The Arizona Legislature passed a state budget today that includes $1,450 raises for UA employees, sending the budget to Gov. Jane Dee Hull for her likely approval.

The raises are smaller than originally proposed and will be delivered later in the year, which is in line with what Hull previously requested. Legislators expect the governor to approve the budget before the end of the week.

Hull's press secretary Francie Noyes could not be reached for comment late yesterday.

The original raises for all University of Arizona employees, as written into the budget in December, would have given employees the greater of $1,500, or 5 percent, on April 1.

If Hull approves the new budget, all employees will now receive $1,450 on June 8. UA will also see another .25 percent budget cut, on top of the 4.56 percent cut it has already sustained.

As of Tuesday, UA administrators said they had discussed the budget cut but had not reached an agreement on whether to distribute it as a percentage across all departments university-wide, or to target certain colleges and departments.

The budget still includes a provision to cut funding in half for any UA position that becomes vacant between this spring and next summer - a provision Democratic Sen. Ruth Solomon said the governor will "absolutely" line-item veto.

However, Noyes said the governor does not have the power to line-item veto the provision.

If the provision in question remains in the budget, UA could see another budget cut - this one of more than 10 percent - depending on how many UA employees leave their jobs.