Sen. John Huppenthal
“I view the budget as a promise. But this budget is an empty promise. The cash isn’t there to back it up.” — Sen. John Huppenthal, R-Chandler
Sen. Huppenthal made this comment tonight as the Legislature moved to restore a year’s worth of funding to K-12 education, and make sure that Arizona didn’t lose out on $2 billion in federal stimulus funding because of vetoes to the new budget from Gov. Jan Brewer. The four bills passed unanimously after Republicans agreed to raise the total amount for education from $3.2 billion to $3.7 billion, which Democrats demanded to comply with their interpretation of a statute that requires automatic increases every year.
After the acrimony of the last few days, lawmakers from both parties sought to appear concillatory and upbeat, pointing to how swiftly legislative leaders brought the Legislature together today to prevent a crisis for school districts and charter schools. But Huppenthal was among a few realists who pointed out there’s plenty of hard work ahead for the Legislature and the governor. The standoff over the governor’s proposed sales tax election vs. demands of Republican lawmakers for deeper cuts and mortgaging buildings means the state is headed toward deficit spending by Oct. 1, if not sooner.
The Legislature will formally come together again on Monday, June 13, but negotiations are likely to get underway behind closed doors this week.
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