House Republicans may have finally lined up the votes this afternoon for a new state budget. Arizona Public Radio’s Howard Fischer explains.
Progress on adopting a spending plan has been blocked since Monday when a group of at least six House Republicans said they could not back the nearly $9.2 billion package already approved by the Senate. They want more funding, particularly for child-welfare services as well as K-12 education. Some closed-door meetings apparently have resulted in movement. Rep. Doug Coleman, who has been one of the holdouts, said there has been compromise.
“I think everybody feels like they’ve given up something. Nobody gets everything you want,” Coleman said.
Rep. John Kavanagh, who heads the Appropriations Committee and who has been a supporter of the smaller spending plan, said in his own inimitable way a deal is in the works.
“All I can say is the water has broken. But we don’t know how long labor will be,” Kavanagh said.
If the House does line up the votes for a deal, the changes will have to be ratified Friday by the Senate.
