Senate rolls out its own budget

State Senate President Tim Bee: Campaign photoPHOENIX -- A day after Arizona House Speaker Jim Weiers (R-Phoenix) announced a proposal to resolve the roughly $2 billion budget shortfall the state faces in fiscal year 2008-2009, the state Senate has followed suit, rolling out its own plan to cover the gap. State Senate President Tim Bee (R-Tucson) and state Senate Minority Leader Marsha Arzberger (D-Willcox) appeared jointly at a capitol press conference to announce the Senate version, which Legislature Democrats and Gov. Janet Napolitano are likely to find more palatable.

"We believe this budget is reasonable, responsible and sustainable," said Bee at the press event announcing the breakthrough.

The Senate proposal calls for a $361 million in cuts to state agencies - $140 million less than what the House plan calls for. It also includes a K-12 rollover, in which payments to public schools are delayed by four weeks, which has the effect of pushing some payments into the next fiscal year. Coupled with reductions in building renewal, bonding for new school construction and $106 million in transfers out of the Highway Users Revenue Fund, the budget package totals $2.02 billion, which should make up the projected shortfall.

Arzberger said the Senate leadership and governor's office had "worked diligently" to protect education, health care and programs for senior citizens. "It contains some painful cuts that were difficult to make," said Arzberger, "but we protected what is most important to Arizonans. I think it represents the best way to solve our current problems while looking forward to the future."

Indications from Democrats in the Legislature suggest the Senate budget fix is more likely to win passage than the one presented in the House. On Monday, Speaker Weiers expressed uncertainty that the requisite 31 votes in the House to pass the legislation would be reached. Sen. Bee expressed no such reservations.

"I feel very good about where our votes are right now," said Bee. "We will continue to meet with members and fill them in on the details of the proposal," he said, also predicting the legislation would be introduced in the Senate later in the day. It is to be cosponsored by Bee and Arzberger.

However, Bee sounded a cautious note when talking, even in the midst of celebrating the agreement. "This will be a multi-year workout of this problem," he said. "Unfortunately, we all know this will not be the end of the story."

The Senate solution is more along the lines of what Arizona House Minority Leader Phil Lopes (D-Tucson) was looking for. He told PolitickerAZ.com prior to the Senate announcement that the $500 million in agency cuts proposed by the House was too high, and that he personally had not wanted "more than $400 million." The Senate proposal is considerably less than that. However, despite saying that House Democrats would "all vote against the House bills if they came to the floor today," Lopes remained upbeat about the prospects of resolving the crisis before the July 1 deadline.

"What gives me comfort is that, in the 96 years of the state's existence, we have never not had a budget," Lopes said.

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