State Senate keeps Gov.'s proposal mostly intact

PHOENIXÊ÷ The state's universities remain largely protected in a budget proposal released by the state Senate yesterday.

The proposal includes the $24 million funding increase recommended by Gov. Janet Napolitano in her budget proposal released in January, but scales down university-wide employee pay raises.

While the governor's recommendation allowed university employees making less than $50,000 a $1,000 pay hike, and those making above that figure a 2 percent increase, the Senate budget would give all state employees a flat $800 raise.

UA lobbyist Greg Fahey said he hopes the Senate will change the budget proposal to allow universities discretion on how the money is paid out and to whom.

The budget is expected to be voted on and discussed on the floor Tuesday.

But otherwise, there is little to complain about at the UA and the UA Health Sciences Center, which would receive nearly $8 million in additional funding for faculty retention and enrollment growth, and its share of the $21.9 million university pay package.

"It has the $24 million the governor asked for, so right now I am unable to say anything but thank you," Fahey said.

Of the $8 million slice of the Senate budget slated to go the UA, $3.6 million would go to enrollment growth funding.

The other $4.3 million would be used to help fight "brain drain," the flight of qualified professors who draw major research funding to other universities.

However, universities do not emerge unscathed in the Senate budget.

Where the governor recommended $32 million to state agencies to cover increases in the cost of health care for state employees paid by employers, the Senate proposes just $16 million, which would be triggered if state revenue ends up exceeding current projections.

The universities did-not receive funding for employer health care costs last year in light of a massive budget deficit.

"That's the second year in a row we'd be taking a hit," Fahey said. "That's a lot to suck up for state agencies."

The House of Representatives has yet to release its budget proposal, which is expected to be more fiscally conservative than the Senate's.

House leadership would not comment on the Senate proposal or whether the governor's request for increased university funding would be granted.

"We haven't even had time to really look at it," said Jake Logan, senior adviser to the majority in the House.

Earlier this session, House Speaker Jake Flake, R-Snowflake, pledged to "do all we can do" to meet her requests.

"We'll do our best, but we can only do what we've got the money for," Flake told the Wildcat in January.

Sen. Jack Brown, D-St. John's, said the Senate budget will likely resemble the budget sent to the governor for approval because House leadership lacks support for what is expected to be a bare bones budget.

"It is my idea that they'll take (the budget) and mull it over for a week or two weeks, or whatever it takes. And at the end of the time, they're going decide that they are going to have to take pretty much what we send them because I don't think they can get the votes," Brown said.