The Independence Party governor, in the first budget that truly reflects his priorities, showed him as the fiscal conservative that he has long claimed to be. He called for just a 5.4 percent increase in state spending over the next two years. That compares with a 13 percent boost in spending during his first two years in office, when the new governor largely adopted the budget his administration inherited. The governor's budget lays the groundwork for that debate.
Lawmakers work off that document, usually making minor adjustments instead of major changes.
A governor typically gets at least three-fourths of the changes he proposes. Double-digit property tax cuts for all classes of property. The state would eliminate most local school property taxes by taking over the full cost of basic K-12 public education. A half-percentage point decrease in all income tax brackets, phased in over two years. Extending sales taxes to many services, an increase partially offset by reducing the sales tax rate from 6.5 percent to 6 percent.