Senate OKs amended budget

Biggs expects signature; Brewer rep advises caution

The Arizona Senate passed a budget on Thursday that its leaders said should ultimately be approved by the House and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer.

Amendments to the spending plan introduced by Senate President Andy Biggs the same day align spending with some key priorities of Brewer and House leadership.

And Biggs said the changes were made in cooperation with both those parties.

“We’ve all had some good dis- cussions and it is my understanding that this is the budget,” said Biggs, R-Gilbert. “I’m anticipating a signature.”

Brewer spokesman Andrew Wilder said the Senate has been in dialogue with the governor’s staff, but Brewer still has changes she’d like to see.

“The Senate has made significant progress in a positive direction, but we need to be clear that there are still a handful of issues, some very significant, that need to be addressed,” Wilder said, declining to offer specifics. “It is not accurate to characterize this as a done deal at this point.”

See BUDGET, Page B3

Proposed spending: $9.18 billion. Additional funding for child-safety staff: $15.3 million.

Student success funding: $20 million. Additional student assessment costs: $8 million. Alzheimer’s research: $1.3 million. Road maintenance: $30 million.