Legal challenge to fund sweep of mortgage fraud settlement fund in the works

May 2, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Governor Jan Brewer has not even signed the budget passed on Tuesday and already there is a legal challenge in the works to the fund sweep of the mortgage fraud settlement fund. As I briefly mentioned yesterday, Lawmakers' budget proposal would raid mortgage fraud settlement – East Valley Tribune:

State lawmakers are planning to raid a mortgage fraud settlement fund to balance the budget.

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Senate President Steve Pierce said the current intended uses of the funds are a low priority. He said the funds are currently set to be used for things like “advertising on how to keep your own personal finances in shape.”

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But Valerie Iverson of the Arizona Housing Alliance said that “someplace” should be elsewhere. She said there were more than 10,000 foreclosure filings in Arizona last month alone.

“We still have the highest foreclosure rate in the country,” she said. “We figure that the money they’re proposing to sweep could provide 75,000 troubled homeowners with housing counseling and 10,000 homeowners with legal assistance.”

But the issue is more than one of fiscal philosophy and priorities.

Iverson pointed out that the settlement signed on Arizona’s behalf by Attorney General Tom Horne with the lenders has strings on the $97.7 million going directly to the state. It says the money is supposed to go to things like avoiding preventable foreclosures, minimizing the effects of the foreclosure crisis and prosecuting financial fraud.

More to the point, Iverson said, the document uses the word “shall” to describe the uses.

“I’m going by what’s in the consent decree,” Iverson said. And Iverson said her organization, which represents agencies that would get these funds for counseling and legal help, already is consulting with attorneys about filing suit if the provision remains in the budget.

Romney [didn’t say] “Of course I would have defended my gay staffer”

May 2, 2012

by David Safier Of course Romney would have issued the risky order to attack Bin Laden. Because even though the mission could have gone horribly wrong and damaged his credibility and popularity, Romney is the kind of man who is willing to make the tough decisions. I know that's true, because Romney said so himself. … Read more

Pimps for Private Prisons and Profit: The Lobbyists Win Again

May 2, 2012

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Details about the state budget approved on Tuesday are leaking out, and it is does not look good for those who care about the outsized influence of lobbyists for private prisons in our legislature.

The one person who is happy is Arizona's "shadow governor" Chuck Coughlin and his HighGround lobbying firm that ran Jan Brewer's campaign and currently runs the governor's office. He also represents the private prison companies who want more private prisons. Surprise, they got what they wanted in spades.

Howard Fischer reports, Legislature gives preliminary approval to $8.6 billion state budget – East Valley Tribune:

The spending plan includes $50 million for a new maximum security prison, a priority of Gov. Jan Brewer. [and shadow governor Chuck Coughlin]

[The budget directs $20 million next year toward the construction of 500 state-run, maximum-security beds, with an additional $30 million to follow the next year.

The budget also authorizes a $16 million private-prison contract for 1,000 prison beds, although no expenditure would happen until fiscal 2015. – h/t Arizona Republic]

“In a year with a surplus, we’ve decided to make funding prisons a higher priority than funding health care for kids who, by no choice of their own, do not have access to health insurance,” Schapira said.

And Brewer, who negotiated the spending plan with the Republican majority, said she agrees with that decision.

“You know, public safety is really important to a lot of people,” she said. “And we certainly are short on maximum (security) beds.”

And House Majority Leader Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, said while there is no net increase in the number of people being sent to prison, the number of inmates who need to be in maximum security facilities continues to increase.

But more than just funding is at issue.

One provision of the budget eliminates an existing requirement that the Department of Corrections do a study of the costs and benefits between public and private prisons. House Minority Leader Chad Campbell said that makes no sense, given that the one study that was conducted shows it actually costs $5 a day more to house a medium-security inmate in a private prison than one run by the state.

There are about 40,000 people in state custody.

Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, a proponent of private prisons, said the study has “questionable reliability,” saying it did not consider issues like an underfunded pension system for corrections officers.

Ad vs. Ad in the Star: False equivalence, Part 3

May 1, 2012

by David Safier It's a little late in the day (evening, actually) to comment on this morning's Star, but I don't want to let this go. Summary of this post: the Star's Brady McCombs needs to play some catch-up, and quick, if he wants to be a good political reporter. McCombs has a story in … Read more

Romney Courts Latino Vote with New Sidekick… Not Really.

May 1, 2012

By Michael Bryan

While it isn't exactly what you might term "real", The Onion frequently captures the truth that only satire can capture. Enjoy Romney's new friend Paco the animated parrot after the click…