Governor Napolitano’s announcement she will allow a corporate tuition tax credit program to become law without her signature in order to foster a working relationship with Republican lawmakers on upcoming budget negotiations met a cool reception at the Legislature.
While the measure is a victory for citizens of the state wishing to send their children to private schools, House Speaker Jim Weiers, R-10, said the governor’s acquiescence on the measure “doesn’t hurt” the strained relationship between Republican legislative leadership and Ms. Napolitano but, it doesn’t help much, either.
“I’m happy the governor is doing the right thing,” he said. “It’s living up to what she promised.”
Last May, Republican lawmakers were outraged after Ms. Napolitano vetoed a more comprehensive version of the recently passed tax credit legislation they said she agreed to sign as part of a compromise on the budget. At the time, Mr. Weiers distributed bumper stickers and shirts emblazoned with “SHE LIED.”
Ms. Napolitano told The Associated Press S1499 was a scaled-back version of what she vetoed last year and is substantially similar to H2004, which she vetoed in January. She also said the move was designed to spur budget negotiations.
“Somebody had to make a gesture here to get them off the dime,” she told The Associated Press. “This session is 80 days old and it’s one of the least productive I’ve ever seen.”
Ms. Napolitano added she didn’t receive any commitment from the Legislature to let the bill become law.
However, Rep. John Allen, R-11, says the latest move by the governor is not an olive branch to the Legislature — it merely allows her to save face while acknowledging she should have signed the bill last year. Nor, he said, will it change the attitude Republicans will have toward her when budget negotiations begin.
“By no means does this make her trustworthy,” he said. “We’re right back where we started.”
Budget discussions are continuing among Republicans in the House and Senate, though no firm plans have yet been presented to lawmakers as to how the state will budget at least $800 million in surplus revenues. As of March 30, GOP leaders in each chamber were still determining what issues are priorities for their members.
The surplus amount is above and beyond the state’s required deposit to the rainy day fund and spending the Legislature has already approved for state employee pay raises.
Before the legislative session began, Republican leaders said they were committed to providing at least $250 million in tax cuts, most likely a combination of both income — and property tax reductions, as well as an additional $100 million for increased border security.
Other options for spending include: funding additional freeway construction, repaying funds that were raided in recent years to balance the budget, giving additional raises to Department of Corrections officers and funding for the Kids Care Parents health care program.
Rep. Tom Boone, R-4, one of the House’s two appropriations chairmen, said the House and Senate have agreed on initial budgets for all state agencies. He said leaders from both chambers were meeting regularly in an attempt to iron out differences in budgeting priorities for the remainder of the budget, but the two bodies would likely have slightly different budget proposals.
He also said the budget would not include expanded funding for full-day kindergarten, the governor’s top priority, because there was not enough support for it within the Republican caucuses.
Rep. Bob Robson, R-20, said the budget process has been slower than expected because the Legislature spent a considerable amount of time designing legislation to satisfy a federal court order in the Flores v. Arizona lawsuit and coping with the death of Sen. Marilyn Jarrett earlier this month.