The legislative session expired at 7:30am on July 1 and left
in its wake a good deal of history, and with Governor Brewer’s veto of 14
budget related bills, plenty of work to do in a special session commencing on
July 6.
The
slaughter was both magnificent and complex, while allowing state government to
stay open. The budget package consisted of bills passed on June 4 (and not
transmitted to the Governor, but held in the Senate), and trailer bills passed
on July 1 that amended the June 4 cluster or added new provisions. Wielding
more a sword than a pen, Governor Brewer allowed only three bills to survive,
and she did a fair amount of line item vetoing in two of the three.
The
survivors were the June 4 general appropriations bill (SB 1188), the July 1
general appropriations trailer bill (HB 2643), and a capital appropriations
bill.
The
significant outcomes for the university system are as follows:
·
The
University auxiliary fund balance sweeps of $50M were eliminated.
·
The
changes to the SPEED program were eliminated leaving us with a total of $800M
of SPEED debt authority.
·
The
rollover of the University appropriations from late FY 2010 to early FY 2011
was eliminated.
·
The
cuts made to the universities’ general fund budgets for FY 2010 were eliminated
(this is not likely to stand after the special session, as we will probably be
pared down to the federal maintenance of effort level).
·
The
prohibition of DOA offering domestic partner health issuance was eliminated.
·
The
Arizona Twenty-First Century Competitive Fund was restored.
Other results of the interaction of
the bills, the vetoes, and the line item vetoes are:
·
No
requirement for a university uniform accounting system.
·
No
movement toward funding only in-state enrollment.
·
No
reporting requirement for invited campus speakers.
·
Elimination
of the changes in SB 1035 and HB 2645 relating to required documentation for
demonstrating lawful presence to agencies providing federal and state benefits.
The Governor had said no sales tax
increase referendum, no deal, and she demonstrated that she was not bluffing.
Now she has called a special session for Monday to fix the budget and to pass a
sales tax referendum – although she would accept a two-thirds vote increasing
the sales tax, but that is unlikely.
The
Governor has put a gun to everyone’s head to prompt quick action in the special
session. Among her vetoes is the elimination of state aid for K-12. She did
this because of her dissatisfaction with the legislative K-12 budget (including
the fact that in her plan some of the money from the sales tax increase would
have gone to K-12). The next general fund payment to K-12 is due on July 15.
We
owe a great deal to Governor Jan Brewer – her courageous vetoes and firm
support for higher education. The State must have her temporary sales tax
increase to avoid disaster. We will work closely to assist her and help her
achieve her goals in the special session.
Greg Fahey
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