Using a covert tactic against his own Republican Governor Wednesday evening, Representative Rick Murphy ( Glendale ) introduced a late first session Strike Everything Amendment (SE) into HB 2369 during the House Appropriations Committee meeting. It was introduced and PASSED, at this specific time, with what can only be seen as malicious intent.
CLICK HERE to see the NEW HB 2369
Murphy’s Strike Everything Amendment would make our Governor’s appropriation of most Federal money, ILLEGAL. Instead, the State Legislature would be the only authorized body, under Arizona law, to appropriate these Federal dollars.
And….
Since each state’s Federal Stimulu$ money contract (with the White House) REQUIRES State Governors to appropriate the funds to qualified programs (thereby keeping them out of the hands of salivating legislators)……
Our Governor would NOT be legally authorized (by Arizona law) to spend the Feds $, yet our Legislature would NOT be legally authorized (by the White House contract) to spend the money either!
The State of Arizona would be all dressed up with no place to go, while our citizens suffer.
A State’s Sovereignty Standoff.
A Russell Pearce dream come true.
I hope the Governor’s people are reading this. Can you imagine?
Picture the floor debates and committee meetings in the House and Senate. For days on end, Arizona’s Constitution Party lawmakers and their Republican sympathizers would cry “FOUL”, “Point of Order”, “This is UNCONSTITUTIONAL”, “Where’s Andy Thomas” , “Call in the Minutemen!”, etc.
Governor Jan Brewer would be vilified by her own GOP members. She doesn’t deserve that. Arizona doesn’t deserve that.
Rick Murphy’s SE would fulfill the ONE exception in the law that currently gives our Governor the authority to spend certain Federal dollars. In fact, the statute that empowers the Governor to spend Federal funds is explicit in its clarity but does leave a loophole wide open.
The words in paragraph A, “except as otherwise provided by law” are all Rick Murphy and friends needed to see. Murphy wants to be the guy who otherwise provides a new law. If he is successful in adding this new law, the Governor’s power will be castrated.
The Governor’s appropriations law is found HERE in ARS 41-101.01 and says:
Authority to accept and expend certain funds
A. The governor, except as otherwise provided by law, is authorized to accept and expend any grants, donations, aids, or other funds received from the federal government or any agency thereof pursuant to Public Law 88-452, the economic opportunity act of 1964, and Public Law 89-136, the public works and economic development act of 1965, and any other funds made available to the state through any federal statutes, and in receiving and expending such funds, the governor shall be considered the agency of the state for all the purposes provided by this section.
B. The governor's office is designated as this state's recipient of federal stop violence against women act grants. The governor's office shall use monies received from these grants, subject to federal law.
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The original version of Murphy’s bill was a minor technical correction regarding Department of Revenue personnel and became the perfect vehicle by which to pull a sneak attack on Governor Brewer.
According to Murphy’s testimony in the committee meeting last night, his 2009 HB 2369 SE is merely a revival of the language of similar bills that have been introduced and vetoed for the last 10 years.
Murphy even gave a sad eulogy, highlighting the impotence of the Arizona Legislature because of its inability to appropriate Noncustodial Federal Monies (NFM are defined in Murphy's SE). He lamented the fact that our lawmakers have no current legislative authority to spend most Federal money and said we need a larger pool in which to shift our money. (Huh?)
He also stressed that Arizona is one of only five states that doesn’t trust allow the House and Senate to spend these BILLION$ of Federal dollars. The Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) have always entrusted that authority to the Governor.
Funny Man Murphy even downplayed the amount of Federal money his Striker would allow the legislature to spend – in dreamland. The Dems on the committee wanted to have a ballpark figure of the total dollars impacted by this bill. Easy question, right? Uh, no.
Murphy didn’t know and had to use a lifeline to casually Ask-a-Page. The page didn’t know and promised to get back with Rep. Murphy at a later time.. But, those young minds are quick and some zealous page slipped away to find the magic numbers. And the answer is……….
“Chairman, Representative Murphy:
In fiscal year 2009, that figure would be $8.4 BILLION and for 2010, it would be $9.38 BILLION.”
HOLY smoke! Most lawmakers were shocked and sat up straight (so did I). But, there is more…….
These figures DO NOT include the BILLION$ of new Federal Stimulu$ dollars getting ready to make an appearance in Arizona.
Rep. Murphy assured the committee that Governor Brewer has always supported this type of bill – despite the long line of vetoes by both Republican and Democrat Governors. He basically said….I’ve got this in the bag….until…..
Rep. Matt Heinz (D-Tucson) specifically asked Rep. Murphy if he had run HB 2369’s Strike Everything Amendment by Jan Brewer since she has become Governor.
He stumbled with his answer a minute and then said….No, but he did talk to one of her staffers about it right before she moved into the Governor’s office.
Heinz pressed Murphy harder, and finally Murphy said Governor Brewer was for the bill in her days as a legislator and he was optimistic that her position would remain consistent…..no matter what office she was holding.
Governor Brewer, have you heard the old saying, “With friends like this, who need enemies?” Does that mean that if your so-called friends aren’t FOR you, they are AGAINST you? Are they then, Evil Doers?
It appears so.
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