By The Associated Press
Budget talks between Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Republican legislative leaders have broken down, and Brewer says she will veto any other bills that reach her desk before a budget deal is made.
Brewer spokesman Matt Benson said the breakdown occurred during a meeting Tuesday when legislative leaders told the Republican governor that lawmakers are going to revert to a legislative budget plan.
Benson said that throws away weeks of negotiations on various budget issues.
Two weeks ago, legislative leaders said they were edging toward compromise with the governor by adding $147 million in spending to their plan.
At the time, House Appropriations Committee Chair John Kavanagh told Arizona Public Media that legislators considered going any higher with spending would be "dangerous" given the state's uncertain financial picture.
Brewer is seeking more funding for education, behavioral heath care, health care for the poor and prisons, saying the state can afford it because it is running a surplus. Kavanagh estimated that legislators and the governor were $200 million apart.
Republican legislative leaders have said they want to save as much of the surplus as possible because of the potential for an economic slowdown, what the state will have to begin paying for the federal Affordable Care Act in 2014 and the end of the 1-cent education sales tax, also in 2014.
Legislative leaders discussed the budget and other legislative matters in interviews for the April 6 episode of Arizona Week. Watch it here.
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