. The remaining budget items, which cut $1.1 billion from the state's general fund, are expected to be completed on Monday then sent to the Governor for her signature.
The good news is that the reduction in cities' shared revenue was amended out of the package, so there is no direct impact to Phoenix's general fund. The bad news is the sweep and permanent repeal of LTAF was left in the package, which reduces revenue for our Public Transit Department by $8 million. Many thanks goes out to those PLAN members who contacted their legislators, asking that shared revenues be held harmless. You made a difference!
Source: P.L.A.N.
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