Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 8

All pniriMii MLL LU1 1 IliiMri AQ THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1987 0 GOP hails talk; Democrats assail lack of specifics Kunasek said the effectiveness of the office, which licenses contractors and administers a fund from which consumers can recover money lost through botched work, has been debated by legislators for about five years. "The sun will continue to rise without a registrar of contractors just as it does now with a registrar of contractors," he said. Stephens called it another assault on consumer protection. He cited the unceremonial replacement last week of Susan Williams with Ted Humes as director of the Residential Utilities Consumer Office as the first assault. "Maybe people best be advised Sean BradyRepublic leaders from both parties said speech was short on specifics.

Senators and representatives occupy seats on the floor of the House while families and friends crowd the balcony during Gov. Evan Legislative Mecham's State of the State address. Mecham's What Mecham is pressing for during his term Repealing the "temporary" 1-cent sales tax, but he gave no timetable. School districts to cut their budgets. Increased development in rural areas.

A statewide drug-eradication program. Merging the Office of Tourism into the Commerce Depart-, ment, with branch offices in Washington, D.C, Asia and Europe. A new Weights and Measures Department. Elimination of the registrar of contractors. Adding long-term care to the state's health-care plan for the poor and pushing to make the program permanent.

A state law allowing communities to set standards against pornography. More church and other private institutions of higher learning to come to Arizona. All executive agencies to coordinate proposed legislaton through his office. The state to "work toward building a community that is truly self-sufficient in meeting its power and heating needs using solar energy." 1 holiday honoring King, the slain civil-rights leader. His call for the Legislature to put the item on the November 1988 ballot, which came at the end of the speech, brought applause from the gallery, but little from lawmakers.

He was interrupted by applause from legislators twice, when he promised to repeal the sales-tax increase and when he asked lawmakers to give cities the right to ban pornography. By STEVE YOZWIAK and DEBORAH SHANAHAN Th Arizona ftopubRc Legislative reaction to Gov. Evan Mecham's State of the State address split along party lines Monday, with Republicans calling it "upbeat" and Democrats decrying the "voodoo economics" of promising to improve state programs while cutting spending. Lawmakers in both parties expressed surprise that Mecham did not reveal specific plans, something he said during last week's inauguration that he was saving for his legislative address. "There's not a lot of flesh on them there bones," said House Minority Leader Art Hamilton, D-Phoenix.

House Speaker Joe Lane, a Willcox Republican, said that with the number of pressing issues facing the state, "I would hope that he would join us in getting very specific very fast" Senate Republicans also noticed the lack of specifics, but viewed it as a positive sign that Mecham would like to iron out details with the Legislature. "It was an upbeat message, and it's certainly not negative if he wants to work with the Legislature," said Senate Majority Leader Bob Usdane, R-Scottsdale. Senate President Carl Kunasek, R-Mesa, agreed. 'It's not a problem," Kunasek said. "In fact, the lack of detail gives (legislators) more leeway.

We're used to working out details." Lawmakers observed that Mecham's speech demonstrated continued commitment to several campaign promises, such as cutting spending and phasing out a "temporary" 1-cent sales tax that was made permanent in 1984. Those plans appealed to House Majority Leader Jim Ratliff, R-Sun City, and Sen. Jeff Hill, R-Tucson. "I think this means we're finally going to have to live within our imeans," said Hill, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. However, Hamilton and Senate Minority Leader Alan Stephens, D-Phoenix, questioned whether Mecham would be able to cut taxes, trim spending and provide more efficient services based on tax revenues produced by new growth.

"It sounds like what (Vice President) George Bush called voodoo economics, and despite what Bush might say today, we all now know he was right," Hamilton said. "That's why we've had a tripling of the national debt. "I don't know how in the same breath he can say it would be good to cut your children's education and get more tourism from Pango Pango," he said. Hamilton was referring to Mecham's plans to cut education along with the rest of the budget while establishing offices of commerce in Washington, D.C, Asia and Europe. Stephens said, "Maybe being in the bottom 20 percent (in per-stu-dent spending) isn't enough for him, and we need to be in the bottom 10 percent." Another proposal, to eliminate the registrar of contractors office, took lawmakers by surprise.

Commission will open the festivities at 7:30 a.m. Friday with a testimonial breakfast at the Phoenix Hilton. Mayor Terry Goddard, who has said the holiday "affords us the opportunity to reflect on the importance of the work of Dr. King," will make opening remarks at the invitation-only breakfast. An interdenominational candlelight service sponsored by the Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee will be held Sunday at p.m. at the Civic Plaza and Symphony Hall. More than 5,000 people from around the state are expected to participate in a commemorative march next Monday, said Gene Blue, celebration committee chairman. March participants are asked to assemble next Monday at 7:30 a.m.

at the Civic Plaza for the two-mile march to the Wesley Bolin Plaza, 1700 W.Washington St. After speeches by former Gov. Bruce Babbitt and others, Tucson City Councilman Charles Ford and others are expected to present petitions to Mecham and House Majority Leader Joe Lane, asking that the state holiday be retained. Blue said Monday that he does 'not know how many signatures are on the petitions but said that he believes there could be as rnany as ral address Jan. 5, said that he would institute a voluntary drug-testing program for state employees in the spring and that he hopes it will spread to the private sector.

Mecham also said Monday that he hopes to eliminate unneeded state agencies and that the Weights and Measures Division of the Be-' partment of Administration should be broken out into a separate department with greater enforcement power. But he also said he wants to eliminate the registrar of contractors office, although he gave no specifics on why. John K. Mangum, a lobbyist for the Contractor Information Council of Arizona, a group representing 23 contractors associations, said he did not know why Mecham had made the proposal or whether the state office would be eliminated alto-' gether. "I guess we'll have to see what the legislation looks like," he said.

The registrar of contractors licenses contractors and handles complaints. Repeating ideas that he already has revealed, Mecham promised greater control of the executive branch by having all requests for legislation from state agencies go through his office. He also said he plans to merge the Department of Commerce and Arizona Office of Tourism, and that the new agency could pursue foreign investment by opening offices in Europe, Asia and Washington, D.C. The governor also said he wants the state's Solar Energy Commission to begin working on demonstration projects and prepare to "work toward building a community that is truly self-sufficient in meeting its power and heating needs using solar energy." Mecham's speech was generally well-received by legislators, even when he announced that he had signed an executive order earlier in the day that rescinded the state Mecham has said that he harbors no ill feeling toward King but that the holiday had to be canceled because he could be sued for the estimated $2.5 million to $3 million it would cost to give workers the day off. Other state officials have said the holiday would cost the state only $300,000 in overtime pay for essential state workers and a day of lost productivity.

Mecham also has said he does not believe King should rate on the same level as George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. Tucson City Councilman Chuck Ford, an organizer of a petition drive to reinstate the holiday, saia he plans to present signatures to lawmakers and to Mecham's office next Monday. Ford said Mecham's move came at a particularly bad time because of racial unrest that is surfacing elsewhere. "During these times when we seem to be slipping into racial unrest I think our leaders have to take a more pro-active position so our people can rally around a positive point on race relations," he said. "We certainly doji't need any more division in the ranks." Julian Sanders, who began a drive less than two weeks ago against the holiday, said he is pleased.

"I just was so confident that I haven't even bothered to ask anybody when it was going to happen," said Sanders, whose group is called Arizonans for Traditional American Values. "I just knew that he was going to keep his commitment." -SAM STANTON Mecham Continued from A 1 legislators more input on the direc- tion of the state. "It was specific in some areas," Usdane said. "It may be that he hasn't had enough people and enough time." Monday marked the first time in 12 years that a Republican governor, has addressed the GOP-controlled Legislature. After Mecham's 20-minute address, he was escorted out of the House chamber by Republican legislators and left without answering reporters' questions.

Apart from his announcement that education spending could be cut, the governor gave few other specifics on the budget and the state's fiscal problems. He reDeated his oft-stated view I that spending is out of control in Arizona and needs to be reduced, and he took a gentle swipe at i former Gov. Bruce Babbitt, a Dem-1 ocrat who took office in 1978 and left Jan. 5. I.

"In the last decflde, state ing has vastly outstretched the growth in Arizona," Mecham said, "and the result has been a steady increase in the tax burden on our citizens and our businesses. "In 1977, general-fund expendi- tures for the state totaled $798 million, and the population was 2.4 million." The budget proposed by Babbitt for 1987-88 was $2.7 billion, and the state population is now 3.4 million, Mecham said. I "State government spending has 1 more than tripled, while our popu-! lation has grown by only 42 percent," he said. "The rapid growth in state spending has resulted in increased taxes and, thus, earned us the embarrassing distinction of being the state with the most rapid increase in state tax collections in Holiday Continued from A 1 last resort the people make i that decision." Senate Minority Leader Alan Stephens, a Phoenix Democrat who sported a lapel button with a photograph of King and the words, i "We share the dream," called I Mecham's action "an easy way out." "I don't know if it's an act of i courage on his part to ask us to do that," Stephens said. "It'll fan the i flames of division in this state." Hamilton, who sat quietly through Mecham's speech and i twirled a pen between his fingers as the governor announced the cancel-.

lation, said legislators are paid to make such decisions, i "We have shown a particular 'penchant for, and a substantial inability to, handle tough issues," said Hamilton, who has introduced a King holiday bill for the past four nyears. "I think the folks are getting bit tired of that." Mecham's move makes Arizona jone of 12 states without a King holiday and the first to rescind one. Mecham's vow to cancel the "holiday has been covered by much jof the national media and garnered -him an invitation to appear on the -MacNeil-Lehrer television news tehow next Monday. The furor has generated prayer a "Recall Mecham" move-ment and has sparked at least two 'petition drives, one favoring such a jnemorialand one opposing it. It alsoiias generated cjiarges that recent years." Mecham is expected to present his plan today to legislators on how he hopes to cut $160 million from the $2.5 billion 1986-87 budget.

He has said that the trims should be in all areas to "solve the revenue shortfall as easily and painlessly as possible." Of the plans Mecham outlined in his speech, two that promise to draw much flak are his plans to repeal a "temporary" 1-cent sales tax enacted in 1983 and made permanent in 1984 and his belief that education may have to take funding cuts. "In light of our present budgetary restrictions, schools may be asked to share a part of the reduction in anticipated revenues," the governor said. "I do not advocate any change in the assistance formula at this time. By the same token, I will not advocate increasing state taxes for education." Mecham said revenue increases from natural growth in the state "will provide the money for excellence in education," and that an aggressive move to develop state-owned lands that benefit the state Education Endowment Fund also will help. Mecham did not indicate when' the sales tax should be repealed, but his press aide, Ron Bellus, said later that it would not be cut until after fiscal 1987-88.

Legislators said they see little hope of balancing the( budget without the $250 million to; $280 million the sales tax provides annually. He also repeated an earlier promise to add long-term health care to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and to' make it a permanent program. Mecham had said during the campaign that he had questions about AHCCCS. Since his Nov. 4 election, he has been a supporter of the program.

He also reiterated his plans to announce an anti-drug program by the spring. Mecham, in his inaugu-' Mecham has a racist mentality, something Mecham and his aides have denied. Mecham has held to his contention that Babbitt had no legal right to declare the holiday. Babbitt acted after the Legislature killed a King-holiday bill by one vote. "I did not choose to make this any part of a political issue or an issue in my administration," Mecham said.

"My part has been simply to respond to the actions of others. "The law clearly states that only the Legislature has that authority for such an act and that authority cannot be usurped by executive order." Mecham declined to comment after his speech, but his press secretary brushed off criticism that the governor had ducked the issue by throwing it to the Legislature. "The easy way out was to just leave it alone, let the courts handle it," Ron Bellus said. "This governor does not do things because of political expediency. Political expediency was performed by Gov.

Babbitt." Babbitt ordered the holiday last year and announced it at a Sunday service in a predominantly black church. He was criticized at the time for making the move to further his presidential ambitions. Mecham's proposal that legislators vote on putting the issue on the, November 1988 ballot is similar to a resolution introduced by Rep. Jim Green, a Tucson Republican. Green's proposal would make the third Sunday in January a state holiday, if voters approved.

i Michael Gingfiepublic Democratic Rep. Polly Rosen-baum says the Legislature is "going to have to do some disagreeable things." The 87-year-old from Globe is serving a record 37th year in the House. it's consumer beware in Arizona," Stephens said. Rep. Polly Rosenbaum, D-Globe, now serving a record 37th year in the House, said she was surprised that the Republican governor's speech was interrupted by applause only three times.

Two of those bursts of applause were initiated from the House gallery with few lawmakers joining in. "Nobody's going to clap about how we're going to tighten up our belt," said the 87-year-old, who is serving under her 10th governor. "We're going to have to do some disagreeable things." The Republican-controlled Legislature applauded Babbitt, a Democrat, only once during last year's opening session. Emphasizing that the governor and legislators can "disagree without being disagreeable," Mecham visited with Republicans in both chambers before the speech. Mecham told senators that there had been some "miscues," but that his staff is organized now and he is i hoping for open communication (lines between the Legislature and his office.

In response to questions, Mecham said his plans to funnel agencies' dealings with the Legislature through his office is not intended to interfere with lawmakers' serving their constituents. "You handle it however you want," he said. "We'll be there to assist." 10,000 to 12,000. After the petitions are presented, a wreath will be laid on the King memorial in the Wesley Bolin Plaza. The state Capitol also is the site through Jan.

22 of a display of black artists' work. Climaxing the festivities will be a festival at the Civic Plaza next Monday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. International villages made of giant pyramids, an arch, a tepee and a geodesic dome will rise out of the Civic Plaza deck. Inside, festival-goers can view Japanese, African, and American Indian crafts, and see videotapes celebrating accomplishments of black inventors.

"The festival has a multicultural theme because King was not just concerned with the rights of black Americans, but of all Americans," said Fatimah Halim, one of the event's coordinators. Other event co-sponsors include the Consortium of Black Organizations for the Arts, the Arizona Council of Black Engineers and Scientists and the National Native American Coop. Arizona State University will conclude the celebration with a $25-a-plate dinner next Monday at 7:45 p.m. at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, 60 E. Fifth in, Tempe.

Keynote speaker will be U.S. Rep. William GrayD-Pa. i Festivities will be held statewide despite canceling of King holiday Gov. Evan Mecham canceled state observance of Martin Luther King Jr.

Day on Monday, but the holiday will not be ignored in the state. Festivities in honor of the slain civil-rights leader on King Day will include Phoenix co-sponsored events such as a candelight service, commemorative march and an all-day festival where participants can have their hair "corn-rowed" twisted into tiny braids, a traditional black hairstyle and sample international dishes. Although Mecham made good on a campaign vow to rescind the holiday for state workers, Phoenix, Tucson, South Tucson, St. Johns, Glendale, Willcox and Flagstaff are among the Arizona cities that will give their employees the day off, according to officials in those cities and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Thirty-eight states officially mark' the day, but only 11 give employees the day off with pay.

The first federal observance, a paid holiday for federal workers, was held in 1986. This year's holiday is scheduled for next Monday, Jan. 19, although King actually was born Jan. 15, 1929. This year's events mark the second year Phoenix has co-sponsored celebration of the King holiday.

The Phoenix Human Relations.