[Source: Mary Jo Pitzl and Matthew Benson, Arizona Republic, June 29, 2008] — Numbers dominated this year’s legislative session. As in shrinking revenue projections and growing deficit numbers for the state budget. As in counting the number of votes needed to pass a budget – which has its own controversial set of numbers. As in counting the hours that a Democratic-led filibuster dragged on in the Senate, in hopes of derailing a vote on a gay-marriage amendment. Or the even longer Republican-led filibuster against the budget deal days earlier.
The session ended after 166 days of work, even more if you count the week of work done on the budget before the session officially started in January. The last day unfolded under a sky darkened by smoke from a wildfire, a fitting metaphor for the darkening mood of the Legislature. The mood had begun to sour earlier in the week with division over the state-budget deal, and that atmosphere continued with angry and passionate debate over the gay-marriage amendment…
[House Speaker Jim] Weiers and other lawmakers made a last-minute run to win support for a “stimulus” package of bills that supporters said would generate thousands of construction jobs. But only two of the proposed five measures passed — both included in the budget. The provisions include $1 billion in borrowing for university construction, to be financed with the proceeds from an expanded state Lottery. The other stimulus provision expands existing state tax credits for research and development, with the goal of luring startup companies in the high-tech and biotech industries.
Left by the wayside were proposals to create tax credits to attract solar-manufacturing facilities; to give a tax break for a downtown [Phoenix] entertainment district; and to allow Pima County officials to call an election to allow a tax that would shore up Tucson’s spring-training baseball fortunes. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
Downtown Voices Coalition 