©Arizona Capitol Times 2009

The budget fix being shopped to Republican lawmakers would erase a little more than a quarter of the estimated $2 billion deficit and include about $300 million in permanent spending cuts.

House Majority Whip Andy Tobin said the deal Republican leaders have reached with Republican Gov. Jan Brewer would include $140 million in cuts to K-12 education and $140 million in cuts to the Department of Economic Security, which operates the state’s welfare programs.

In September, Brewer vetoed more than $450 million in cuts to those two agencies after lawmakers failed to approve a special election to temporarily raise the sales tax.

Additionally, $160 million in potential general fund expenditures would be averted by making statutory changes that allow several state agencies, including the Department of Revenue, to access other funding sources. Those changes were included in the budget presented to Brewer in August, but she vetoed them because the legislation also included the repeal of a $250 million property tax.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate are currently gathering input from rank-and-file members on the proposal. If there is enough support, a special session will be called for Nov. 17 through Nov. 19, Tobin said.

“It’s a start,” he said. “It shows that things are moving, with the changes made on the Ninth Floor.”

He was referring to Brewer’s recent change in her chief of staff. Last month, she replaced Kevin Tyne with Eileen Klein. Many had blamed the governor’s failings earlier this year on Tyne’s inexperience with the Legislature, while Klein’s promotion was hailed because of her extensive legislative and budget backgrounds.

House Minority Leader David Lujan said he is wary of a special session if it only includes budget cuts. He said long-term plans need to include generating additional revenues.

“I think we should at least be looking at doing something on the revenue side,” he said.

Tobin said many House Republicans would like to see deeper cuts, but was confident there would be enough support for this partial fix.

“It doesn’t mean we won’t be coming back before January 1 to do some more (cuts),” he said.