House Speaker Kirk Adams said Monday there may not be enough time remaining to put a proposed tax hike on the November ballot.

Adams, a Mesa Republican, said he has been unable to cobble together the necessary votes in his own party to send the question of higher sales taxes to voters. And so far the Democrats who control 27 of the 60 seats have been unwilling to support the plan  at least in this fashion.

The speaker said the ideal time for a special election would be the first Tuesday in November.

But Adams said Arizona is bound by various state and federal laws that govern how a special election can be called. And the deadline for that November vote would be the end of next week.

At this point, though, Adams said any deal remains a way off.

"It is painstakingly detailed work to build a budget,'' he said.

The most visible aspect of that work is the demand by Gov. Jan Brewer that lawmakers give voters the chance to hike the state's 5.6 percent sales tax by a penny for the next three years. Brewer figures the state needs the extra $1 billion a year the additional levy will bring in, at least until the economy recovers.

Adams won't say how many of his 33 Republicans support the plan, other than to say that it falls short of the number needed for approval.

So far, the Democrats have been no help. House Minority Leader David Lujan, DPhoenix, said his members believe an acrosstheboard hike in sales taxes hit those at the bottom of the income scale proportionately harder than higher wage earners.

But Lujan is willing to round up the votes for an alternative: Expand what is subject to sales taxes and lower the rate to a point where the state can get the extra money. Adams said he's listening.

"We have agreed to talk about all of the options available,'' he said. "And that is one of those options.''

That, however, is only one part of the equation. Any deal would also have to address how much deeper the state will cut its budget.

There also is the question of whether the state property tax, suspended for three years in 2006 when the state had a surplus, will come back or be permanently repealed.

In the meantime, the clock is ticking on setting a date for that special election.

"November would be the best time to do it,'' Adams said, particularly as that is when most people expect an election.

"But it's not the only time,'' he continued. Adams said lawmakers remain free to set any date they want for a vote  even into next year  as long as it is at least 96 days in the future.

Adams said, though, the later it gets into the fiscal year which began July 1, the less money that could be raised to balance the budget.

Lawmakers approved a budget for this year, only to have some of the spending cuts and plans to save money or generate cash vetoed by Brewer. That currently leaves the state with a $10.7 spending plan but revenues of only about $7.3 billion.

The talks to adopt a new budget came as Attorney General Terry Goddard said Monday he is laying off 29 people at the end of this month, including 12 attorneys. Goddard said that is on top of 20 jobs that were eliminated in January when lawmakers made midyear budget cuts to state agencies.