Arizona Legislative Leaders Reportedly Reach Budget Agreement With the Governor

From Patrick Gleason on Friday, June 26, 2009 3:58 PM

Arizona Senate President Bob Burns' spokesman recently confirmed that a budget deal has been reached between legislative leadership and Governor Brewer. Details of the agreement have yet to be confirmed but anonymous sources privy to the negotiations report that it includes referral of Gov. Brewer's sales tax increase to the November ballot. It remain unclear whether such a deal could garner enough votes to pass.

As ATR has made clear to Arizona legislators, referral to the ballot of the Brewer-Coughlin $3 billion sales tax increase would not be an acceptable outcome for Grand Canyon State taxpayers.

Furthermore, as ATR made clear in a recent letter to lawmakers, a vote to refer the sales tax increase to the ballot would be a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge that 29 Arizona legislators have signed. By signing the Pledge, these 29 lawmakers have made a promise to their constituents to oppose "any and all efforts to raise taxes." A vote for the Brewer-Coughlin tax hike, even if subject to a public vote, represents a clear failure to oppose an effort to raise taxes.

Click Here now to contact your Arizona legislator and urge them to stand up for taxpayers by opposing any deal that would refer the Brewer-Coughlin $3 billion sales tax hike to the ballot.

The Goldwater Institute recently put together a great video that explains the budget debate in terms that even political outsiders can understand. That video can be viewed below: