Gov. Doug Ducey before a joint legislative session, Jan. 11, 2016.Listen:
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Gov. Doug Ducey renewed his pledge Monday to cut taxes this year and every subsequent year of his term, and said he will continue pushing the state to move "at the speed of business."
Ducey made the declarations in his second state of the state speech to a joint session of the Arizona Legislature on opening day of its regular term. Ducey laid out an extensive agenda, touching on education, child welfare, business enhancements, water management and border drug smuggling.
He mentioned no specific dollar amounts for any of his proposed initiatives, saying they will come in his budget proposal, which will go to the Legislature Friday.
The Republican governor called himself "the voice of sobriety" when it comes to state spending, repeating his pledge of one year ago on excessive spending and higher taxes: "Not on our watch."
"On Friday, I will release my budget, and the big spenders and special interests aren't going to like it," Ducey said. "It prioritizes vital commitments like education, child safety and public safety. It eliminates waste. It's balanced. And most importantly, it does not raise taxes.
" ... Together, we will lower taxes this year. Next year. And the year after," Ducey said.
Democrats have been pushing for more funding for K-12 education, beyond Ducey's plan to tap into the State Land Trust. That proposal, which the governor has said would add $3.5 billion to educational funding over 10 years, will go to the voters in a special election in May.
The package would settle a lawsuit filed in 2010 by state public schools against the Legislature after it stopped funding inflation as required in the state Constitution. The state Supreme Court upheld a judgment against the state, but legislators negotiated until a special session last fall came to a proposed settlement.
"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change the trend line on education funding," the governor said. "The stakes are high.
"For the cynics out there - looking to stop this plan or rooting for its defeat: If you're hoping this lawsuit will be resolved any other way - it won't."
Ducey spent the first part of his speech citing business and job building accomplishments he said were at the core of his first year in office. He added that he will lead a move to deregulate business as much as possible, including eliminating state licensing requirements for many jobs.
He called on the city of Phoenix to allow ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft into Sky Harbor International Airport, and he warned municipal governments that he will try to change state revenue-sharing formulas to keep them from imposing minimum wage ordinances and other of what he called "trendy, feel-good policies that are stifling opportunity."
"I will use every constitutional power of the executive branch and leverage every legislative relationship to protect small businesses and the working men and women they employ, up to and including changing the distribution of state-shared revenue," Ducey said. "We will ensure Arizona continues to grow jobs, not destroy them."
The governor also said:
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He is creating the Governor's Council on the Sharing Economy, to enhance growth of industries such as ride-sharing, short-term rental of rooms in private homes, shared office space among businesses and others.
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He will allow added staffing, using existing money, for the state Department of Water Resources to seek new water sources and expand conservation.
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The state should allow public schools, including charters, needing to expand to seek low-cost loans. He said money for it would come from the Public School Achievement District formed last year, without an impact on the state's general fund.
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Schools with high numbers of students completing advanced placement college courses will get more state money, as will schools in low-income areas. He also called for "a new focus on career and technical education," but gave no specifics or dollar amounts.
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The state has three of the world's top public universities, and he said he supports them. But Ducey made no mention of more funding for them. Last year, he and the Legislature cut $99 million in state funding to the universities.
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Foster children should be given priority to enroll in the state's best public schools, and people caring for their grandchildren should get the same state aid other foster parents get. He also said the state will strengthen its effort to collect child support from "deadbeat dads" by posting their photos, names and the amount of money they owe on social media.
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Maricopa County should adopt a drug treatment system similar to Pima County's Drug Court. He also said he will form a team of substance abuse treatment experts to improve treatment.
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The state should "provide law enforcement, especially our border sheriffs, the resources they need to ramp up the fight against" drug cartels and sellers. Last fall, several border sheriffs criticized him after he formed a drug strike force without input from them.
At the time, he said he would ask the Legislature for "tens of millions" to get the strike force operational under direction of the Department of Public Safety. He made no mention of specific funding for it in his Monday speech.
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