The administration has been watching the session with our fears coming true: the process is devolving to what it was two years ago when we had to fight for tax refunds. The devolving debate, as expected, includes baseless accusations and deliberate mistruths by some of the majority members to justify their political opposition to Governor Calvo’s budget.
The latest round of political grandstanding came from Senator Mike San Nicolas, oversight chairman for the Department of Revenue and Taxation. He made multiple accusations claiming he is opposing the latest budget bill because it will allow him to go on a “hiring spree” in an election year.
This is wholly untrue. The only positions that will be filled in the budget are critical, like police officers, revenue officers, nurses, and other jobs that are important to the public’s health and safety. There is actually a provision that prohibits non-critical hiring, clearly preventing the “spree” that Sen. San Nicolas claims to be opposing.
“We want to report the truth here, because that’s what we owe the people. Unfortunately, this is devolving again to politics that relies on untruths. We are in favor of compromising, and left many of the majority’s funding requests intact in this bill. But just as they did with the tax refund bond legislation, these senators have made it very clear that this process will not be in the best interest of the taxpayers, employees, and retirees. We need to compromise. We need to come together,” Governor Calvo said.
“Our job is not to blame the Governor. It is not to blame each other. Our job is to do our job,” Sen. McCreadie said, calling for senators to rise above the politics and pass a reasonable budget through compromise. “Can we be a caucus of common sense? We are a body of one.”
