Why not incarcerate less people in Arizona? Especially those with non-violent sentences. Imposing less long sentences would help cut the budget too. Oh wait, Governor Brewer is linked to private prisons company CCA...
Opponent Says Hundreds Of State Workers Could Lose Jobs
Sarah Buduson, Reporter, KPHO.com
UPDATED: November 30, 2010
PHOENIX -- A state commission studying privatization will likely recommend privatizing Arizona's parks and prisons as a way to help ease the state's budget deficit when it releases its full report in December.
"This is one way to economize in a way that will cause the least amount of pain to the public," said Glenn Hamer, a member of Arizona's Commission on Privatization and Efficiency.
Gov. Jan Brewer created the commission to help Arizona save money.
The state is currently facing a more than $1 billion budget deficit.
"This is 101 for good government to look for ways that you can save taxpayer dollars," said Hamer, who is also the president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Hamer said most of the commission's recommendations will be kept secret until the report is released, but he expects the report to recommend privatizing Arizona's state parks and privatizing more state prisons.
"Privatizing prisons is a still good deal for this state," said Hamer.
The issue of privatizing prisons is controversial in Arizona.
Three inmates, including two convicted murderers, escaped from a private prison in Kingman in July.
The convicts went on a crime spree, and they are now charged in the slaying of an Oklahoma couple in New Mexico before they were caught.
The prison came under fire for its lax security procedures.
CBS 5 News then exposed connections between Brewer's top advisers and CCA, a private prison company.
Read the rest here.
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The group for direct action against the prison state!
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Showing posts with label AZ State Budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AZ State Budget. Show all posts
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Final Answer this year on Early Relase: No.
Here's to Truth, Peace and Justice - may all prevail in the New Year.
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Only a few migrants get to leave early, folks. Sorry. Don't think we won't have influence over this 2010 campaign season, though - I've seen what kind of pounding the families can give their legislators and ADC - you do your thing, we'll do our. Between us, we can make our issues litmus tests, rank the judges and prosecuting attorneys that everyone ignores, and raise CJ reform issues at every campaign event they have - with personal, compelling stories behind them. Heads up, those of you union members who work for the state: better get some representation on this Privatization Committee she's putting together to trim the budget...
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Gov. Brewer unveils fiscal plan
December 21, 2009 11:17 PM
PHOENIX — Saying more needs to be done to balance the budget, Gov. Jan Brewer directed the early release of illegal immigrants from state prisons who have committed serious crimes.
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary action,'' the governor said Monday in a speech to her Cabinet, a meeting specifically open to the media. Brewer said while the Legislature needs to do more to resolve the current deficit — a figure she put at $1.5 billion even after a just-approved $194 million fix — she also needs to take unilateral action.
"It is the raw truth, filled with unpleasant facts and painful answers,'' she said of her plan.
But there may be less in her plan than meets the eye:
• One element requires the Department of Corrections to turn over to Immigation and Customs Enforce any illegal immigrant inmate who is within 90 days of his or her mandatory release date.
Some illegal immigrants already are eligible for deportation after completing half of their sentences under a plan the state has used since 2005. But that program is open only to those who have committed minor felonies and are not repeat offenders.
Interim Corrections Director Charles Ryan, however, minimized the risk for the $1.9 million in savings this year by releasing about 400 inmates who were not eligible for the half-sentence release. He said these people would have to be released to ICE 90 days later no matter what.
Anyway, Ryan said, most would be deported, though ICE could allow some to stay in this country, possibly because they have families here. But to ease legislative concerns, Brewer promised to work with lawmakers to enact stiff penalties for those who reenter this country illegally and commit new crimes.
• The governor said she is "restating'' her directive that state agencies provide benefits only to those in this country legally. That already is law, with the Legislature closing the last loopholes a month ago.
• She told state agencies to take money lawmakers gave them for special programs and instead use those funds for their core operations. Authorization to move around that cash, however, already was granted to agencies by the Legislature.
• Brewer wants "means testing'' for state programs to require a showing of need. But state agencies told Capitol Media Services that already is the case for virtually all of them, the one notable exception being services for the seriously mentally ill.
• The governor ordered a cap on enrollment in a program that provides subsidized child care for needy families. But that cap was put in place in April, with more than 10,300 already on a waiting list.
Separately, the governor directed the Department of Administration to prepare rules to allow a 5 percent cut in pay for state workers.
But gubernatorial press aide Paul Senseman said Brewer is not actually ordering such a move. Instead, she is paving the way for agencies to make those reductions authorized last week by the Legislature as options for state agency chiefs.
Brewer, who read solely from a script, refused to take questions afterward about the plan or why she didn't mention her demand for lawmakers to let voters decide whether to hike state sales taxes.
She also ignored a question of whether the open Cabinet meeting — the only one of her 11-month administration — was staged to burnish her image of being in command of the situation.
But there were political components to the event: In attendance were Grant Woods and Mary Peters, the co-chairs of her 2010 election bid, and Doug Cole, a hired political consultant to the campaign.
One thing made clear is that the state's finances are at a crisis point.
In a presentation to the Cabinet, John Arnold, director of the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting, detailed the rising costs of running government.
Since 2004, the state has added nearly 145,000 students into public schools, boosting the price tag of running them by more than $1 billion.
The prison population in the same time has ballooned by 11,600 inmates, to more than 40,000. And enrollment in the state's free health care program is up 475,000 — including 207,800 in the last year alone — to nearly 1.3 million as of last count.
But cuts cannot be made to K-12 education — or universities, for that matter — because the state accepted federal education stimulus dollars. These require the state to repay that cash if funding drops below 2006 levels, which is where it is now.
And the state's acceptance of other stimulus dollars for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System prohibits altering eligibility requirements.
There is no prohibition against cutting prison costs. But lawmakers have refused to alter sentencing laws to reduce the length of terms that judges can impose.
One thing Brewer ordered Monday that is within her authority is prohibit any more families from enrolling in the Kids Care program. It provides nearly free health care to about 47,000 children of the working poor, those families earning too much to qualify for AHCCCS but below twice the federal poverty level, or about $36,620 a year for a family of three.
She also established a Privatization Commission, charged with finding ways to have outside firms do the work now being performed by state employees. Done properly, Brewer said, these outside contracts "will help the state reduce operational costs, improve service delivery and quality, and lead to innovation.''
Brewer also promised to bring together legislative leaders from both her own Republican Party as well as the minority Democratic Party. There were such talks this summer about resolving the budget until the Democrats said they were no longer invited.
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary action,'' the governor said Monday in a speech to her Cabinet, a meeting specifically open to the media. Brewer said while the Legislature needs to do more to resolve the current deficit — a figure she put at $1.5 billion even after a just-approved $194 million fix — she also needs to take unilateral action.
"It is the raw truth, filled with unpleasant facts and painful answers,'' she said of her plan.
But there may be less in her plan than meets the eye:
• One element requires the Department of Corrections to turn over to Immigation and Customs Enforce any illegal immigrant inmate who is within 90 days of his or her mandatory release date.
Some illegal immigrants already are eligible for deportation after completing half of their sentences under a plan the state has used since 2005. But that program is open only to those who have committed minor felonies and are not repeat offenders.
Interim Corrections Director Charles Ryan, however, minimized the risk for the $1.9 million in savings this year by releasing about 400 inmates who were not eligible for the half-sentence release. He said these people would have to be released to ICE 90 days later no matter what.
Anyway, Ryan said, most would be deported, though ICE could allow some to stay in this country, possibly because they have families here. But to ease legislative concerns, Brewer promised to work with lawmakers to enact stiff penalties for those who reenter this country illegally and commit new crimes.
• The governor said she is "restating'' her directive that state agencies provide benefits only to those in this country legally. That already is law, with the Legislature closing the last loopholes a month ago.
• She told state agencies to take money lawmakers gave them for special programs and instead use those funds for their core operations. Authorization to move around that cash, however, already was granted to agencies by the Legislature.
• Brewer wants "means testing'' for state programs to require a showing of need. But state agencies told Capitol Media Services that already is the case for virtually all of them, the one notable exception being services for the seriously mentally ill.
• The governor ordered a cap on enrollment in a program that provides subsidized child care for needy families. But that cap was put in place in April, with more than 10,300 already on a waiting list.
Separately, the governor directed the Department of Administration to prepare rules to allow a 5 percent cut in pay for state workers.
But gubernatorial press aide Paul Senseman said Brewer is not actually ordering such a move. Instead, she is paving the way for agencies to make those reductions authorized last week by the Legislature as options for state agency chiefs.
Brewer, who read solely from a script, refused to take questions afterward about the plan or why she didn't mention her demand for lawmakers to let voters decide whether to hike state sales taxes.
She also ignored a question of whether the open Cabinet meeting — the only one of her 11-month administration — was staged to burnish her image of being in command of the situation.
But there were political components to the event: In attendance were Grant Woods and Mary Peters, the co-chairs of her 2010 election bid, and Doug Cole, a hired political consultant to the campaign.
One thing made clear is that the state's finances are at a crisis point.
In a presentation to the Cabinet, John Arnold, director of the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting, detailed the rising costs of running government.
Since 2004, the state has added nearly 145,000 students into public schools, boosting the price tag of running them by more than $1 billion.
The prison population in the same time has ballooned by 11,600 inmates, to more than 40,000. And enrollment in the state's free health care program is up 475,000 — including 207,800 in the last year alone — to nearly 1.3 million as of last count.
But cuts cannot be made to K-12 education — or universities, for that matter — because the state accepted federal education stimulus dollars. These require the state to repay that cash if funding drops below 2006 levels, which is where it is now.
And the state's acceptance of other stimulus dollars for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System prohibits altering eligibility requirements.
There is no prohibition against cutting prison costs. But lawmakers have refused to alter sentencing laws to reduce the length of terms that judges can impose.
One thing Brewer ordered Monday that is within her authority is prohibit any more families from enrolling in the Kids Care program. It provides nearly free health care to about 47,000 children of the working poor, those families earning too much to qualify for AHCCCS but below twice the federal poverty level, or about $36,620 a year for a family of three.
She also established a Privatization Commission, charged with finding ways to have outside firms do the work now being performed by state employees. Done properly, Brewer said, these outside contracts "will help the state reduce operational costs, improve service delivery and quality, and lead to innovation.''
Brewer also promised to bring together legislative leaders from both her own Republican Party as well as the minority Democratic Party. There were such talks this summer about resolving the budget until the Democrats said they were no longer invited.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
5th Special Legislative Session AEA Alert
Doug Kilgore's latest post from the AZ teacher's union on the upcoming special session (he refers to Tuesday the 14, which is the 15th, so I'm still confused about exactly who will be at the capitol tomorrow - but that means we may have another day of calling and emailing legislators before the votes are actually in.):
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December 7-11, 2009
- More Cuts to Public Schools?
- Legislative Panel Shirks Responsibility on Tuition Tax Credit Problems
- News Link
Special Session Still in Doubt
Governor Brewer, Senate President Burns, and House Speaker Adams are still attempting to put together an agreement on some solutions to Arizona's continuing budget deficit. As of today, their plan to convene a special session on Tuesday, December 14 appears to be dead and attempts to call legislators together later in the week is looking less and less likely.
Unlike the last special session, there have been discussions with Democrats in both the House and the Senate this time. It seems likely that a Republican-only strategy will not allow enough votes to pass the Governor's proposed temporary sales tax increase. The House Republican Caucus is pushing hard for attaching corporate and personal income tax cuts to the deal which would actually increase Arizona's budget deficit in FY2011. The Senate is more likely to support a bi-partisan solutions with a straight sales tax earmarked for spending in education, health and human services, and public safety.
The Governor has asked the legislature to include a provision that would send a ballot measure to the voters allowing legislators to ignore the Voter Protection Act, a constitutional provision that protects spending on programs passed by the voters from legislative tampering. Such a measure would allow the legislature to raid Proposition 103 education funds and other voter approved programs. Democrats have opposed this and it is unclear if there is enough Republican support to pass it without them.
These discussions continue to center on the same issues that have been addressed and re-addressed since early in the year. There are additional solutions available, including other types of tax increases, closing tax loopholes and tax credits, and some remaining one-time fixes that buy time until a tax increase can be passed. View the latest budget options developed by AEA and the Arizona Budget Coalition.
More Cuts to Public Schools?
Arizona has now cut all that is allowed under the maintenance-of-effort (MOE) provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA - the federal stimulus plan). Some influential legislators like Senator Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) are suggesting that the Governor ask for a waiver from the MOE provision and if the waiver is denied, defy the ARRA provision and risk losing other federal funds. Such an action would also put Arizona out of the running for hundreds of millions of dollars of Race to the Top Grant funds for K-12 education.
It appears that the next budget battle for public education will be to hold the line on additional cuts in order to continue to meet the MOE provisions. Again, the extreme elements that are deeply entrenched in the House and Senate Republican Caucuses will be pushing for more K-12 cuts and must be stopped if Arizona wants a reasoned solution to our deficit.
Arizona has already spent the entire $1.1 billion provided for public education in the stimulus based on its pledge to abide by the MOE which requires spending for state assistance to public schools to fall no lower than its FY2006 level. Paul Senseman, a spokesman for Governor Brewer, said cutting below "maintenance-of-effort" levels is not an option. Other legislators from her own party will not likely take no for an answer on this issue without a fight if recent history repeats itself.
Legislative Panel Shirks Responsibility on Tuition Tax Credit Problems
In August, the East Valley Tribune published an investigative report that showed the Arizona tuition tax credit for private schools program is often abused, lacks oversight, and has failed to increase to any significant degree the access that disadvantaged children have to private schools. Other media and private citizens' reports uncovered additional violations of the public trust. In response to pressure from Democratic House members who launched their own bi-partisan study and the public, House Speaker Kirk Adams appointed a committee to form recommendations to deal with the issue.
To the surprise of most observers this legislative panel completed its work and recommended increasing the amount of the dollar for dollar tax credits by 50% while rejecting measures to require the funds to be spent on families below certain income levels and limiting the amount of funds being kept by school tuition organizations for their own use and profit. Some reform measures were adopted but lack the fiscal accountability measures that would eliminate the abuses found in the investigative reports. The recommendations fail to disallow wealthy parents from working directly with school tuition organizations to ensure that their children receive the benefits of the tax credit.
These recommendations would still allow owners of school tuition organizations to keep 10% of the tax credit dollars for their own use and use those dollars and dollars from other school tuition organizations to build for-profit business ventures that capitalize on the use of other tax credit dollars. Representative Steve Yarbrough (R - Chandler) has built a multi-million group of businesses using tuition tax credit dollars.
Testimony from Representatives Andy Biggs (R-Gilbert), Rick Murhpy (R-Peoria) and Debbie Lesko (R-Peoria) defended the tuition tax credit program and downplayed the need for many of the recommendations that had been suggested to protect our tax dollars from abuse. Senator Tom Chabin (D-Flagstaff) and Jack Brown (D-St. Johns) argued for stricter oversight, an income threshold for recipients of the tuition funds, and limits on school tuition organizations. Learn more.
News Links
A legislative panel refused Thursday to recommend changes to Arizona's Private School Tax Credits program that would require income limits for families receiving tuition scholarships or reduce the amount of money charities can use to administer the program.
Legislature's vote to have impact on local districts
Local school officials are bemoaning the latest round of budget cuts from the state and looking for ways to minimize the damage to education.
Teachers, businesses say public funding isn't enough for high-quality education
Daisy Alvarez rolls black ink onto a glass surface and presses her fingertips onto it, leaving prints that other seventh- and eighth-graders in her class dust to reveal the swirls and arches that make her unique.
In 1921, California was the first state to establish teacher tenure; in 2009, Arizona became the first state to abolish it. Never one for half-measures, this month the Arizona Legislature eliminated tenure, creating yet another reason for good teachers to teach elsewhere.
Please contact Doug Kilgore, Government Relations Organizational Consultant, doug.kilgore@arizonaea.org for questions and comments.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Arizona Budget Cuts: Democrats' Response
From Arizona Senate Democratic Caucus
--------------
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Monday, November 23, 2009
Statement from Senate Democrats
Today, Senate Republicans voted to pass $300 million in cuts to education and social services and are now rushing to sign the cuts into law as the ink is still drying on the final copies of the bills.
Just a few months ago, Gov. Brewer vowed not to decimate education or services to the state’s most vulnerable. Yet, less than one hour after the end of the Fourth Special Session, Gov. Brewer will break that promise and continue to cement Arizona’s place as the worst state in the country for education funding and children’s services.
Resolving this financial crisis on the backs of children and the poor is not the way to solve our problems. The Republicans continue to refuse to put partisanship aside and work toward a solution that is best for the state. We need to work together to find a comprehensive solution that helps all of Arizona. For over a year now, Democrats have offered a number of complete budgets and revenue options that will solve our fiscal crisis. Yet those solutions continue to fall on deaf, ideologically driven ears.
SB 1001 and SB 1002 passed with only Republican votes and were signed by Gov. Brewer tonight. The bills cut $144 million from K-12 education for textbooks and classroom materials. The bills also cut $155 million from the Department of Economic Services, including services to developmentally disabled children and adults.
We continue to invite our Republican colleagues to negotiate with us a budget solution that benefits all Arizonans.
Just a few months ago, Gov. Brewer vowed not to decimate education or services to the state’s most vulnerable. Yet, less than one hour after the end of the Fourth Special Session, Gov. Brewer will break that promise and continue to cement Arizona’s place as the worst state in the country for education funding and children’s services.
Resolving this financial crisis on the backs of children and the poor is not the way to solve our problems. The Republicans continue to refuse to put partisanship aside and work toward a solution that is best for the state. We need to work together to find a comprehensive solution that helps all of Arizona. For over a year now, Democrats have offered a number of complete budgets and revenue options that will solve our fiscal crisis. Yet those solutions continue to fall on deaf, ideologically driven ears.
SB 1001 and SB 1002 passed with only Republican votes and were signed by Gov. Brewer tonight. The bills cut $144 million from K-12 education for textbooks and classroom materials. The bills also cut $155 million from the Department of Economic Services, including services to developmentally disabled children and adults.
We continue to invite our Republican colleagues to negotiate with us a budget solution that benefits all Arizonans.
AZ Budget: Phoenix New Times Coverage.
No details on this yet...
------
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...
(finish at the Phx New Times)
------
Verschoor Shows Up, Burns Burns Dems; Senate Passes Budget Bills
By James King in Budget Blunders
Phoenix New Times, Mon., Nov. 23 2009 @ 2:08PM
 |
| Senate President Bob Burns |
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...
(finish at the Phx New Times)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Schools hit at valley polls
Too bad not all communities had enough voters with hearts to guide their decisions...this is yet another aspect of the Beast - the defunding and devaluation of education.
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Valley voters supported only 20 of the 36 school-district bonds and budget overrides on the ballot in Maricopa County, according to unofficial results. That was down considerably from last year, when voters supported 28 of 31 budget measures. Voters' action comes amid a period of deep cuts to state education spending because of the state budget crisis.
Experts say the economic downturn probably made voters think twice about approving many budget overrides, which allow school districts to maintain or increase property-tax levels.
Experts say the economic downturn probably made voters think twice about approving many budget overrides, which allow school districts to maintain or increase property-tax levels.
"There have been record job losses, record home foreclosures and apparently they're sending the message that they don't think government ought to be insulated either," said Justin Olson, senior research analyst at the Arizona Tax Research Association.
Peoria Unified, Phoenix Union High and Dysart Unified district officials all were surprised to see voters reject multimillion-dollar budget overrides that had been in place for many years. Phoenix Union's maintenance-and-operations override, allowing the district to override budget limits by 10 percent to fund smaller class sizes and extracurricular activities, had been in place since 1989.
"It is a setback, and we are going to be going back to the voters so that we can support our college and career-preparedness mission," said Phoenix Union Superintendent Kent Scribner.
Eighteen percent of voters countywide turned out to the polls. Lower turnout is usually a recipe for success for school districts, which can mobilize groups of parents and school supporters. Provisional ballots and early ballots dropped off at polling places have yet to be counted and could make a difference in close elections. Final results are expected Friday.
Superintendents in districts with failed overrides expressed deep concern about balancing their budgets. Many will have to begin cutting staff and programs while trying to maintain educational goals. In Dysart, voters' refusal to renew the district's $4.4 million K-3 override means it will have to discontinue an award-winning K-3 reading-intervention program, according to Jim Dean, Dysart's director of community relations.
Still, slightly more districts saw budget measures pass than fail. Six of seven school-bond issues passed, with Tempe Elementary district taxpayers strongly supporting a $77 million bond in the midst of the same troubled economy. Tempe Superintendent Art Tate credited supporters for campaigning hard and demonstrating the necessity of the bond, which includes rebuilding three schools and purchasing 45 buses.
Pollster Bruce Merrill of Arizona State University has studied school elections closely and said demonstrating need is the most important factor in passage of ballot items.
"Arizonans . . . have always shown a lot of support for education for students if you can demonstrate that the money is essential," Merrill said. "If people really believe that things are at a crisis level, they will support those things."
Paradise Valley Unified, Mesa Public Schools and Scottsdale Unified also saw override success.
"(Our community has) the option to take control over at least this small part of our funding, and they stood strong and did that," said Scottsdale Unified Superintendent Gary Catalani.
With the state budget facing drastic cuts, and education spending making up 40 percent of state general-fund spending, Valley voters in school districts with successful elections had a chance to insulate their schools somewhat.
"They want education to be spared, and they're not getting a lot of traction at the state level," said Tracey Benson, media-relations specialist with the Arizona School Boards Association. "With these bond and override elections, they're able to vote their hearts and minds and say, 'Look, this is a priority.' "
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Budget losses at polls worry Valley schools
The economy apparently was on voters' minds Tuesday when they walked into Valley voting booths to address school-district spending through bonds and budget overrides.Valley voters supported only 20 of the 36 school-district bonds and budget overrides on the ballot in Maricopa County, according to unofficial results. That was down considerably from last year, when voters supported 28 of 31 budget measures. Voters' action comes amid a period of deep cuts to state education spending because of the state budget crisis.
Experts say the economic downturn probably made voters think twice about approving many budget overrides, which allow school districts to maintain or increase property-tax levels.
Experts say the economic downturn probably made voters think twice about approving many budget overrides, which allow school districts to maintain or increase property-tax levels.
"There have been record job losses, record home foreclosures and apparently they're sending the message that they don't think government ought to be insulated either," said Justin Olson, senior research analyst at the Arizona Tax Research Association.
Peoria Unified, Phoenix Union High and Dysart Unified district officials all were surprised to see voters reject multimillion-dollar budget overrides that had been in place for many years. Phoenix Union's maintenance-and-operations override, allowing the district to override budget limits by 10 percent to fund smaller class sizes and extracurricular activities, had been in place since 1989.
"It is a setback, and we are going to be going back to the voters so that we can support our college and career-preparedness mission," said Phoenix Union Superintendent Kent Scribner.
Eighteen percent of voters countywide turned out to the polls. Lower turnout is usually a recipe for success for school districts, which can mobilize groups of parents and school supporters. Provisional ballots and early ballots dropped off at polling places have yet to be counted and could make a difference in close elections. Final results are expected Friday.
Superintendents in districts with failed overrides expressed deep concern about balancing their budgets. Many will have to begin cutting staff and programs while trying to maintain educational goals. In Dysart, voters' refusal to renew the district's $4.4 million K-3 override means it will have to discontinue an award-winning K-3 reading-intervention program, according to Jim Dean, Dysart's director of community relations.
Still, slightly more districts saw budget measures pass than fail. Six of seven school-bond issues passed, with Tempe Elementary district taxpayers strongly supporting a $77 million bond in the midst of the same troubled economy. Tempe Superintendent Art Tate credited supporters for campaigning hard and demonstrating the necessity of the bond, which includes rebuilding three schools and purchasing 45 buses.
Pollster Bruce Merrill of Arizona State University has studied school elections closely and said demonstrating need is the most important factor in passage of ballot items.
"Arizonans . . . have always shown a lot of support for education for students if you can demonstrate that the money is essential," Merrill said. "If people really believe that things are at a crisis level, they will support those things."
Paradise Valley Unified, Mesa Public Schools and Scottsdale Unified also saw override success.
"(Our community has) the option to take control over at least this small part of our funding, and they stood strong and did that," said Scottsdale Unified Superintendent Gary Catalani.
With the state budget facing drastic cuts, and education spending making up 40 percent of state general-fund spending, Valley voters in school districts with successful elections had a chance to insulate their schools somewhat.
"They want education to be spared, and they're not getting a lot of traction at the state level," said Tracey Benson, media-relations specialist with the Arizona School Boards Association. "With these bond and override elections, they're able to vote their hearts and minds and say, 'Look, this is a priority.' "
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
AZ Second in Corrections $$; 38th in Education
This what it means in Arizona to be "tough on crime" - stealing futures from kids. Look at where we invest our money: that's what flourishes. That's why this state is in such a serious decline.
This is pathetic, but no surprise. Kavanaugh is an embarrassment to Fountain Hills; really to the whole state. He has no business handling our money, given the kind of ignorance this article (and every other one I've read with him in it) reflects.
I just can't follow his "logic". The amount of money we invest in education is not a reflection of how much we value education or the quality of it? However, the exorbitant amount we spend on police and prisons is justified? That's what it sounds like he's saying - and he's the AZ State House Appropriations Chairman. He'd sooner put your kid in prison for $26,000/year at 21, than subsidize his college tuition for $5,000/year at 18.
And why is he so proud about Arizona having a "very median educational performance record?" That's something to be ashamed of, frankly.
-----------
This is pathetic, but no surprise. Kavanaugh is an embarrassment to Fountain Hills; really to the whole state. He has no business handling our money, given the kind of ignorance this article (and every other one I've read with him in it) reflects.
I just can't follow his "logic". The amount of money we invest in education is not a reflection of how much we value education or the quality of it? However, the exorbitant amount we spend on police and prisons is justified? That's what it sounds like he's saying - and he's the AZ State House Appropriations Chairman. He'd sooner put your kid in prison for $26,000/year at 21, than subsidize his college tuition for $5,000/year at 18.
And why is he so proud about Arizona having a "very median educational performance record?" That's something to be ashamed of, frankly.
-----------
Census data: Arizona second in police, corrections spending, 38th in education
By Evan Wyloge, Cronkite News Service
Published: September 30, 2009 at 7:58 am
Published: September 30, 2009 at 7:58 am
Arizona outspent all but one state on police protection and corrections as a percentage of overall state and local expenditures while its education spending ranked 38th in U.S. Census Bureau data released Wednesday (Sept. 30).
“You get what you pay for,” said Jeffrey Chapman, Arizona State University Foundation Professor of Applied Public Finance. “We’re a low-tax, low-expenditure state. We like police, we like corrections and we don’t want to spend money on public services.”
The census data, based on 2007 expenditures, shows that Arizona’s spending patterns remained fairly constant from previous years. Chapman said that demonstrates shortsightedness on the part of leaders, promoting construction and industries tied to growth and preparing people to work in those jobs.
“They’d rather see retail clerks, construction workers and corrections officers in Arizona,” Chapman said. “They’re giving no regard to our children or our grandchildren.”
The data also showed that Arizona ranked fourth among states in expenditures on fire protection, 21th on public welfare and 28th on highways.
House Appropriations Chairman Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, defended the state’s spending on police protection, which was second only to Nevada, and on corrections, which was second only to California.
“Of course we spend more proportionally on law enforcement than other states,” Kavanagh said. “We have to be tough with criminals, as a matter of justice and deterrence. And being a border state, we deal with cross-border crime and we have one of the largest populations of illegal aliens.”
Kavanagh also said it’s wrong to suggest that Arizona isn’t committed to education.
“We actually have a very median educational performance record,” he said. “I prefer to judge our educational system by performance, not spending.”
Sen. Paula Aboud, D-Tucson, said Arizona would be better served by shifting its priorities.
“For four years I’ve been trying to change this,” she said. “And I think the public is unfamiliar with these numbers, so I’m glad to hear that they’re being talked about.”
Roger Hartley, associate professor of public administration and policy at the University of Arizona, said the money states spend on education correlates with earning potential, while poverty correlates with crime.
“We can see that we’re putting more money into putting people in prison rather than educating and thereby keeping people out of prison,” he said. Kavanagh called that conclusion overreaching, and pointed to Washington, D.C., as evidence.”
They have one of the worst crime rates, and they spend more than just about anybody per student,” he said.
Travis Pratt, an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at ASU, said crime rates aren’t simple enough to link one-on-one with education, but he said it would be wrong to dismiss any connection with education.
He said spending on law enforcement pays political dividends much sooner than education.
“Budgets aren’t limitless, and Arizona devotes a greater portion of theirs to controlling rather than preventing crime,” he said. “And because spending on institutions like education and social services might not pay off for 10 or 15 years - not before the next election - politicians don’t see a reason for it.”
“You get what you pay for,” said Jeffrey Chapman, Arizona State University Foundation Professor of Applied Public Finance. “We’re a low-tax, low-expenditure state. We like police, we like corrections and we don’t want to spend money on public services.”
The census data, based on 2007 expenditures, shows that Arizona’s spending patterns remained fairly constant from previous years. Chapman said that demonstrates shortsightedness on the part of leaders, promoting construction and industries tied to growth and preparing people to work in those jobs.
“They’d rather see retail clerks, construction workers and corrections officers in Arizona,” Chapman said. “They’re giving no regard to our children or our grandchildren.”
The data also showed that Arizona ranked fourth among states in expenditures on fire protection, 21th on public welfare and 28th on highways.
House Appropriations Chairman Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, defended the state’s spending on police protection, which was second only to Nevada, and on corrections, which was second only to California.
“Of course we spend more proportionally on law enforcement than other states,” Kavanagh said. “We have to be tough with criminals, as a matter of justice and deterrence. And being a border state, we deal with cross-border crime and we have one of the largest populations of illegal aliens.”
Kavanagh also said it’s wrong to suggest that Arizona isn’t committed to education.
“We actually have a very median educational performance record,” he said. “I prefer to judge our educational system by performance, not spending.”
Sen. Paula Aboud, D-Tucson, said Arizona would be better served by shifting its priorities.
“For four years I’ve been trying to change this,” she said. “And I think the public is unfamiliar with these numbers, so I’m glad to hear that they’re being talked about.”
Roger Hartley, associate professor of public administration and policy at the University of Arizona, said the money states spend on education correlates with earning potential, while poverty correlates with crime.
“We can see that we’re putting more money into putting people in prison rather than educating and thereby keeping people out of prison,” he said. Kavanagh called that conclusion overreaching, and pointed to Washington, D.C., as evidence.”
They have one of the worst crime rates, and they spend more than just about anybody per student,” he said.
Travis Pratt, an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at ASU, said crime rates aren’t simple enough to link one-on-one with education, but he said it would be wrong to dismiss any connection with education.
He said spending on law enforcement pays political dividends much sooner than education.
“Budgets aren’t limitless, and Arizona devotes a greater portion of theirs to controlling rather than preventing crime,” he said. “And because spending on institutions like education and social services might not pay off for 10 or 15 years - not before the next election - politicians don’t see a reason for it.”
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
From Both Sides Now
Pat Nolan: Take it from experience: Prisons need reform
By Pat Nolan
Special to The Sacramento Bee
Published: Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 5E
Last Modified: Tuesday, Sep. 1, 2009 - 10:45 am
To: My fellow conservative Republicans in the Legislature
From: Pat Nolan, Assembly Republican leader, 1984-1988
Re: California's prison crisis
I was as "tough on crime" as any of you during my eight terms in the Assembly. I received the Victims Advocate Award from Parents of Murdered Children. I generally favored stronger penalties and also introduced the Death Penalty Restoration Act.
I led the fight to build more prisons.
I was "tough on crime" to make our communities safer.
But then I witnessed reality – inside prison walls. After my conviction in the Shrimpscam investigation, I served 29 months in federal custody. I was appalled to see how little is done to prepare inmates to live healthy, moral lives when they return to society – and 95 percent of prisoners will be released and return to our neighborhoods. I was frustrated that participation in religious programs is often discouraged. And I was shocked to see many people serving long sentences for minor, non- violent offenses.
Our current system of sentences and imprisonment has veered terribly off course. It costs taxpayers plenty but does not make us safer. I'm partly to blame for California's current prison crisis. I supported the expansion of our prison system. But while spending on prisons continues to skyrocket, Californians are no safer than residents of other states that have cut their prison population.
Many officials brag about the drop in California's crime in recent years and claim that it was the result of greater incarceration. But what they don't tell you is that crime dropped everywhere. Indeed, some states that actually cut their prison populations have had a much larger drop in crime than California.
These states have shown that it is possible to cut the costs of prisons while keeping the public safe. The state of New York reduced the number of prisoners while also cutting its violent crime by 63 percent. In New York City, where most of the state's released offenders go, murders dropped from 2,605 in 1990 to 801 in 2007, even as the state was sending fewer offenders to prison.
And last year, even "tough on crime" Texas enacted sweeping reforms of its prison system that allowed it to cancel plans to build three more prisons. Led by two conservative Republicans, Rep. Jerry Madden and Gov. Rick Perry, Texas redirected a large part of the money saved on prison construction into community treatment for the mentally ill and low-level drug addicts.
The Lone Star State will soon cancel contracts to house 1,900 state convicts in county lockups – relieving the overcrowding in the jails and saving $28 million. And recently Texas announced that for the very first time, there is no waiting list for drug treatment.
Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina have reduced their prison populations as well as their crime rates and saved hundreds of millions of dollars. They reserve costly prison beds for violent offenders while punishing low-risk offenders in community facilities.
They realize that prisons are for people we're afraid of, and that it is a waste to fill them with people we're merely mad at. They use new technologies to monitor parolees' whereabouts and behavior, and more effective supervision and treatment programs to help them stay on the straight and narrow. These policies have allowed them to spend less on prisons while improving public safety.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's modest prison reform proposals are consistent with what Republican leaders in other states are doing – conservative solutions that limit the growth in prison costs while keeping the public safe. California will spend $10 billion on prisons this year. Are we getting the public safety that would justify this huge expense? Not by a long shot. California's recidivism rate is the highest in the nation: Seven in 10 released prisoners are rearrested. No other business would continue to operate with a failure rate of 70 percent. That is a terrible return on your investment.
But don't blame corrections officers for these problems. They are merely carrying out policies adopted by the Legislature without the funding needed to back up the long sentences. Why do conservatives defend a government system that costs so much and fails so often? You ought to be leading the fight to reform it.
This is an opportunity for you to do what I wish I had done as Republican leader of the Assembly – put conservative principles to work on reforming corrections.
By Pat Nolan
Special to The Sacramento Bee
Published: Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 5E
Last Modified: Tuesday, Sep. 1, 2009 - 10:45 am
To: My fellow conservative Republicans in the Legislature
From: Pat Nolan, Assembly Republican leader, 1984-1988
Re: California's prison crisis
I was as "tough on crime" as any of you during my eight terms in the Assembly. I received the Victims Advocate Award from Parents of Murdered Children. I generally favored stronger penalties and also introduced the Death Penalty Restoration Act.
I led the fight to build more prisons.
I was "tough on crime" to make our communities safer.
But then I witnessed reality – inside prison walls. After my conviction in the Shrimpscam investigation, I served 29 months in federal custody. I was appalled to see how little is done to prepare inmates to live healthy, moral lives when they return to society – and 95 percent of prisoners will be released and return to our neighborhoods. I was frustrated that participation in religious programs is often discouraged. And I was shocked to see many people serving long sentences for minor, non- violent offenses.
Our current system of sentences and imprisonment has veered terribly off course. It costs taxpayers plenty but does not make us safer. I'm partly to blame for California's current prison crisis. I supported the expansion of our prison system. But while spending on prisons continues to skyrocket, Californians are no safer than residents of other states that have cut their prison population.
Many officials brag about the drop in California's crime in recent years and claim that it was the result of greater incarceration. But what they don't tell you is that crime dropped everywhere. Indeed, some states that actually cut their prison populations have had a much larger drop in crime than California.
These states have shown that it is possible to cut the costs of prisons while keeping the public safe. The state of New York reduced the number of prisoners while also cutting its violent crime by 63 percent. In New York City, where most of the state's released offenders go, murders dropped from 2,605 in 1990 to 801 in 2007, even as the state was sending fewer offenders to prison.
And last year, even "tough on crime" Texas enacted sweeping reforms of its prison system that allowed it to cancel plans to build three more prisons. Led by two conservative Republicans, Rep. Jerry Madden and Gov. Rick Perry, Texas redirected a large part of the money saved on prison construction into community treatment for the mentally ill and low-level drug addicts.
The Lone Star State will soon cancel contracts to house 1,900 state convicts in county lockups – relieving the overcrowding in the jails and saving $28 million. And recently Texas announced that for the very first time, there is no waiting list for drug treatment.
Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina have reduced their prison populations as well as their crime rates and saved hundreds of millions of dollars. They reserve costly prison beds for violent offenders while punishing low-risk offenders in community facilities.
They realize that prisons are for people we're afraid of, and that it is a waste to fill them with people we're merely mad at. They use new technologies to monitor parolees' whereabouts and behavior, and more effective supervision and treatment programs to help them stay on the straight and narrow. These policies have allowed them to spend less on prisons while improving public safety.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's modest prison reform proposals are consistent with what Republican leaders in other states are doing – conservative solutions that limit the growth in prison costs while keeping the public safe. California will spend $10 billion on prisons this year. Are we getting the public safety that would justify this huge expense? Not by a long shot. California's recidivism rate is the highest in the nation: Seven in 10 released prisoners are rearrested. No other business would continue to operate with a failure rate of 70 percent. That is a terrible return on your investment.
But don't blame corrections officers for these problems. They are merely carrying out policies adopted by the Legislature without the funding needed to back up the long sentences. Why do conservatives defend a government system that costs so much and fails so often? You ought to be leading the fight to reform it.
This is an opportunity for you to do what I wish I had done as Republican leader of the Assembly – put conservative principles to work on reforming corrections.
Being Smarter on Crime
forwarded by CURE National:
Mandatory sentencing laws are relaxed, parole is accelerated, and time off for good behavior is increased as states scramble to save money.
By Nicholas Riccardi
September 5, 2009
LA Times: Reporting from Denver
After decades of pursuing lock-'em-up policies, states are scrambling to reduce their prison populations in the face of tight budgets, making fundamental changes to their criminal justice systems as they try to save money.
Some states are revising mandatory-sentencing laws that locked up nonviolent offenders; others are recalculating the way prison time is counted.
California, with the nation's second-largest prison system, is considering perhaps the most dramatic proposal -- releasing 40,000 inmates to save money and comply with a court ruling that found the state's prisons overcrowded.
The flurry of activity has led to an unusual phenomenon -- bureaucrats and politicians expressing relief at the tight times. "The budget has actually helped us," said Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the Corrections Department in
"When you're not having budget troubles, that's when we implemented many of these lengthy drug sentences and zero-tolerance policies that really didn't work," he said.
Though prison budgets grew steadily over the last 20 years, a recent survey found that 26 states cut their corrections budgets this year. The reductions range from the small-scale -- such as putting in energy-efficient lightbulbs -- to sweeping changes like the early releases.
"States are saying, 'We can't build our way to public safety, especially when budgets are tight,' " said Adam Gelb, head of the
Many states have expanded credit for good behavior. Others have made legal tweaks, such as raising the minimum amount of damage required for a property crime to be a felony. Some, like
These efforts, however, have already run into resistance.
In
"They conjure up images of possible Willie Horton ad campaigns," said Seitz, referring to the notorious ad that accused 1988 Democratic presidential candidate Michael S. Dukakis of letting a rapist out of prison prematurely.
Still, Seitz has vowed to try to get his bill passed this fall. He says that a raft of mandatory-sentencing laws left state prisons dangerously overcrowded. "We are putting 10 pounds in a 5-pound bag."
Corrections has become the second-fastest-growing item in state budgets, second only to Medicaid. And, unlike Medicaid and many other programs, states pay for prisons with almost no help from
In
The state has gone through severe cuts already this year -- it lopped 10.5% off of its budget in June. Ritter later cut an additional $320 million and counted on saving $44 million over two years by letting 2,600 ex-cons end their probation early and having the parole board consider earlier parole for 3,500 inmates.
A nonpartisan commission recommended the moves in December, and Dreyer noted that inmates eligible for faster parole were already nearing release. "These are people who are getting out of prison anyway within six months," he said.
The parole board has started considering whom to let out, but Republicans have attacked the plan as too risky. "It's inevitable these people will commit crimes," said state Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, who hopes to challenge Ritter in next year's governor's race.
In
They also raised the credit that inmates get for good behavior from 20% of their sentence to 30%, starting next year.
"We needed to save some money, at least in the short term," said state Rep. Jeff Barker, a former police lieutenant. "It wasn't easy." Indeed, anti-crime activists are preparing a ballot measure to reverse the changes.
In
The state recalculated the time that convicts who have violated their parole must serve in prison. If convicts have not committed new crimes and violated only a technical term of their parole (failing a drug test, for example), they are credited for time they spent on parole out of prison before the violation.
Jennifer Brislin, a spokeswoman for the state's Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, said officials decided that offenders who do not commit new crimes while on probation deserve some reward. "That should be worth as much as sitting on the state's dime, behind a fence," she said.
State Atty. Gen. Jack Conway sued to overturn the thousands of early releases, arguing that a retroactive change to sentences is illegal and risky. The case was heard before the Kentucky Supreme Court in August.
"To go back retroactively as a budget-saving measure and . . . release violent offenders is, to me, irresponsible,"
Still,
"If we're going to deal with the issue," he said, "we have to be smart about it."
nicholas.riccardi@latimes.com
Friday, September 4, 2009
Arizona: Bill authorizes 5,000 new private beds
Highlights, status of Arizona budget bills
Sept. 3, 2009 08:38 PM
Associated Press
Arizona Central.com
Highlights and status as of Thursday of nine budget bills that the Legislature sent Gov. Jan Brewer on Aug. 20 to close a $3 billion shortfall:
• CRIMINAL JUSTICE (HB2010): Provides additional funding for Department of Public Safety by diverting money from the State Highway Fund and the Highway User Revenue Fund. Uses existing surcharges on defensive driving classes to pay for DPS crime lab operations. Authorizes sale or refinancing of prisons and other state facilities to raise $735.4 million. Seeks proposals for 5,000 new private prison beds in Arizona. Authorizes DOA and DOC to award a concession agreement allowing private companies to pay $100 million to operate state prisons. Increase adult intensive probation fee and probation caseload ratio.
Arizona: Gov signs off on selling prisons
From Ken at PCI Watch AZ:
Arizona Daily Sun
Friday, September 04, 2009
Gov. signs budget bill on criminal justice
PHOENIX (AP) -- Gov. Jan Brewer on Thursday signed a budget bill for criminal justice programs, a move that provides funding for the cash-short Department of Public Safety to keep operating and sets the state on a course to help close its big revenue shortfall by refinancing prisons and other facilities.
The bill was the second budget measure that Brewer has signed since nine reached her desk on Aug. 20 but the fate of the rest of the bills -- including measures to restore spending cuts and to repeal a state property tax -- remained in the balance. Brewer, who previously signed a bill for parks and environmental programs, is expected to act on the remaining bills Friday. That's one day before Saturday's deadline for her to act.
Brewer had not signaled what she'll do with the balance of the package, which was drafted by Republican lawmakers and which doesn't include the GOP governor's proposal for a temporary sales tax increase.
Brewer on July 1 vetoed much of a previous budget proposal that didn't include the sales tax increase.
Those vetoes and subsequent legislative action left Arizona with a budget on the books but also a $3 billion shortfall that needs to be eliminated.
Bipartisan talks between Brewer and lawmakers have been unable to produce a compromise on possible changes to the budget package that originally was sent to her on Aug. 20.
The biggest sticking point in those talks was a property tax that had been suspended for three years but which is taking effect again this year.
Republicans refused to back off their push for repeal of the property tax, saying they viewed its return as a tax increase that would damage the economy. Democrats said the state needs the $250 million in annual revenue that would be provided by the tax to prop up essential services.
The Legislature adjourned its special session on the budget on Aug. 25, a move that set Saturday's deadline for action on the bills.
The 29-page criminal justice bill (HB2010) signed Thursday contains dozens of budget-balancing steps and other funding provisions dealing with various agencies.
"The governor is comfortable with the legislation," Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said Thursday. He said the governor hadn't made final decisions on the other bills.
House Minority Leader David Lujan, D-Phoenix, said he didn't know what Brewer would do with the other bills, but he noted that Brewer has continued to press for lawmakers to send her sales tax proposal to a special election ballot.
If she intended to sign the rest of the package, "she would have just done it along with" the criminal justice bill, he said. "I would think she would want to veto the budget because its virtually the same budget she called 'fatally flawed' just two months ago."
The criminal justice bill's provisions include one to free up more than $110 million of funding for the DPS, mostly by allowing a larger than normal use of highway dollars to pay for Highway Patrol operations.
The DPS did get some funding through an appropriations bill that Brewer signed on July 1, but not enough to continue operations past a Sept. 11 payroll, an agency official said earlier this week.
The signed bill also includes several major budget-balancing provisions, including one to have Brewer's administration raise $735 million through sale-leaseback refinancing of prisons and other state facilities, which the state would continue to operate.
However, the bill also calls for the state to allow one or more private prison companies to take over operations of one or more prisons in exchange for a $100 million up-front payment to the state. The operators then would be paid annually to house state prisoners.
The sales tax proposal, the centerpiece of Brewer's efforts to improve the state's shaky finances, was removed from the latest package passed by the Republican-led Legislature after the tax proposal fell two votes short of passage in the 30-member Senate.
Under Brewer's proposal, the sales tax would increase by a penny for a three-year period. She wanted it either approved outright by the Legislature or put on a special election ballot.
On the Net:
Arizona Legislature: www.azleg.state.az.us
Arizona Governor: http://azgovernor.gov/
PHOENIX (AP) -- Gov. Jan Brewer on Thursday signed a budget bill for criminal justice programs, a move that provides funding for the cash-short Department of Public Safety to keep operating and sets the state on a course to help close its big revenue shortfall by refinancing prisons and other facilities.
The bill was the second budget measure that Brewer has signed since nine reached her desk on Aug. 20 but the fate of the rest of the bills -- including measures to restore spending cuts and to repeal a state property tax -- remained in the balance. Brewer, who previously signed a bill for parks and environmental programs, is expected to act on the remaining bills Friday. That's one day before Saturday's deadline for her to act.
Brewer had not signaled what she'll do with the balance of the package, which was drafted by Republican lawmakers and which doesn't include the GOP governor's proposal for a temporary sales tax increase.
Brewer on July 1 vetoed much of a previous budget proposal that didn't include the sales tax increase.
Those vetoes and subsequent legislative action left Arizona with a budget on the books but also a $3 billion shortfall that needs to be eliminated.
Bipartisan talks between Brewer and lawmakers have been unable to produce a compromise on possible changes to the budget package that originally was sent to her on Aug. 20.
The biggest sticking point in those talks was a property tax that had been suspended for three years but which is taking effect again this year.
Republicans refused to back off their push for repeal of the property tax, saying they viewed its return as a tax increase that would damage the economy. Democrats said the state needs the $250 million in annual revenue that would be provided by the tax to prop up essential services.
The Legislature adjourned its special session on the budget on Aug. 25, a move that set Saturday's deadline for action on the bills.
The 29-page criminal justice bill (HB2010) signed Thursday contains dozens of budget-balancing steps and other funding provisions dealing with various agencies.
"The governor is comfortable with the legislation," Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said Thursday. He said the governor hadn't made final decisions on the other bills.
House Minority Leader David Lujan, D-Phoenix, said he didn't know what Brewer would do with the other bills, but he noted that Brewer has continued to press for lawmakers to send her sales tax proposal to a special election ballot.
If she intended to sign the rest of the package, "she would have just done it along with" the criminal justice bill, he said. "I would think she would want to veto the budget because its virtually the same budget she called 'fatally flawed' just two months ago."
The criminal justice bill's provisions include one to free up more than $110 million of funding for the DPS, mostly by allowing a larger than normal use of highway dollars to pay for Highway Patrol operations.
The DPS did get some funding through an appropriations bill that Brewer signed on July 1, but not enough to continue operations past a Sept. 11 payroll, an agency official said earlier this week.
The signed bill also includes several major budget-balancing provisions, including one to have Brewer's administration raise $735 million through sale-leaseback refinancing of prisons and other state facilities, which the state would continue to operate.
However, the bill also calls for the state to allow one or more private prison companies to take over operations of one or more prisons in exchange for a $100 million up-front payment to the state. The operators then would be paid annually to house state prisoners.
The sales tax proposal, the centerpiece of Brewer's efforts to improve the state's shaky finances, was removed from the latest package passed by the Republican-led Legislature after the tax proposal fell two votes short of passage in the 30-member Senate.
Under Brewer's proposal, the sales tax would increase by a penny for a three-year period. She wanted it either approved outright by the Legislature or put on a special election ballot.
On the Net:
Arizona Legislature: www.azleg.state.az.us
Arizona Governor: http://azgovernor.gov/
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
4pm Demonstration Postponed
Update from AEA:
The Senate did not have the votes to pass the budget today. This is another hurdle education advocates have overcome. The 4 p.m. protest at the capitol has been postponed. Please watch for further updates. Visit www.march4schools.com for the latest news.
------------------
Sorry folks. I was just up there. I don't what happened, really, but we were all sent home by the AEA today. No rally. No more mass lobbying. Everyone is going back to school now, too. Maybe it was just too late to affect the budget deal.
Still, I was impressed with the number of people there from across the state who came to stop this budget from passing. Flagstaff, Tuscon, Kingman. And Paradise Valley turned out en masse - they even brought students, which I thought was awesome.
Anyway, hope you're not already on your way to the demonstration. We were all sent home.
The Senate did not have the votes to pass the budget today. This is another hurdle education advocates have overcome. The 4 p.m. protest at the capitol has been postponed. Please watch for further updates. Visit www.march4schools.com for the latest news.
------------------
Sorry folks. I was just up there. I don't what happened, really, but we were all sent home by the AEA today. No rally. No more mass lobbying. Everyone is going back to school now, too. Maybe it was just too late to affect the budget deal.
Still, I was impressed with the number of people there from across the state who came to stop this budget from passing. Flagstaff, Tuscon, Kingman. And Paradise Valley turned out en masse - they even brought students, which I thought was awesome.
Anyway, hope you're not already on your way to the demonstration. We were all sent home.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Private Prisons still on the table
Desperate state may sell Capitol buildings, others
Under GOP plan, government would pay to lease back most of the sites
by Matthew Benson and JJ Hensley - Jul. 29, 2009
The
“Call it a sign of desperate times: Legislators are considering selling the House and Senate buildings where they've conducted state business for more than 50 years.
Dozens of other state properties also may be sold as the state government faces its worst financial crisis in a generation, if not ever. The plan isn't to liquidate state assets, though.
Instead, officials hope to sell the properties and then lease them back over several years before assuming ownership again. The complex financial transaction would allow government services to continue without interruption while giving the state a fast infusion of as much as $735 million, according to Capitol projections…”
…Private prisons
“While the state is looking to sell and lease back selected properties, it also may try to contract out the operations of some prisons. The concessions provision is expected to be included within the new budget proposal, and legislative analysts believe it could generate as much as $100 million (on top of the sale/leaseback revenue) for state coffers. Private, for-profit prison operators would bid for the right to manage selected facilities, but the state would maintain ownership.
The concept concerns prison officials, who worry whether a private operator would be equipped and trained to handle the state's most hardened criminals. In a letter to Brewer last month, Corrections Director Charles Ryan wrote that a private operator would pay lower wages and provide less training.”
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