State Capitol News

Phoenix, AZ – It has been Brewer who has been pushing for more than a year for
a temporary tax hike to deal with the recession sending state
revenues into a tailspin. With her as chief drumbeater, lawmakers
agreed to put the issue on Tuesday's ballot. What that does is
tie Brewer to the fate of the issue, up or down.

Phoenix, AZ – 19 other states already have sued, contending Congress and the
Obama administration exceeded their authority by requiring most
individuals to obtain health insurance. Arizona lawmakers last
month voted to let Gov. Jan Brewer join that suit after Attorney
General Terry Goddard said he finds nothing illegal in the
federal law. Gubernatorial press aide Paul Senseman disagreed.

Phoenix, AZ – Martin noted that both current Gov. Jan Brewer and predecessor
Janet Napolitano have asked for an increased presence of Guard
troops. But with the exception of a short-term deployment, the
federal government has been unwilling to go along. Martin
acknowledged that what he wants amounts to having state taxpayers
pick up the tab for the failure of the federal government. But he
said it would pay off long term.

Phoenix, AZ – Brewer is out rounding up support for Proposition 100 which would
hike the state sales tax by a penny for three years, raising an
estimated $1 billion a year. But House Speaker Kirk Adams and
some Republican lawmakers want a package of income and property
tax cuts for business they say is needed to stimulate the
economy. That bill with its $950 million a year price tag failed
in the Senate. But Brewer noted that Adams has vowed a new effort
next session.

Phoenix, AZ – Two different groups had taken the first steps to referring SB
1070 to the ballot, a process allowed by the Arizona
Constitution. Both have now pulled the plug -- but for different
reasons. One is petition organizer Andrew Chavez.

(I think it came down to timing, Howie. Every indication looked
like we would have been on the 2010 ballot. And I think that the
short time line that would have given my client to launch a
campaign, they were uncomfortable with.)

Phoenix, AZ – Quite simply, it comes down to money. Reports show supporters of
Proposition 100 already have collected more than $1.6 million for
their campaign. Contributors include businesses, unions and
education groups, with the largest donation coming from the
University of Arizona Foundation which kicked in a quarter
million dollars. John Brown, the organization's spokesman, said
the decision to give was logical.