Rum, Romanism and Rebellion

So, what is “Wedge Issue Wednesday”? Well, that’s all explained in the latest Farley Report. Yes, I delayed it a day, like you were going to read it last night anyhow.

Howdy, Friends O’Farley…

The week started out pretty quietly here at the Capitol. Regular committee meetings have ended because the Senate has not heard any bills and we have run through all the House bills the Republican majority wishes to hear.

But things are heating up pretty quickly today. A calendar just hit our desks announcing the bills being debated on the floor tomorrow afternoon, and majority leadership has decided–budget crisis be damned–to declare Wedge Issue Wednesday.

During Committee of the Whole, we will be arguing bills which would:

–> eliminate the sunset date for state tax credits for private school tuition, and increase the amount of those credits by 20% per year in perpetuity (HB2288). This is a de facto voucher expansion bill and will cost the state general fund $15.3 million the first year, that cost increasing by 20% each year thereafter.

–> establish a committee of private corporations to oversee all government regulations that it deems burdensome — a bill that has previously been vetoed by Governors Hull and Napolitano (HB2401)

–> undermine employees’ ability to form unions (HCM2004)

–> define and criminalize late-term abortions, with no exceptions for the health of the mother (HB2400)

–> criminalize a whole series of decisions between a woman and her doctor regarding family planning and possibly make some miscarriages and in-vitro fertilization a felony. Abortions would also be effectively restricted to urban areas, and IUDs and some other forms of birth control may be outlawed because the bill defines life as beginning when a sperm and an egg come together. (HB2564)

Over in the Senate, President Burns has said that next week will be Budget Week, although they are still negotiating with the Governor’s Office over a “trailer bill” for that rushed Super Bowl Weekend 09 budget “fix” which needed a lot more fixing.

That bill will hopefully also have a fix that will enable us to restore childcare funding for 20,000 low-income kids and claim $50 million in stimulus money to increase the help we can offer to working families and childcare providers who are in a period of great need right now. There is no word at the moment whether that deal will come through in time for the deadline of March 14–this Saturday–to qualify for the money. If the Republican majority does not move on this, there may be no childcare for these kids come Monday.

Speaking of deadlines, the Governor has only 24 more days to submit a simple letter to the Feds certifying that she wants stimulus money. 18 states have now submitted that letter. Sure hope she gets to that soon!

Speaking of the Governor, last Wednesday was a very enlightening experience up here. You may recall that the Governor addressed a joint session of the Legislature at the same moment that thousands of teachers, students, parents, and other community members were rallying on the capitol mall to defend education.

The contrast between the two events could not have been more striking. Inside the house chambers a chill was in the air as the Governor struck a harshly partisan and conservative tone while calling for an unspecified temporary $1 billion tax increase which will likely not receive the support of very many Republicans.

It would be nice (as well as good leadership) to hear what kind of tax increase she has in mind. If it is a sales tax increase she is calling for, that would only deepen our unbalanced revenue picture in which we are already more dependent on sales tax for our general fund that almost every other state. If, for example, it is a carbon tax on utilities for the production of electricity by fossil fuels, then maybe we can work something out.

Either way, she’s going to need to ask Democrats to come to the table, so the partisan tone was not helpful. Senator Ron Gould (R-Lake Havasu) even walked out on her speech when she mentioned taxes. That tone was present in her other priorities of attacking conservation funds, defining structural tax reform (a good thing) as simply corporate tax bailouts, cutting agency funding by another 20%,

She also, as I wrote about last week, called for a repeal of Prop 105, the protections against spending funds created by voter initiative. She said she wanted to take that money and spend it to help education and healthcare. She did not admit that 90% of those voter protected funds are already being used to fund education and healthcare. Does she want to take from one hand to give to the other, spurning voter wishes along the way?

Perhaps if she wants to repeal Prop 105, she should also repeal Prop 108. That is the initiative that requires a 2/3 vote of the Legislature to increase taxes or reduce tax credits. Consequently, real tax reform has been hung up since it is easy to reduce taxes with a simple majority, but virtually impossible to gather the 2/3 majority to raise them. That means we punt all tax decisions to the voters instead of summoning up the courage as elected officials to make the decisions ourselves. Perhaps it’s time to give up our shield and look at that again for the good of the people. (A tip ‘o the hat to hardworking constituent Roger White for that suggestion.)

Meanwhile on the lawn, education supporters were united and galvanized in a whole new way. Up on the stage and looking out on the thousands of Arizona citizens making their voices heard, I felt like we are on the verge of a whole new era in politics, where everyday people enter the arena for the first time. If we stay focused on what we all have in common as we face these tough economic times, we can do anything.

That same afternoon, an hour after the Governor finished her speech, I received word that the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, a business group of the largest CEOs in the Tucson area, had gone public with a courageous stand against the education equalization property tax cut (HB2073).

When that bill came before my Ways and Means committee a few weeks back, not a single member of the business community opposed it. But the SALC (including board members Jim Click and Don Diamond) stood up and said, we do not want this tax cut — education and community investment is more important. Specifically, in their words, they said:

“SALC Board of Directors believes that it is imprudent during the state’s financial crisis to permanently repeal the state equalization property tax. It is critically important to preserve the state’s infrastructure for the future, and SALC believes repealing the tax right now would do more harm than good.”

The community is coming together, particularly in Southern Arizona, for a reasonable, nonpartisan solution to our budget crisis. Now that the people are speaking out from all political perspectives and backgrounds in one voice, perhaps we can coax some leadership from our legislative and gubernatorial majority.

Yes, it’s a tough fight up here representing Tucson’s interests. But I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now. I feel that we are laying the groundwork for a whole new state that really responds to the community’s needs. Thanks for your confidence in me — I look forward to serving as your District 28 State Representative for a long time to come.

And just imagine the possibilities when I am able to serve you as part of a legislative majority in 2010 and beyond!

Steve Farley
Arizona State Representative, District 28
Policy Leader, House Democratic Caucus
Ranking Member, Transportation Committee
Ways & Means Committee