PHOENIX — Gov. Doug Ducey said Monday he’s not worried that a stock market in disarray and fewer visitors to the state will undermine his call for lawmakers to approve a new tax cut.
“Of course we’ll be factoring in the situation of what’s happening in the economy,” the governor said when asked about plans, both his and by Republican legislators, to cut taxes. Those plans were unveiled before COVID-19 became a worldwide issue and patients in Arizona have become infected.
He said the economy has been “robust” until now.
“This is, of course, affecting the economy,” Ducey continued. “There’s no doubt about it.”
But the governor said the state is in far better financial condition now than it has been in years. He also cited the $1 billion available in the state’s “rainy day fund,” which equals about 8% of his proposed $12.3 billion spending plan for the coming year.
Ducey also said he is resisting various legislative proposals for tax cuts that would reduce revenues by $300 million or more, measures that already have been approved by Republican-dominated House and Senate committees.
Instead, he is pushing his own proposal — the one he featured during the State of the State speech — to eliminate all income taxes on pensions for retired members of the military. And the price tag on that is only about $43 million a year.
“That’s the budget we’re going to pass,” he said.
The governor’s comments came during a staged event at Banner-University Medical Center in Phoenix to urge Arizonans to respond to questions that start going out this week from the U.S. Census.
It even featured newborns and infants wearing T-shirts with a “Babies Count” message to buttress Ducey’s argument that children younger than 5 are the most undercounted. And that, he said, threatens to cost Arizona needed funds, saying a 1% short count would cost Arizona $62 million a year in federal aid for the next decade.
Most of the questions for Ducey, however, were about the outbreak of the virus.
The governor brushed aside comments by President Trump, who called some of the outbreak numbers and death rates “fake.”
“I’m going to be held accountable for the communication of what’s happening in Arizona,” he said. “We’re focused on what the facts are, and that’s what we’re communicating.”
Anyway, the governor suggested Trump’s comments may not matter as long as the administration focuses on the problem.
“I just spent 90 minutes (on the phone) with the vice president and the world’s top medical experts,” he said, referring to a conference call. “I have their direct phone numbers. And they’re all-in on this.”
And the economy?
“My concern’s for public health,” he said. “Stock markets go up and down.”
All this comes as Ducey and Republican legislative leaders are engaged in closed-door negotiations to come up with a spending and tax-cut plan. Still, the governor acknowledged the potential economic impact of the virus.
“We are factoring that into our decision making, of course,” he said. “We are going to put forward a responsible budget.”
