Black ink and a good deal of rhetoric have been spilled over the red ink, but it is worth observing the budget debate appeared to be all about how much money would be spent for this service or that program. Perhaps it should have been all about how to spend money we actually have.

There are two points here:

While the task was daunting, this budget will continue to spend considerably more than annual revenues. We have yet to reconcile spending and receipts. There remains a very large hole in the budget, a near term due and payable that must be covered by a much improved economy or new taxes, but that debate appeared to be overshadowed by spending demands.

There needs to be more focus on better, more efficient and alternative methods of delivering service. As an example, the regulated have worked with the Arizona Department of Agriculture and the Legislature over the past 18 months to change the way services are delivered. The intent was not to dismantle regulation, but to preserve its integrity while facing considerably reduced general fund support. Government can change its delivery rather than simply asking for more money.

We had the debate on H2308 (eminent domain). The debate was good, but we wound up sending not much more than a postcard to overly eager municipalities who use broad definitions of “public use” in eminent domain situations when government wants to do something. Let’s hope the postcard will not be returned to sender.

The business community has faced considerable challenges in sorting out its allies with respect to the State Compensation Fund. It is one thing to talk about supporting small business and its vital role in Arizona’s economy. It is quite another to listen to the more than 53,000 businesses in the state who insist on protecting the integrity of their money in the State Compensation Fund and the role it plays in performing public mandates with private resources. We are greatly distressed there was no legislative remedy, despite strong support in both the Senate and the House and in the Governor’s Office. We will see consequences from this inaction.

Although the state does not have primacy, in the Legislature we saw some reasonable and sane discussion on forest health and immigration issues.

We also applaud passage into law of H2476, to maintain levels of water use in areas where groundwater is managed by the Department of Water Resources, in return for easements, which will insure protection of agriculture and maintenance of open space. The bill says a person who owns farmland in an area managed by the state can be irrigated with groundwater. The farmer may apply to the Water Resources Department director for the land to be designated protected farmland.

We also look forward to the public debate prior to the 2004 election on fiscal accountability of ballot propositions (HCR 2022) and exchanges of public land, which might provide

solutions for maintaining our defense bases while respecting property rights (SCR 1012).

Ken Evans is president of the Arizona Farm Bureau, an independent, non-governmental, voluntary organization of farm and ranch families. Its Web site is www.azfb.com