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JLBC chief cautions lawmakers on governor’s spending plans
Legislative budget analysts pumped the brakes on Gov. Doug Ducey’s spending proposals this week, cautioning lawmakers that the governor’s projection of available revenues is far rosier than their own.
Report: Marijuana use would generate $82 million in taxes
Arizonans would buy nearly $500 million worth of marijuana a year by 2020 if voters agree in November to allow its use here for recreational purposes, according to a new report.
JLBC casts doubt on governor’s budget figures
The Governor’s Office and the Legislature’s budget research arm widely differ in their revenue and expenditure assumptions, a point of contention both sides will have to reconcile before a final spending plan is adopted.
State pinched by decline in corporate tax revenues
The state is starting to feel the pinch as corporate income tax revenues tumble down, which budget analysts say is the result of tax cuts being phased in.
State officials say district-sponsored charter schools have no reason to worry
Several district-sponsored charter schools were in a panic about the possibility that because lawmakers omitted a line in the state budget, they could be on the hook to repay the state millions of dollars of funding from previous years.
GOP lawmakers divided over what to do with revenue windfall
When lawmakers approved the state budget in March, they were staring at low revenue expectations and a deficit that forced them to make large, unpopular cuts from higher education, social services and other government programs.
Burning a hole in their pockets
With the latest JLBC monthly fiscal highlights showing revenues exceeding projections to the tune of $233 million, talk of budget revisions has increased among Republicans in the Legislature. Several Republicans said if the Legislature has to go into a special session for redistricting, or any of the other looming issues that could lead to a special session, they want the governor to include budge[...]
University budget cuts: Numbers from JLBC and other sources reflect a harsher reality
Gov. Doug Ducey and Republican lawmakers have boasted their budget includes more spending on education than ever in Arizona’s history. But the numbers behind the cuts to higher education paint a different picture for the state’s university system and community colleges.
If things were better, it would be worse
Some lawmakers are kicking around the possibility of delaying the implementation of the phased-in tax cuts that were part of the 2011 Arizona Competitiveness Package. But thanks to the sluggish economy, the fiscal impact of those cuts is smaller than JLBC anticipated when the bill was passed.
Arizona fiscal year gets off to a weak start
State budget analysts say Arizona's current fiscal year is getting off to a weak start.
Return of the deficit: a budget nightmare on Washington Street
If Freddy Krueger were visiting Arizona’s treasury instead of terrorizing teenagers’ dreams, he would be clawing, burning and plunging it into another nightmare of billion-dollar proportions.
Budget hole: AZ lawmakers face tough decisions after school funding ruling
Arizona lawmakers will likely spend the 2015 legislative session grappling with where to find hundreds of millions of dollars more than they’ve budgeted for education over the next five years.
