Special Session Update: Sen. Jack Harper will trade his vote to stick it to Tucson; will Sen. Al Melvin and Sen. Jonathan Paton betray Tucson and its business community?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

OK, Here's what we do know. The Arizona House has already passed the 10-bill compromise budget with 32 Republican votes. Half the dirty deed is done.

In the Senate, Sen. Ron Gould, Sen. Pamela Gorman, and Sen. Jack Harper were opposed to the sales tax increase, creating a 15-15 tie vote, spelling defeat for the measure. I indicated yesterday the question was which one of these three Republicans would cave under pressure?

It turns out this was the wrong question. It was the Senate Finance Committee which caved in last night to the personal vendettas of Sen. Jack Harper in exchange for his vote on the 10-bill compromise budget. Fate of budget plan unclear as negotiations continue: 

Sen. Jack Harper, a Surprise Republican, tied his support of a sales-tax referral to the approval of a series of four budget amendments. The new provisions would:

• Implement a 5 percent staff cut across courts and state agencies, impacting about 1,750 positions. Universities and K-12 schools would not be affected.

• Reduce staffing in the Auditor General's Office by 50 percent.

Gut future state revenue for Rio Nuevo, a special taxing district devoted to redevelopment of downtown Tucson.

• The district remains in place until 2025, but Harper's proposal would only allow it to retain funding to pay its debt obligations.

• Sweep about $1 million from the Arizona Automobile Theft Authority into the general fund.

Harper said he could only support a sales-tax increase sought by GOP Gov. Jan Brewer if legislators take the steps to further reduce the size and scope of state government.

Sen. Jack Harper has had a wild hair up his ass over Rio Nuevo for quite some time now. I think it's really about his objection to the Democratic stronghold of Tucson. Jack can't stand those damn Democrats.

Sen. Rebecca Rios, D-Apache Junction, pointedly asked Sen. Harper “You sold your vote for a tax referral for those four items?,” for which she was chatised by the chairman, Sen. Russell Pearce. Key veteran senator negotiates budget deal

More importantly, Sen. Cap'n Al Melvin, R-Tucson, also a member of the Senate Finance Committee, went along with Sen. Harper's personal vendettas and voted for the Harper amendment in committee. In an interview, Melvin said he agreed to the language but intends to try to restore the funding next year. Senate panel would ax future Rio Nuevo funds Sure you will, Cap'n.

Sen. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, who has been most vocal about Rio Nuevo's lack of progress, said he had not yet seen the language proposed by Harper.

Sen. Paula Aboud, D-Tucson, said she took "personal offense" at the notion that a Maricopa County lawmaker was setting policy in a place he knew nothing about — and as part of an exchange for his vote on a sales-tax referral.

Aboud said it would be unlikely for the money to be restored at a later point.

"Next year there's not going to be any money to fix anything," she said. "We've got Republican legislators that don't have an affinity to Tucson … taking away dollars that are going to provide jobs and build an infrastructure in downtown."

Harper's Amendment alters the budget compromise. It is unclear whether Harper's proposals would be acceptable to a majority of lawmakers and to the Governor, given the tenuous nature of the deal between the governor and GOP leaders.

Harper's vote – the 16th GOP vote in the Seante – is contingent upon him having his way. But there are two GOP senators from Tucson, Sen. Cap'n Al Melvin and Sen. Jonathan Paton who, despite their dislike for Tucson Democrats and concerns over the progress of Rio Nuevo nevertheless pledged to support the Rio Nuevo TIF tax district because the Tucson business community supports it. Are these two Tucson senators going to betray Tucson and its business community? Or will they stand up for Tucson and vote against a budget that contains Harper's personal vendettas?

If you want to defeat this unacceptable budget, everyone in Southern Arizona should be calling Sen. Cap'n Al Melvin and Sen. Jonathan Paton right now to tell them to vote against the budget with the Harper Amendment.

The Arizona Guardian (subscription required) reports that the Accidental Governor has been in a closed-door meeting with Sen. Pamela Gorman in an effort to pressure her to support the compromise budget. Gorman is the alternative 16th GOP vote if the Senate rejects the Harper Amendment and then loses his vote when he takes his ball and goes home. Gorman appears an unlikely supporter, however:

The governor met behind closed doors for about 90 minutes with Senate Majority Whip and political rival Pamela Gorman, a no-vote, in an effort to change her mind to revive the deal.

The governor declined to say whether she was successful in her plea to the Republican senator from Anthem. Gorman has worked thoughout the session against the governor and Senate leaders to kill Brewer's proposed sales-tax increase.

To summarize, defeating this terrible GOP budget in the Senate rests on the shoulders of Tucson's Sens. Cap'n Al Melvin and Jonathan Paton. Will they stand up and defend Tucson and its business community by voting against the personal vendettas of Sen. Jack Harper? Or will they betray Tucson and its business community? If the Harper Amendment is defeated, will Harper take his ball and go home, spelling defeat for the GOP budget compromise? Stay tuned.

We will find out later today when the Senate reportedly will reconvene at 1:00 p.m.

LATE UPDATE: The AP reports that the Senate vote has been postponed indefinitely because supporters didn't have enough votes. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) also reports that "the Senate recessed on July 31 without passing the budget deal. The Senate was scheduled to meet again this afternoon, but it wasn’t clear whether lawmakers will try anew to pass the budget deal."

"Gov. Brewer talked with Gorman, the majority whip, for more than an hour at Gorman’s Senate office, but the governor was apparently unable to persuade the senator to change her mind." Without Gorman’s support, Republicans do not have 16 votes to pass the budget deal out of the Senate.

Complicating matters is the absence of Sen. Carolyn Allen. The Scottsdale Republican is incapacitated because of a knee injury and is not expected to show up for a vote.

Legislative leaders also apparently had a problem getting Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, a Republican from Chandler, to vote for two of the budget measures, including the reconciliation bill for education.

Sen. Ron Gould, a Lake Havasu Republican, also said he is voting “no” on the tax referral. Gould opposed the plan during a committee hearing on July 30, saying he would never vote for a tax increase.

Senate President Bob Burns didn’t set a date for another vote because some members are expected to be on vacation next week.

“We were trying to get the last vote on the referral,” Burns said. He added another member was sick and couldn’t be present. “We are going to have to kind of figure out a schedule here, and find out when we get people back.”

The AP reports KTAR.com Attorney General Terry Goddard has issued the following statement: "The Legislature and Governor have, once again, failed in their most basic constitutional duty – passing a balanced budget. This gridlock just makes Arizona's economic situation worse and reveals a total lack of leadership at the Capitol,"