The East Valley Partnership recognizes the need to streamline and improve our state’s tax system. That is why we support the major tenets of Gov. Jan Brewer’s plan to reform Arizona’s Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) that is currently burdensome for businesses and puts local merchants at a disadvantage to out-of-state Internet retailers.

The 2013 legislative session began with a unanimous vote in the House and the Senate to appropriate emergency funding for additional Child Protective Services staff. With that vote, lawmakers affirmed child safety as a top priority and recognized that the dramatic growth in the number of reports of child abuse and neglect and the number of children living in foster care demand increased capacity to respond.

Fairness is among the first lessons we teach our children. Wait your turn, share your toys, obey the rules. So why is this value absent when it comes to funding children’s public education? I can’t fully answer that question. Neither can the thousands of parents like me whose children attend Arizona’s virtual public charter schools. Though our children are public school students under Arizona state law, they receive only a portion of standard public school funding.

Transparency and accountability are of critical importance for promoting economic development. Anytime our elected officials consider any proposal that provides taxpayer money to incentivize the private sector, strong safeguards must be in place.

As the leader of a company representing hundreds of health care providers throughout metropolitan Phoenix, I support Governor Brewer’s bold plan to leverage federal matching funds and get health insurance to Arizona’s most economically vulnerable citizens.

As a conservative Republican, a frequent contributor to Republican political campaigns, and one who is very worried about the future the Republican Party, I would like to comment on Randy Pullen’s letter (posted March 26 on the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry website).

Living in Arizona for over 30 years I have come to love many aspects of our great state. One area that greatly concerns me, however, is the performance of our education system. Rather than just complain about it, I’ve devoted more than 20 years to reforming K-12 education.

In the debate over Medicaid expansion, the ace up the sleeve of expansion advocates is federal largesse. The federal health care law requires states to eventually cover 10 percent of the cost of expanding Medicaid eligibility; but for the next three years 100 percent of the cost is covered by the federal treasury.

Arizonans are watching as the misinformed rhetoric and vitriol obfuscate an issue that close to a million voters made perfectly clear they support. . .twice.

As a precinct committeewoman from Legislative District 28 in North Central Phoenix, I was once again dismayed and insulted by my own party’s actions. The party faithful toils so hard while party officials squander their labor on undisciplined, mean-spirited name-calling that serves no other purpose than to bolster big egos and small ideas.