By Howard Fischer | AZ Capitol Times
Key Points:
- Republican lawmakers unveil plan to balance state budget amid tight financial forecast
- Nearly $100 million in economic development funding is cut
- They also propose a 5% reduction in agency operating budgets
Republican lawmakers on Monday unveiled their plan to balance the state budget and finance the tax breaks they want by eliminating others they don’t.
Gone would be nearly $100 million for economic development projects — including $19 million of diverted state sales taxes now used by the Tucson Rio Nuevo project to spur business and residential growth in the southern Arizona community.
The proposed budget — $800 million less than Gov. Katie Hobbs’ initial January proposal — would also do away with the Arizona Commerce Authority Compete Fund, which provides grants to attract, retain and support new business in the state. According to the plan, that would not only save $4 million going forward, but also drain approximately $63 million already in the account.
GOP legislative leaders defended those cuts, along with another $8 million reduction to the state Office of Tourism, by dubbing the programs “crony capitalism.”
