Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
As if the Tea-Publican Arizona legislature has not demonstrated their hatred for working people and the American middle class enough already, now comes this late breaking news: Brewer to drop bomb on public employee merit system (Yellow Sheet, subscription required). Brewer is expected to ask lawmakers to undertake major legislation on state personnel reform, a move that would set back any plans to adjourn sine die.
The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) has more. Brewer pitches personnel plan to lawmakers, but there may not be time:
Lawmakers have been briefed about a plan by Gov. Jan Brewer to remove state employees from the state’s merit system.
Senate President Russell Pearce said the Governor’s Office gave a draft of the proposal to lawmakers nearly a month ago. He said the state needs personnel reform, but the plan still needs work, and there may not be time to do it before the legislative session ends.
* * *
Details are scant about the proposal and the Governor’s Office did not release a draft of the plan that was given to lawmakers. But the gist of it is to remove “covered” state personnel from merit protection[.]
“The caucus is supportive of it. The problem is you’re trying to introduce something at the tail end of session,” said Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City.
* * * *
“Either you play cram down like we saw with the so-called jobs bill,” Gould said. “Or if you call us back into special session to do this you get the same effect.”
So much hatred, so little time. These people are sick.
UPDATE: This bill is expected to drop on Monday, April 18. Brewer's still-emerging plan to change Arizona personnel system is in limbo:
[Brewer's] plan would, among other things, lift civil-service protections from all supervisors and from workers who take promotions or accept assignment changes or individual pay raises. New hires also would be unprotected. And the governor would have more say over who fills key top posts in state government and for how long.
Brewer has been working on the plan since last fall, but legislation has yet to be introduced.