State Capitol News

Phoenix, AZ – The new rate is 9.6 percent. The last time it was that high was
August of 1983. Aruna Murthy of the state Department of Commerce
pointed out the state's construction industry lost 2,300 jobs
between February and March, more than wiping out the modest gains
of a month before.

(Construction industry has had a tremendous amount of loss in the
state. And, in my opinion, it'll take a considerable amount of
time before that particular industry picks up.)

Phoenix, AZ – The plan is to create what Brewer calls a quasi-public authority
with a board of directors headed by the governor but otherwise
composed of CEOs and other business and education leaders. Brewer
said one problem with the agency now is it's headed by political
appointees. The result has been seven directors in the last
decade. Don Cardon, who took over the commerce department last
June, was more blunt in his assessment.

Phoenix, AZ – The measure would let patients with doctor certification get up
to 2 1/2 ounches of marijuana every two weeks, whether from a
non-profit dispensary or growing their own. Dr. Sue Sisley, a
Scottsdale doctor who specializes in psychiatry and internal
medicine, supports the plan.

(It is vitally important that seriously and terminally ill
patients have legal access to safe and effective means of
treating their illness. The potential benefits from medical
marijuana greatly outweigh the risks.)

Phoenix, AZ – Right now state law spells out how many credits in English, math
science and other subjects a student needs to graduate. Rep. Rich
Crandall said that's the wrong way to look at it.

(We in America are so focused on the length of time you sit in a
classroom. We've gotten away from the concept of what you know.
Instead we count the number of minutes you sit there.)

Phoenix, AZ – The legislation cuts corporate income taxes by 28 percent. It
also contains a provision that would virtually eliminate income
taxes for firms who sell most of their goods outside of the
state. And the state property tax would be phased out. Only thing
is, the move comes just ahead of a May 18 election where the
governor wants voters to hike their own taxes on everything they
buy to help balance the budget.

Phoenix, AZ – At a press conference today Goddard said he was not preparing a
plan of his own to bring revenues into line with expenses. But he
said that cutting spending even further cannot be the whole
answer.

(We have a whole set of revenue options that have not been
considered. I would submit some of the loopholes that are still
in our tax system need to be closed. Some of the special
exceptions that have grown up over the years we can certainly not
afford any more.)

Such as?