The chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee said Tuesday he is considering banning all public testimony when lawmakers take up the state budget later this year.

With an uptick in state revenues, Gov. Jan Brewer is proposing to alleviate some of the pain the state’s Medicaid providers have been experiencing.

The governor wants to give a 3 percent rate increase to state health care providers, including physicians, behavioral health professionals and nursing facilities.

But one group that is among the worst hit by years of incessant budget cutting would be left out — hospitals.

With the budget stabilizing and the economy needing another boost, some lawmakers have set their eyes on drastic tax reductions, including proposals to lower or eliminate the capital gains tax.

While they’re uncomfortable with Gov. Jan Brewer’s higher revenue forecast in two years, Republican lawmakers aren’t rejecting her spending plan outright.

In fact, many are agreeable to some of the expenditures Brewer is seeking.

Gov. Jan Brewer is treading carefully and offering a multiyear budget that plans that includes hundreds of millions in one-time expenditures, but gives the state a financial cushion for the coming fiscal cliff in 2014.

The Governor’s Office today unveiled budget plan for fiscal year 2013 and the remainder of 2012 that is projected to leave the state in the black by about $329 million when the Proposition 100 sales tax increase expires and federal health care mandates are expected to take a major toll on the state budget in fiscal year 2014.

Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday releases her new budget proposal, one expected to largely hold the line on most state spending after several years of cuts.

Gov. Jan Brewer today laid out her spending plan, but before she can hammer out a deal with lawmakers, the two sides will have to reconcile their revenue projections for the next few years.

Right now, their only clear agreement is that, barring another economic downturn and events beyond the state’s control, revenues will climb steadily, albeit slowly.

State revenues grew modestly in November even as signs of economic strains persist.

Now that Arizona’s fiscal picture is rosier, with projected surpluses instead of staggering deficits, lawmakers are looking at undoing one of the state’s more embarrassing budget gimmicks.

Advocates for state services and programs shouldn’t hold out hope that Arizona’s improving fiscal situation means cuts made to keep the state budget in the black will be reversed any time soon, an official said Friday.