Plan would compromise with House's request to eliminate raises

State senators expect to approve reduced pay raises and an additional university budget cut today, but the plan could be dead on arrival in the House.

Democratic Senator Virginia Yrun and Senate Floor Leader Jack Brown, also a Democrat, said yesterday that the votes are there for moving a plan through that would give the lowest-paid employees in the state - which includes university employees - a $1,500 raise, while University of Arizona employees making more than $82,000 yearly would receive nothing.

Under the plan, those earning less than $55,000 would receive a 5 percent pay raise, with a minimum $1,500 increase.

Employees paid $56,000 to $82,000 yearly would receive a 3.5 percent raise.

But the raises come at a cost of approximately $870,000 more than would be slashed from the UA budget before July 1.

Greg Fahey, UA associate vice president for government relations, said not increasing the salaries of those making more than $82,000 is a dangerous idea - and lawsuits will result.

Fahey said he is determined to do everything he can to ensure that legislators don't treat those in higher income levels as "non-people" and all UA employees receive raises.

Fahey said UA remains optimistic about a 5 percent raise.

Brown proposed that UA fund the raises for those making over $82,000.

Yrun said the Senate was opposed to cutting more university funds, but to get a compromise with the House, most state agencies would take a budget cut of a quarter of a percent.

It will take 16 votes to get the new pay increase plan through the Senate, and Yrun and Brown think they have between 20 and 26. From there, the plan will go to the House, then into a conference committee if refused.

However, university lobbyists say the Senate proposal is anything but set in stone, as the situation changes hourly at the Capitol.

Arizona Board of Regents spokesman Matt Ortega said a plan to increase raises was crumbling in the Senate yesterday and that he didn't expect the Senate to take any action until next week.

Yesterday, Fahey agreed that if the current Senate proposal is approved, it probably would not happen this week.

Senate Democrats, led by Democratic Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Ruth Solomon, who initially proposed keeping the entire five raises intact, have time on their side in the case of a deadlock. Already the special session to address the pay increases has dragged on for four weeks, much longer than senators had hoped.

"We have important, very important, work to do in the '03 cycle," Yrun said. "We should move forward on the bill we will be sending (for a vote) tomorrow."

The state Legislature has approved and re-approved a 5 percent pay raise for all public employees, but the 2002 state budget is being reworked because of a state deficit that is larger than expected.

Gov. Jane Dee Hull has firmly said she is opposed to any pay raise for public employees, which she said the state cannot afford.

Under the law as now written the state would distribute 5 percent pay increases to public employees on April 1.