by Terri Jo Neff | Jul 1, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
On Wednesday, Gov. Doug Ducey signed what he called “a fiscally conservative, forward-looking budget” for Fiscal Year 2022, cutting taxes for all taxpayers for every Arizona taxpayer no matter what their income.
“While we’re giving money back to taxpayers, this budget makes responsible, targeted and substantial investments in the things that matter,” Ducey said. “Under this budget plan, Arizona is paying off more than $1 billion in debt, we’re helping to protect families with the most sweeping child care package in the nation, and we’re making record investments in K-12 and higher education, infrastructure, public health and public safety.”
Ducey received high marks for the budget from the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, particularly the transition of Arizona’s income tax system from a tiered rate to a 2.5 percent flat rate over a three-year period starting Jan. 1, 2022. There are also provisions in the budget for nearly $1 billion in debt payments, as well as another $1 billion to reduce Arizona’s pension liabilities.
Public safety was also a major part of the budget, with $1.5 billion allocated for things like border security and other critical safety investments such as body cameras, increased recruitment funding, and cybersecurity.
K-12 funding was another priority for Ducey, with more than $6 billion allocated, including $47.2 million to develop early literacy programs for children across the state, $30 million for school transportation, and $50 million in student disability aid. One K-12 education bill, HB2898, signed by Ducey makes it easier for families to utilize Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) to help fund lower-income students who wish to attend private schools.
“Arizona’s budget puts students first,” Ducey said after signing HB2898. “Under this plan, we will continue to ensure K-12 students, teachers and schools have resources necessary to help Arizona kids excel in and out of the classroom.”
Ducey has several other bills on his desk which were transmitted this week by the Legislature. Many are do-overs of 22 bills which Ducey vetoed at the end of May in an effort to prod lawmakers to get to work on the budget package.
Although passage of the budget bills took longer than anyone expected in the Republican-controlled Legislature, Ducey’s comments Wednesday stayed focused on the final product, including more options for parents in need of childcare.
by Goldwater Institute | Jun 26, 2021 | Economy, Opinion
By Victor Riches of the Goldwater Institute |
The Arizona Legislature just approved the Goldwater Institute’s plan to dramatically reduce income taxes and simplify the state’s tax code, making Arizona one of the lowest-tax states in the country. This historic reform will restore Arizona’s competitive advantage as a low-tax state and provide a boost for small business owners still struggling to recover from the COVID pandemic.
This plan collapses Arizona’s pre-Prop. 208 tax rates into a single, low 2.5% rate, and it caps the maximum tax rate at 4.5%. This means that no one’s taxes will increase because of Prop. 208. In fact, everyone’s income taxes will go down as a result of this victory.
Additionally, the Goldwater Institute has challenged the constitutionality of Prop. 208, and we’re now awaiting a decision from the Arizona Supreme Court. Fortunately, this new tax reform measure will mitigate the negative effects of Prop. 208—which otherwise would have decimated our economy—and help ensure the state’s future economic success.
>> READ MORE >>>
by Doug Ducey | Jun 26, 2021 | Economy, Opinion
By Doug Ducey, Karen Fann & Rusty Bowers |
>>READ MORE >>>
by Terri Jo Neff | Jun 24, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
In what could be a major rebalancing of powers between the executive and legislative branches, the State Senate passed legislation earlier this week to rein in a governor’s state of emergency powers.
Lawmakers have tried since January to pass legislation to ensure a governor confers with the legislature in certain instances once a public health emergency has been declared. The intent was to ensure a governor cannot issue unending emergency executive orders which impact business offerings, public health decisions, school functions, and whether families can see loved ones in nursing homes.
Many Arizonans do not realize the state remains under a declared emergency even though Gov. Doug Ducey has lifted many of his COVID-19 executive orders. Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita introduced a bill, SB1084, in an attempt to reassert the legislature’s power. Her bill was heard in the House and Senate but stalled in April due to concerns by some within the Republican caucus which holds a majority in both chambers.
Fast forward to the Senate’s marathon consideration of the 11-bill budget package on Tuesday and Wednesday. Ugenti-Rita proposed the text of her bill as a floor amendment to a budget reconciliation bill, SB1819. Her amendment passed on a 16 to 14 party line vote, as did SB1819 itself.
It is now up to House Speaker Rusty Bowers to secure 31 votes in his chamber to get the legislation to Ducey’s desk.
Current state law allows lawmakers to void a public health state of emergency based on a general majority vote in both chambers. However, if the legislature is not in session then two-thirds of lawmakers would have to authorize a special session, or the governor would have to call a special session.
According to the amendment language, a governor’s initial state of emergency
proclamation with respect to a public health emergency will be capped at 30 days beginning Jan. 2, 2023. It allows a governor to extend the public health state of emergency up to 120 days, but any single extension could not be for more than 30 days.
Once the 120 day period is up, the state of emergency will terminate unless extended in whole or in part by a concurrent resolution of the legislature. Lawmakers could vote to extend the state of emergency as many times as necessary in periods of not more than 30 days at a time.
Another key provision of the legislation prohibits a governor from proclaiming a new state of emergency upon termination of a state of emergency based on the same conditions unless there is passage of a concurrent resolution of the legislature consenting to the new state of emergency.
Another amendment which passed with SB1819 makes it clear what emergency powers cities, towns, and counties will have -and won’t have- in the future. It includes a ban on curfews, business closures, and other public health declarations such as mask mandates which run counter to a governor’s orders.
by Terri Jo Neff | Jun 22, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
For the last three weeks the Arizona Legislature has spent more time not working on the state budget slated to start July 1 than they have spent working on it. But optimism is rising -particularly within the Republican caucus- that the impasse may be over.
Gov. Doug Ducey warned lawmakers at the end of May that he did not want to see any legislation hit his desk unless it was the 11 bills contained with the budget packet. He even vetoed 22 bills, all of which had Republican supports, to show he was serious.
On Monday, a number of people involved in the budget process signaled that compromises were being worked out to ensure 31 House and 16 Senate “aye” votes will be put forth for all 11 bills, or at least a significant number to get things moving forward.
According to Sen. Vince Leach, the proposed budget compromise provides money for education, public safety, road infrastructure, debt reduction, and “significant tax relief.” The first four of those items have been the key areas of disagreement, while the latter involves both tax cuts and a transition to a flat rate income tax.
Ducey also released a letter of support for a revised budget package which would now provide cities and towns with an 18 percent share of the state’s Urban Revenue Sharing Fund rather than 15 percent. The increased percentage is intended to cover $225 million in revenue municipalities were estimated to lose if Ducey’s proposed flat rate income tax is approved by lawmakers.
The transition to a flat tax would take place over a few years, and would limit the top rate at 4.5 percent, although Arizonans making less than $250,000 would have a rate of 2.5 percent.
Another compromise expected to be introduced would cap the amount of tax cuts next year at $1.3 billion unless certain revenue thresholds are hit. In that case, the tax cuts could go as high was $1.8 billion.
The Arizona Education Association has come out against the tax cuts and the flat tax. However, the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona threw its support behind Ducey’s efforts to reach a compromise on the budget package. According to a statement released Monday by HBACA, the budget “enhances Arizona’s economic environment, provides more resources to keep Arizona growing, and promotes housing affordability.”
The mayors who signed the letter to Ducey are from Avondale, Buckeye, Camp Verde, Chandler, El Mirage, Gila Bend, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Lake Havasu City, Kingman, Marana, Mesa, Payson, Peoria, Prescott, Sahuarita, Surprise, Winkenburg, Youngstown, and Yuma.
