Special Session
Joint Statement on Special Session
July 06 2009 18:43
House and Senate leadership on both sides of the aisle have agreed to immediately address the Governor’s veto of more than $3.2 billion in education funding and violation of federal stimulus funding requirements.
With bipartisan support, we introduced and passed legislation today to ensure school districts and charter schools can proceed with adopting their budgets and put the state back in compliance with requirements to receive federal stimulus funds. The bills passed unanimously out of both chambers and are on their way to the Governor.
The four bills to address the issues above are described below:
With bipartisan support, we introduced and passed legislation today to ensure school districts and charter schools can proceed with adopting their budgets and put the state back in compliance with requirements to receive federal stimulus funds. The bills passed unanimously out of both chambers and are on their way to the Governor.
The four bills to address the issues above are described below:
- Appropriates basic state aid to school districts and charter schools at the FY09 level of funding following the spending adjustments passed during first special session in January 2009, plus the full 2 percent inflator.
- Allows school districts to budget for career ladders and desegregation at fiscal year 2009 levels until October 1, 2009, prohibits excess utilities budgeting, and reduces spending for soft capital by $175 million. Additionally, funding is eliminated for a second year of kindergarten for children with birthdates after September 1, 2009, grandfathering current kindergarten pupils.
- Ensures county contributions to AHCCCS and distributions of Medicaid stimulus monies are consistent with the requirements of the federal stimulus legislation. This language, which was part of one of the BRBs vetoed by the executive, ensures that Arizona receives more than $1.7 billion in federal stimulus monies for Medicaid.
- Limits legislator pay during the special session to those days when the legislature convenes and attendance is recorded.
Special Session Summary Of Gov's Vetoes
July 06 2009 13:37
The Executive’s line item veto of the Executive/Legislative agreed upon majority budget and wholesale veto of the attendant budget reconciliation bills (BRBs) decimated a meticulously negotiated budget and created severe problems for the state.
Appalled by the recklessness of the Executive, a bipartisan legislative effort has developed to immediately address two of the most egregious aspects of the Executive’s vetoes.
First, the Executive zeroed out formula funding (more than $3.2 billion) for the state’s K-12 System, denying any funding to Arizona’s school districts and charter schools for FY 2010, which began July 1, 2009.
The ostensible purpose is to compel the Legislature to give the Executive her 18 percent sales tax increase referral to the ballot, which failed to garner sufficient Republican or Democratic votes during the regular legislative session.
By casting enormous uncertainty over the level of funding to the K-12 system, the Governor has effectively orchestrated a shutdown of Arizona’s schools and compromised the state’s Constitutional mandate to maintain public schools.
Second, the Executive jeopardized more than $2.7 billion in stimulus funds coming to Arizona, including over $1 billion in Fiscal Stabilization Fund monies for K-12 and Higher Education and $1.7 billion in Medicaid monies.
The Governor’s decision to zero-out formula funding to the K-12 public schools violates the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirements under the federal stimulus package, which requires the Legislature at least maintain a fiscal year 2006 level of funding.
More than $1.7 billion in Medicaid assistance is at risk as the Governor’s veto eliminated a technical BRB provision regarding county cost share and distribution of stimulus monies without which the Medicaid MOE is also violated.
Appalled by the recklessness of the Executive, a bipartisan legislative effort has developed to immediately address two of the most egregious aspects of the Executive’s vetoes.
First, the Executive zeroed out formula funding (more than $3.2 billion) for the state’s K-12 System, denying any funding to Arizona’s school districts and charter schools for FY 2010, which began July 1, 2009.
The ostensible purpose is to compel the Legislature to give the Executive her 18 percent sales tax increase referral to the ballot, which failed to garner sufficient Republican or Democratic votes during the regular legislative session.
By casting enormous uncertainty over the level of funding to the K-12 system, the Governor has effectively orchestrated a shutdown of Arizona’s schools and compromised the state’s Constitutional mandate to maintain public schools.
Second, the Executive jeopardized more than $2.7 billion in stimulus funds coming to Arizona, including over $1 billion in Fiscal Stabilization Fund monies for K-12 and Higher Education and $1.7 billion in Medicaid monies.
The Governor’s decision to zero-out formula funding to the K-12 public schools violates the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirements under the federal stimulus package, which requires the Legislature at least maintain a fiscal year 2006 level of funding.
More than $1.7 billion in Medicaid assistance is at risk as the Governor’s veto eliminated a technical BRB provision regarding county cost share and distribution of stimulus monies without which the Medicaid MOE is also violated.