Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

The budget that was mostly approved by lawmakers on March 11 will cut $1.2 billion in state spending, but it includes a contingency plan that will reduce spending by almost double that amount if voters reject a sales tax increase that will be on the ballot May 18.

The special session continues today as lawmakers try to hammer out a deal on a budget plan that would eliminate the $700 million deficit remaining in the fiscal 2010 budget and another $2.6 billion deficit in the fiscal 2011 budget. Click here for updates.

On the surface, it seemed like a no-brainer to build a new Health Sciences Education Building for Arizona's three state universities.

In an attempt to curry public support for her sales tax increase proposal, Gov. Jan Brewer has sought to make deep cuts to education and to allow the state to keep some of the money it normally shares with cities if voters reject the temporary tax increase in May's special election.

Katie Barnes said state lawmakers should spend time with her and other teachers before making deep cuts to education funding.

Details of the Republican budget plan given to majority party lawmakers this week show they and Gov. Jan Brewer aim to close a nearly $2.7 billion budget gap with more than $1.1 billion in cuts and wholesale elimination of a number of state programs.

Amie Oetter said she teaches her two sons, ages 10 and 12, more than the education staples of math, science and reading. For example, Oetter has been teaching them Greek, Latin and Spanish since they were each in first grade, she said.

Republicans are trying to pass a law that would require public schools to determine which of their students are illegal immigrants and then report their findings to the state.

A plan to cut $800 million next fiscal year from state programs providing health care would cost tens of thousands of jobs, and the losses would extend far beyond those in the health care field, business leaders said Feb. 24.

A House panel has approved a bill that would require schools to annually report how many illegal immigrants are enrolled and how much it costs to educate them.