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Lawmakers consider seeking exemption from stimulus requirements
Standing between lawmakers and millions of dollars in budget cuts to education are three letters - M-O-E.
Since Arizona started drawing federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, some lawmakers have decried the maintenance-of-effort, or MOE, requirements for portions of the money.
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House panel approves budget-fix bills
A House panel followed the Senate’s lead, quickly approving a series of budget bills aimed at chipping away at the state’s massive deficit.
The bills include $300 million in cuts to social programs and state aid for education.
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Pearce offers amendment, then pulls it back
During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Nov. 18, Sen. Russell Pearce, a Republican from Mesa who chairs the committee, offered an amendment that would have dictated how Pima and Maricopa counties would have to pay $22 million to the state.
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Senate Dems want tribal school districts to tap impact aid
Senate Democrats are pushing to give schools on American Indian reservations the ability to access federal impact aid money to make up for state budget cuts to schools.
A handful of Senate Democrats want the schools to have permission to use the federal money in fiscal 2010 to essentially maintain the funding levels that were in [...] -
Special session kicks off, but most work slated for Thursday
Lawmakers officially kicked off the fourth special session of the year - the second devoted to the fiscal 2010 budget - with an uneventful gathering at the state Capitol on Nov. 17.
The work on taking a small bite out of the state’s $2 billion budget deficit will take place on Nov. 19, when House and Senate budget committees are expected to meet.
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Budget insiders see worse ahead in Calif., Mich.
Two of the states hit hardest by the Great Recession-California and Michigan-are bracing for an even tougher time making ends meet next year, putting big spending cuts or outright elimination of some services on the table, top budget officials from both states said Nov. 13.
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Draft bills show special session cuts of $300M
Draft versions of the bills lawmakers are expected to consider this week in a special legislative session show about $300 million in spending cuts to education and social services, as well as the restoration of funding for high-tech economic development.
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Lawmakers getting hammered in court; resources strained
Arizona’s 49th Legislature has been tasked with keeping the state financially afloat during the most troubling economic times in state history. But the choices lawmakers made this year in an effort to balance the budget have led to six lawsuits challenging the state’s use of fund sweeps to fill in deficits.
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Mixed messages emerge from school override, bond votes
If there’s a message in the results of this month’s school bond and budget override votes, the meaning is up for wide interpretation.
The approval rate for overrides and bond issues requested by school districts on Nov. 2 was lower than the five-year average, leading some to conclude that the public’s willingness to pay more taxes for education has decreased.
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DHS hearing focuses on child care; lawmaker blasts First Things First
A joint legislative panel approved a recommendation on Nov. 9 to extend the Department of Health Services, which was the subject of a sunset review, for another decade.
That was the easy part.
