Bipartisan Budget Talks to Resume

The lead paragraph from the Arizona Guardian may explain why we are nearly 60 days into the fiscal year without a budget.

For the first time since she took office, Gov. Jan Brewer sat down Friday with leaders of all four legislative caucuses to talk about the 2010 budget crisis.

Brewer has had since January to call for this meeting.

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The elusive “five-party talks” -- which Democrats have been pleading for all session -- came after discussions between Brewer and Sens. Jay Tibshraeny, Barbara Leff and John Nelson. Unable to get her sales-tax plan through the Senate, the trio urged the governor to talk with Democrats about what changes they would need to support it.

Senate Democratic leaders have said at least three of their members are solid no votes on the sales-tax referral. But the GOP moderates believe there’s potential for a deal that could include about eight or nine Republicans and an equal number of Democrats.

But at the very least, Democrats will insist that the bill include language preventing the estimated $2.5 billion in tax proceeds from being used to supplant further cuts in education, health and human services, and to protect low-income taxpayers.