The Legislature will vote this week on a budget plan more in tune with the governor's proposal, according to a spokesman in the House of Representatives.
Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed the Legislature's first 2006 budget proposal March 21. In her veto statement, the governor said the budget did not adequately fund education.
Barrett Marson, director of communications for the House, said the Legislature has drafted the new budget to include items the governor requested.
"The Legislature has made a significant attempt to meet the governor's needs and still retain fiscal discipline," Marson said.
As for higher education, the governor requested $358.1 million for ASU and the new legislative budget will give ASU more than $550 million.
Scott Smith, spokesman for ASU, said both budgets give the University more than it has received in recent years, but the governor's plan would actually allocate a little more.
"Our funding increase [from the Legislature] is slightly lower than governor's proposal," Smith said.
The Legislature recommendation seems higher because it increases enrollment growth funding but does not factor in reductions to retirement benefits and travel costs for ASU, he added.
Despite these differences, ASU feels it is being treated equally with the other agencies in Arizona, Smith said.
One item that was not changed between the Legislature's proposals was a footnote affecting all college newspapers.
The line item would prevent any state funding to be used toward student newspapers.
Rep. Laura Knaperek, R-Tempe, voted for the new budget and said the cuts only prevented those papers from receiving money from the general fund.
Universities could still use money collected from tuition and other fees for student papers, Knaperek added.
She said this is not a message to censor student voices.
Another notable difference to the recommendation is the addition of all-day kindergarten, which was originally left out.
"It's clearly [Napolitano's] top priority," Marson said.
They wanted to ensure the program was voluntary so those parents who didn't want to participate could still apply for a meaningful half-day, he added.
Reach the reporter at michael.famiglietti@asu.edu.
