Brewer: Five-way talks with Dems a possibility

By Jeremy Duda - jeremy.duda@azcapitoltimes.com

Published: July 2, 2009 at 6:07 pm

Gov. Jan Brewer left open the possibility that she would be open to five-way talks on the budget crisis with Republican and Democratic caucuses from both legislative chambers, but put the onus on lawmakers for opening the door to those discussions.

“I think that’s what we’re trying to determine today. That’s why I’ve asked, independently, each one of them to come up to my office and to see where we’re going,” Brewer said July 2 when asked whether five-way talks would take place. “It’s not the governor that decides if there’s going to be five people at the table.”

In her first public comments since vetoing large swaths of the budget passed by Republican legislators, Brewer said she had met with Senate President Bob Burns and House Speaker Kirk Adams, but hadn’t yet spoken with minority leadership about possible cooperation on the budget when the Legislature convenes for a special session on July 6.

Some lawmakers have questioned how Brewer will be able to drum up enough legislative support for her budget proposals, especially a referendum on a temporary sales tax increase, when she has been unable to do so for months. The Legislature passed a budget shortly after the start of the fiscal year that did not include the ballot referral, leading Brewer to line-item veto large portions of the main spending bill and veto 15 trailer bills.

The governor expressed optimism that she and lawmakers could work out a deal, but reiterated her opposition to large spending cuts for education and social services.

“I think that sometimes when you clean the deck you can start afresh, and I’m hoping that that’s what we’ll be able to do. It was unfortunate that it ended up this way, but when you receive the bills and the budget six hours into the next fiscal year, it makes it pretty difficult,” she said. “The whole budget was predicated, of course, on new revenue. When that didn’t happen, of course, then the budget wouldn’t work. We’ll move forward.”

Brewer acknowledged that the state is facing a deadline of July 15, when a $300 million payment is due to K-12 schools. One of Brewer’s line-item vetoes in the main spending bill wiped clean the entire general fund portion of the K-12 budget, totaling more than $3 billion.

The governor disputed a recent statement by Adams that her line-item veto jeopardized K-12 education, saying, “I’m the one that is out there trying to get more funding for education. I will continue down that path.”

“The budget didn’t work in the way that it was presented, so it was important that we start back and start fresh,” Brewer said.

The governor, however, was not clear on how she would be able to cobble together a coalition that has eluded her for months. Many conservatives have condemned her proposal for a temporary sales increase and say they will not vote to put it on a public ballot in November. Democrats have voiced their opposition to her plan as well, and have criticized the governor for not including them in negotiations with Republican leadership.

Brewer, Adams and Burns met June 30 with a handful of House Democrats to ask for their support on the tax increase issue, and Brewer met briefly later in the night with minority leadership in the Senate. But Sen. Rebecca Rios said the governor simply made her opening pitch to the Democrats, then left the room and did not return.

The governor said she has not talked with minority leadership and did not know “exactly where they’re at or what they want to do.” But she said she was open to discussions and emphasized that the budget crisis is not a Republican or Democratic problem.

“Do I want everybody at the same table? Absolutely. I think that if we can work it out and if everybody can be at the table, that we can resolve it,” Brewer said.

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