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Arizona's Missed Opportunity
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(March 10, 2010) Had the Arizona Legislature taken proper action, our state would have avoided draining the unemployment trust fund and borrowing $25 million from the federal government.
HB 2712 – introduced in February – would make the necessary changes to Arizona’s unemployment laws to allow the state to receive $150 million in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, avoiding the need to borrow funds for several months.
This money would be deposited into Arizona’s unemployment trust fund, a fund that has been depleted by the dramatic increase in the number of Arizonans who have lost their jobs. With these additional dollars, employers would pay $21.70 per employee less in the first year in Unemployment Insurance taxes then they would without these funds.
Arizona has joined 33 other states in borrowing money from the federal government to pay for unemployment insurance claims.
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Turn Down This Budget Proposal!
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(March 9, 2010) Yesterday, Governor Brewer called the Arizona Legislature into its 7th special session to deal with the FY 10 and 11 budgets. The proposal under consideration will cut more deeply into programs that serve Arizona’s children and their families. These cuts include:
• Eliminating KidsCare program, resulting in 47,000 children losing their health care coverage. With the elimination of KidsCare, Arizona would be the only state in the nation without this health coverage and Arizona will be turning away the federal funds that come with this.
• Eliminating the Department of Juvenile Corrections. This would shift responsibility to the counties without planning or resources for treatment and rehabilitation. Locking up youth without needed services is the surest way to turn troubled youth into repeat criminals.
• Slapping Arizona voters in the face by cutting more than 300,000 people off health care coverge despite our ballot vote several years ago.
• Exposing 17,000 poor children to more hunger and risk by eliminating cash assistance for their families.
• Damaging jobs and children’s education and security by keeping the door shut on child care assistance for low-income working parents.
• Asking voters to move Arizona backwards by repealing First Things First and elminating all state investments in health, education, and security for young children.
Read CAA's fact sheet on this budget plan and send a message to your elected leaders today urging them to reject it! Send Your Message
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HB 2250 Tax Cuts To Grow Arizona's Deficit
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(January 25, 2010) HB 2250 enacts a broad range of tax cuts and tax incentives beginning in FY 12 when Arizona will still be facing multibillion dollar deficits and cuts to education and health care. These across the board tax cuts are not targeted to economic development and will add to the state’s fiscal problems. Please click here for the fact sheet. Details of the bill can be found here.
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CAA Response to Brewer Budget Plan
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(Jan 20, 2010) Last Friday, Governor Brewer released her proposals to balance the current year’s budget and the budget beginning July 1. These budget proposals put us all face-to-face with the brutal reality of the depth of our deficit and the choices and tradeoffs we face. The Governor’s budget includes a mix of strategies. Click here to see a summary pie chart. She proposes: a penny increase in the state sales tax, borrowing money from the First Things First tobacco tax funds, mortgaging additional state buildings, and shifting more money from special funds to the general budget. Even with these strategies, the budget still includes a 5% salary reduction for every state employee. The proposal also includes more than $1 billion in budget CUTS – on top of the cuts that have been happening since March of 2009. The impact of these cuts on children, families, and Arizona jobs is truly stunning. This budget relies on voters to un-do their priorities for health coverage and to give up more spending decisions to the legislature. It calls on the legislature to eliminate a number of state programs and pass a sales tax increase with a 2/3 majority vote. Click here for a list of major budget cuts proposed to children and families.
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Legislative Report Card for Kids
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(December 22, 2009) CAA today released its 2009 Legislative Report Card for Kids. Each year, the 90 members of our state legislature vote on dozens of pieces of legislation that shape the health, education, and safety of Arizona children and families. Children’s Action Alliance believes that every lawmaker has the responsibility to vote for kids. And our legislators should be held accountable and measured on their performance. Click HERE to see how your legislators and the rest of the representatives and senators voted on key laws for kids in 2009.
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