Gov. Jan Brewer's office said the state has more revenues than expected, and that means Arizona is on pace to emerge from its deficit next year. But, a Democratic legislative leader said the governor cannot take all of the credit. Brewer's Office said state government finished the recent fiscal year with a balance of $895 million, far above the revenue scenario that lawmakers projected in June. The governor's written statement said her "sound fiscal leadership" coupled with an infusion of expanded federal Medicaid funding will help erase the state's deficit two years earlier than anticipated.
But, House Democratic leader Chad Campbell of Phoenix said the governor should not be celebrating.
"We're not spending and not investing money in the place we need to be spending. So, it's not a surprise that we have extra money," Campbell said. "We've cut over $2 billion from education over the past four years since Jan Brewer became governor, and we've only put a few milion back into the system."
He said the nation's economic recovery is happening at a faster pace than in Arizona, and he said that the state's unemployment rate remains higher than in many other states.