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

Gov. Jan Brewer and other state leaders urged Arizonans on April 29 to "stay out and stay alive" when it comes to abandoned mines, which have claimed 10 lives in the past decade. "We need a safe place, we need safe mines and we need education," Brewer said. "Let's keep everyone alive."

The House and Senate Appropriations committees were scheduled to meet jointly on April 28 to discuss a budget proposal to allow the state to sweep hundreds of millions of dollars from cities. But the hearing was cancelled at the last minute because, as at least one lawmaker put it, a homebuilders association was not prepared to give a presentation.

Republican leaders are expected to unveil a budget proposal today that would close the state deficit without raising taxes and without borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Senate and House leaders will hunker down to iron out areas of disagreement in their draft budget proposals this week. Legislative staffers have been instructed to prepare a spreadsheet comparing the two chambers' draft budget proposals.

No matter how bad the economy gets, some goods and services are so vital that demand never drops. For some, apparently, lobbying is among the privileged few.