PHOENIX – Arizona Treasurer Dean Martin says the state is back in the red and again is being forced to rely on short-term borrowing to pay its bills.
Martin told legislators that the state’s worsening cash-flow situation put its operating accounts $34.7 million in the red as of Wednesday.
He said the state would need to borrow to make a $330 million payment due to K-12 schools on Friday. Legislators are considering a proposal to postpone that payment into the next fiscal year.
Arizona was in the black for several weeks after the state resorted to short-term borrowing in late April for the first time since the Great Depression.
State officials said April tax collections were lower than expected, worsening a fiscal picture that was already grim.