The Arizona Technology Council today released results of an Arizona survey assessing the public opinion of a range of Arizona public policy issues.
The new survey suggests that Arizonans are split on the question of whether the state is going in the right direction (45 percent) or has seriously gotten off on the wrong track (40 percent). The majority of Arizonans (47 percent) describe the state economy these days as good, while 38 percent describe it as not so good and 12 percent describe it as poor.
Findings indicated that Arizonans feel illegal immigration should be the top priority for the Governor and the state legislature, followed by education, jobs and the economy; taxes; spending and the state budget; and health care and prescription drugs.
Thinking specifically about Arizona's state budget, 86 percent of Arizonans are concerned that the state is facing a budget shortfall of three billion dollars over the next two years, while 14 percent are not. Arizonans appeared to be roughly split on whether they agree (48 percent) that it is going to take tough choices, including spending cuts to important programs such as law enforcement, health care and education or disagree (49 percent). When considering if the state legislature should be given more control over a larger portion of the budget in times of major budget shortfall, 49 percent are in favor while 42 percent are opposed.
As a means to address the budget shortfall, a clear majority of Arizonans (75 percent) are opposed to the state legislature considering an increase in property taxes. Sixty-three percent opposed significantly increasing the fees for registering automobiles, renewing driver's licenses and other types of user fees while 60 percent opposed increasing the state income tax.
If the Governor and state legislature agree to reduce the budget shortfall through spending cuts, 36 percent selected welfare as the state program that should receive reduced funding, followed by transportation (24 percent), state colleges and universities (23 percent), Department of Corrections (17 percent) and school construction (16 percent). Support for an increase in the state sales tax was mixed as 54 percent opposed and 45 percent were in favor of the proposal.
The poll also found that Arizonans overwhelmingly think the best way to pay for the construction of new schools is as they are built (74 percent) while 18 percent agree that borrowing the money is the best strategy.
"As the largest technology association in Arizona serving all tech sectors across the state, Arizona Technology Council feels it is important to provide its membership with valuable tools such as the results of this survey for keeping a pulse on public opinions regarding important state policy matters," said Steven Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council. "We will continue to execute our mission of leading on the issues that are relevant to technology growth to address the long-term health of Arizona's economy in a meaningful and significant way.
The Arizona state survey was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies based on telephone interviews with 500 adults on March 11-12, 2008. The results are subject to a margin of sampling error of approximately plus or minus 4.4 percent. The survey was conducted on behalf of the Arizona Technology Council. The complete results of the survey can be found at: http://www.aztechcouncil.org/images/default/Arizona%20Policy%20Survey% 20IS.pdf. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)
About the Arizona Technology Council
Since its inception in 2002, the Arizona Technology Council has stood as the largest association of technology companies in Arizona, whose shared vision is for the state to be recognized as a top-tier center for technology-based businesses. The Council works to carry out this vision by driving partnerships, policies and programs that advance the business climate for Arizona's technology community. By representing, supporting and advocating for member companies through initiatives, advocacy, networking and effective communications, the Arizona Technology Council has had tremendous success in moving Arizona towards becoming a top-tier technology state. The Arizona Technology Council represents 35,000-plus employees at more than 450 of the leading technology companies across Arizona. Represented industries include advanced manufacturing, aerospace, biotechnology, e-learning, environmental technology, software, Internet applications, semiconductors and telecommunications. To become a member or to learn more about the Arizona Technology Council, please visit http://www.aztechcouncil.org