In her State of the State address Monday, Gov. Jan Brewer said Arizona would remain a place of opportunity and growth as it ends its first 100 years.
Brewer briefly glossed over much of her fiscal policy for the year ahead, but focused on the state’s efforts to commemorate Arizona’s Centennial and her hopes for the future.
She began her speech to members of the Arizona State Senate and House of Representatives by remembering the six people killed in Tucson last January.
Brewer also addressed what became a running theme in the speech: her disappointment with the federal government.
“As you may know, I take a back seat to no one in challenging Washington D.C.,” Brewer said.
She said Arizona does not support President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, open borders or any form of government expansion, but there are times when the federal and state government can work together.
She pointed to the construction of Interstate 11, a highway directly connecting Phoenix and Las Vegas, as an opportunity for federal and state governments to work together.
Currently, the quickest route from Phoenix to Las Vegas is U.S. Highway 93, which begins about 50 miles outside of Phoenix in Wickenburg.
Brewer said Arizona was a “sinking ship,” and that she managed to turn it around and balance the state’s budget while in office.
Brewer said Arizona job growth has improved to become seventh best in the nation, according to the latest results from the U.S. Census Bureau.
In May 2010, Arizona voters approved a one-cent sales tax increase to help fund education and health care. The tax is set to expire in 2013, and Brewer said she does not intend to extend it.
She urged the Arizona legislature to send her a bill by Feb. 14 to buy back the state Capitol complex, which it sold in 2010 and has been leasing during the state’s budget crisis.
“Arizona’s gleam is back and its future is better than ever,” Brewer said. “We are the architects of our second century.”
Reach the reporter at julia.shumway@asu.edu or follow @JMShumway on Twitter.
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