On a break from heated Arizona Legislature budget sessions, State Senator Steve Pierce [R-District 1] painted a bleak picture to the Big Park Regional Coordinating Council.

“A lot of things we’ve been accustomed to, we can’t afford,” he told the group Thursday, July 9. “I’m here to tell you the state’s broke.”

Pierce was referring to the $3 billion deficit in the state’s proposed fiscal year 2009-10 budget.

On Monday, July 13, the Legislature was in session again with hopes that the budget, which was set to be approved by June 30, would pass.

“It’s just a real difficult time down there,” Pierce said, who was recently tapped Senate President Pro Tempore. “I could go on and on.”

The move elevates the first-term senator to a position of relative power and influence with responsibility to preside over the Senate in the absence of Senate President Bob Burns, who appointed Pierce to the position. In June, the Senate passed a budget with a $2.5 billion deficit, Pierce said, which Gov. Jan Brewer refuses to sign. Brewer is pushing for a hike in state sales tax by 1 cent to go on the ballot for voters to decide in November.

With the 1 cent tax increase, the governor’s budget proposal shows a $1.8 billion deficit, but Pierce has his doubts that voters would approve the tax increase in November.

“There’s no way that could happen,” he said. “Voters couldn’t vote on it until November, so the tax wouldn’t start until January.”

Even then, Pierce doesn’t think the voters will approve.

“I believe we’ll have to let the tax referral go to the public to prove that no one wants it,” he said.

Besides, he said, the state can’t tax enough to make up for a deficit exceeding $3 billion.

Instead, the state needs to look at cuts in order to balance its budget.

In 2008, the state was bringing in $8.8 billion in revenues, Pierce said, which has dropped to $7.1 billion for FY09-10. The only way to make up the difference is to cut, Pierce said, and for both parties to work together.

“The Republicans have been in control and have excluded the Democrats,” the Republican admitted. “That’s not right.”

Pierce is making a bipartisan push at the state capitol, he said.

“Let’s work together because where we’ve been hasn’t worked.”

In an effort to walk his talk, Pierce has made friends with everyone across the aisle, he said. After all, Democrats are representing the constituents that elected them.

“They’re all for the good of Arizona. I respect that,” he said. “There’s been too much ‘It’s my way or the highway,’ down there.”

On July 6, the Legislature passed a bill to appropriate funding for K-12 schools, so schools could pass their budgets by Wednesday, July 15, even if the state’s budget wasn’t set.

According to Pierce, education is one reason for the state’s increased budget.

“Education is huge. There’s a 2 percent increase that’s supposed to go on and on every year,” he said. “We didn’t do it this year because we don’t have the money.”

Unemployment and AHCCCS — the state funded health care for individuals who qualify financially — have also contributed to the increased budget.

As more people are laid off, they turn to AHCCCS, but the state can’t be everything to everyone, Pierce said.

Pierce shared Big Park residents’ concerns that in order to cut the budget, the state faulted by closing popular state parks that generated revenue.

When the Arizona State Parks Board heard it had to cut, it cut the most popular parks to stir outrage from the public, he said.

“It’s wrong for them to do that,” he said. Instead, the board should keep the “money-makers” open.

Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 125, or e-mail
aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com