Here and Now: Former Governor Jane Hull, Art Hamilton
Arizona lawmakers face what is perhaps their most difficult task in the history of the legislature. They must find a way to erase an estimated $4 billion dollar budget deficit over the next 17 months.
And considering lawmakers met in a number of special sessions last year to resolve the state's budget mess without much to show for it, the task at hand will not be easy.
Complicating matters is that this is an election year, where lawmakers are afraid to cast votes that may be used against them in the election. Can you say gridlock?
Before she became Arizona's first elected female Governor, Jane Hull served seven terms in the Arizona House of Representatives including two terms as Speaker of the House in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Art Hamilton served in the Arizona House from 1973 to 1999 - the last 18 years as House Minority Leader.
The two represent an era where legislators may not have agreed on policies, but put aside partisan politics to accomplish the task at hand.
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Paul Atkinson - Here and Now Producer at
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The state has wasted 1.3 million dollars of the stimulus money on highway 83 north of Sonoita. The road was resurfaced last fall and the contractor did such a worthless job that the state has now put up warning signs for "uneven pavement". Is that state going to clean up the contractors mess or are we now left with a "new" road that is almost dangerous to drive on?
I might be in favor of an increase in sales tax if the legislature could not touch it. I understand the legislature is taking money from the fish and game which has no funding from the legislature. This is wrong. We determined that the lottery would fund them and that should be up held. The legislature has to learn that it need to spend its own money and suffer the consequences of its failure to balance their budgets. So what would this extra penny fund?
Here's the web address for the Arizona Office of Economic Recovery:
http://az.gov/recovery/
This ideological gridlock appears to be at the cost of the AZ citizens. How much does the Leadership think the people they represent should suffer before they stop behaving like childish bullies? It is time to act like adults. This inaction and righteousness is at a real cost - like that of children's healthcare, peoples' jobs, homes and ability to feed their families.
I look forward to the upcoming election. It seems it is time to "clean house." This misbehavior has inspired me to donate beyond my district and to the candidates across the state.
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