Weekly Report

Not much progress has been made with the budget since last week, and there's still no definite end in sight. I am hopeful that all the ongoing negotiations with the Governor will prove fruitful and that she will "hold her nose" and sign what we send up to her. As I noted last week, it's not the budget I would written, but I am only one of 90 -- so compromise is what it takes to get it done. I think more would have been accomplished this past week, but the President's visit to Yuma took several members away from the House and Senate so we had very short schedules on Wednesday and Thursday.

For those who didn't see last week's figures, spending with the proposed budget goes up about 11.5% over last year -- a very significant increase. But it's important to note that without the legislature doing anything, spending would have gone up nearly 7.6%. That's because of mandates that are in place by virtue of voter initiatives. Funding for education goes up by formula each year, as does AHCCCS (health care for the poor). Even if we held every other department or agency to the same level of spending, these two alone would provide a major increase.

The 11% increase includes a major boost to transportation projects to the tune of $345 million, over and above what's already planned. This money will accelerate plans for highways already well along in the development process. Unfortunately, it's not likely that Mohave County will see much of the increased spending, but I will still be lobbying the State Transportation Board to be sure they are aware of the great needs in our area.

We have also included an addtional $105 million for education, bringing the total funding for K-12 to $3.7 BILLION. With $.4 million for school construction, Arizona's total for primary and secondary education is $4.1 billion. The $105M will be given to school districts to use as they decide: teacher salaries, supplies, more all-day kindergarten, or whatever they think will be best for their district. The budget takes nothing away from those districts which already have all-day K -- those programs will not be affected.

The budget also includes about $250 million in tax cuts, split between property and income taxes. So, with increases in areas of importance to most of the people in this State and with a return of about 1/4 of the excess revenues to taxpayers, we believe our budget is one which is a fair use of our resources.

Despite still being in session, the campaign season is in full swing. I have attended several more in-home gatherings where I collected more signatures and $5 "clean elections" contributions. I would like to publicly thank those folks who have hosted these events so far: J.B. & Teri Wise, Barb and Doug Mann, Vilma and Lee Fabrizio, Bill and Nola Charles, along with Jack & Jenny Lynn. These have been very successful for me, but more importantly, they offer a chance to meet with people in small groups where we have a chance to really discuss what their concerns are and what we are doing in Phoenix to address those concerns.

I am still gathering both signatures and the $5s before the deadline of June 14th. If you'd be willing to host a party, get petitions signed or donate $5 please leave a message at (928) 763-5146 or e-mail me at my personal e-mail address (not at the capitol, please): nmclainbhc@aol.com

I truly appreciate all the kind comments I have received about my work in the legislature, and I look forward to continuing that work for another two years.

Until next week,

Nancy