State lawmakers want special budget session

The top budget officials in the House and Senate said a special legislative session is needed - and soon - to dig Arizona out of a deepening financial hole. Sen. Bob Burns, R-Peoria, said figures for the first two months of the fiscal year that began July 1 show revenues running about $180 million below projections.

Burns, who is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that at this rate, the state could end up $1 billion short of the $9.9 billion spending plan.

And without spending cuts, Burns said the state could find itself facing tax hikes.

Gov. Janet Napolitano put out her own press release Tuesday touting the results of a hiring freeze she imposed last February. The result, she said, is a 2.8 percent reduction in the number of people working for the state.

Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, Burns' House counterpart, was unimpressed.

"A hiring freeze isn't going to solve the problem," he said. Pearce said it's going to require an actual cut in spending on programs, something that requires legislative action.

Gubernatorial press aide Jeanine L'Ecuyer said more is being done.

For example, she said budget staffers are meeting with the heads of all state agencies to "look at what they're doing." L'Ecuyer said the governor is also looking for places where agencies can "hold back" spending.

"There's an awful lot of that going on," she said, though she provided no details. "We're going to be in a position to talk about a lot more of this next week."

L'Ecuyer acknowledged that cuts in programs, which Burns and Pearce say are necessary, would require legislative action.

She said Napolitano is "not opposed" to a special session. But at this point, the questions surround how soon - and who is responsible for coming up with that plan.

Burns pointed out that the $9.9 billion budget that now is running in the red was crafted by the Democratic governor, with most Republicans in opposition.

"The ball's in her court," he said. "She needs to make that first step to offer up what would be the plan to fix the problem."

L'Ecuyer said there's no reason why the leadership of the Republican-controlled Legislature can't come up with a plan.

Burns said staffers are exploring options, but he said it is the governor, as the state's chief executive, who controls the process.

"If the governor's not in favor of what is the final solution, it isn't going to go anywhere, because she has to call the (special) session, she has to sign whatever legislation might come out."

L'Ecuyer countered that Napolitano offered a plan in January to solve last year's budget deficit. But she said GOP leaders were unwilling to deal with that until April. "So these guys have a dreadful track record in terms of coming to the table ready to talk," she said.