Budget Blunders

Arizona's "I Didn't Pay Enough Fund" Building Up Steam Among Lawmakers

By James King Thu., Dec. 10 2009 at 8:43 AM
Categories: Budget Blunders
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www.knuckletatoos.com
​Representative Judy Burges', um, briliant scheme to raise a few extra bucks to help bridge the state's budget gap is apparently building up some steam in the Legislature.

The "I didn't pay enough fund," a bill introduced by Burges last week, politely asks citizens to fork over more money than they are required to pay under the current tax code, and it seems as though the idea is catching on among legislators.



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arizona, i didn't pay enough fund, judy burges
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Budget Blunders

Budget Battle Puts Arizona Weeks Away From Paying Employees in IOUs; Maybe Lawmakers Will Get the Hint When They Stop Getting Paid

By James King Tue., Dec. 8 2009 at 2:47 PM
Categories: Budget Blunders
ioupen.jpg
www.3bp.com
​According to state Treasurer Dean Martin, the state of Arizona is only weeks away from having to pay state employees with IOUs. Considering state legislators are the ones who got Arizona into this mess, that sounds good to us.

Martin spoke to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Infrastructure and the Public Debt yesterday and broke the bad news to lawmakers -- if they can't iron out a budget, IOUs for government employees are right around the corner.

Martin says if there is no deal by February 1, when state schools are given their monthly $325 million operating funds, the state's cash flow will have maxed out and the schools will be out of luck.

Fortunately there is a plan B, since plan A -- where citizens elect competent people to handle the state's finances in a timely manner -- hasn't exactly worked out.

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arizona, budget, ious, treasurer dean martin
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Budget Blunders

New Special Session Expected to Begin December 14, but Don't Get Your Hopes Up About Any Arizona Budget Solution

By James King Thu., Dec. 3 2009 at 8:50 AM
Categories: Budget Blunders

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​Arizona's lackluster Legislature is looking to call its next special session the week of December 14 to discuss ways to bridge the state's $1.6 billion budget gap.

Despite having no plan other than Governor Brewer's one-cent sales-tax increase that has failed time and time again in the Republican-led Senate -- and something called the "I didn't pay enough fund," where legislators are asking for taxpayer donations and is frankly the worst idea we've ever heard of -- legislators will duke it out once again to try to find a solution.

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arizona, budget, governor jan brewer, senator jay tibshraeny, special session
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Budget Blunders

State Blows Through $700 Million Loan in Less Than a Week; Treasurer Martin Warns Governor and Legislature -- Again

By James King Wed., Dec. 2 2009 at 12:02 PM
Categories: Budget Blunders

economicsszd.jpg
www.gawker.com
​Arizona state government has managed to blow through a $700 million loan from the Bank of America in less than a week, and that wasn't even enough to keep things going.

According to Treasurer Dean Martin, his office had to dip into internal sources to come up with the extra $73 million the state needed just to keep the lights on.

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$700 million loan, arizona, bank of america, budget, budget shortfall, treasurer dean martin
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Budget Blunders

Legislators Want to Start Taking Donations from Taxpayers to Help Bridge Budget Gap. Good Luck

By James King Tue., Dec. 1 2009 at 8:43 AM
Categories: Budget Blunders

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Representative Judy Burges
​Members of the Arizona Legislature are working on a, umm, great idea to help bridge the state's now $1.5 budget gap -- they want to start taking donations from you.

As if the taxpayers are the ones who got us into this mess.

Legislators are drumming up support for a bill called the "I didn't pay enough fund," where they would ask taxpayers to voluntarily pay more than required under state law to add some extra revenue to the state.

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arizona, budget, donations, income tax, judy burgess
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Budget Blunders

Verschoor Shows Up, Burns Burns Dems; Senate Passes Budget Bills

By James King Mon., Nov. 23 2009 at 2:08 PM
Categories: Budget Blunders
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Senate President Bob Burns
​After nearly four agonizing months, the Arizona State Senate has finally passed four bills that will cut about $450 million from the state's budget.

Like most things in the Legislature, this afternoon's agreement didn't come without a little bit of drama.

First and foremost: Bravo to Senator Thayer Verschoor for actually showing up today.



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arizona, bob burns, budget, jan brewer, senate, thayer verschoor
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Budget Blunders

Arizona Treasurer Dean Martin Says Budget Deal May Be Too Late to Fix Problem

By James King Mon., Nov. 23 2009 at 1:26 PM
Categories: Budget Blunders
dean martinszd.jpg
Cronkite News Service
Arizona Treasurer Dean Martin
​Arizona Treasurer Dean Martin hit the airways last night on KTAR's Jay Lawrence Show expressing his lack of optimism about the way the Legislature and Governor Jan Brewer are handling the budget fiasco.

Can you blame him?

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arizona, budget shortfall, dean martin, jan brewer, loan, sheriff joe, terry goddard, treasurer
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Budget Blunders

Monday's Special Session on State Budget Delayed; Senator Carolyn Allen Wants to Quit

By James King Mon., Nov. 23 2009 at 10:34 AM
Categories: Budget Blunders
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Senator Carolyn Allen
​Last Thursday, the Arizona Legislature failed to pass pieces of legislation that would shave about $400 million off of the state's $2 billion budget shortfall. The special session was supposed to reconvene today, but it seems as though that's not happening either.

The proceedings were delayed -- again -- as Senate Republicans try to muster up some Democratic support for the bills that they thought they had last week until Republican Senator Thayer Verschoor, the decisive 16th vote, went AWOL.

All the drama is apparently taking its toll on Senator Carolyn Allen.

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arizona, bob burns, carolyn allen, delay, senate, special session, state budget
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Budget Blunders

Approved! State of Arizona Gets $700 Million Loan Just to Keep Lights On

By James King Thu., Nov. 19 2009 at 3:14 PM
Categories: Budget Blunders
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State Treasurer Dean Martin
​Remember when banks were lending money to people that had no means of paying it back and the entire economy came crashing down?

The Bank of America apparently has no memory of this because it just approved a $700 million loan to the Arizona state government, which happens to already be about $2 billion in the hole.

For the first time since the Great Depression, the state of Arizona will require an external loan to merely remain operational.

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arizona, bank of america, budget shortfall, loan, phoenix, state government, treasurer dean martin
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Budget Blunders

AZ Senator Verschoor Doesn't Show Up For Vote During Special Session, Budget Bill Doesn't Pass, and State's Still Short $2 Billion

By James King Thu., Nov. 19 2009 at 1:48 PM
Categories: Budget Blunders
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Senator Thayer Verschoor
​As we reported this morning, the special session of the Legislature was expected to be over today, and legislators were expected to agree on a number of cuts to help bridge the state's $2 billion budget gap.

That didn't happen.

In what is becoming almost tradition, the Republicans in the Senate came up one vote short of passing a bill that would trim about $400 million off the budget shortfall.

That one vote, the Arizona Republic reports, belongs to Gilbert Republican Thayer Verschoor, who evidently didn't show up this afternoon.



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arizona, budget shortfall, gilbert, special session, state budget, thayer verschoor
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