The 56^th Legislature 2^nd regular session has reached its “halfway” point as bills must now be heard outside of their chamber of origin. While the legislature is designed to have a 100-day session, they can and often do extend this deadline until May or June to finish their efforts. This year the biggest issue they are trying to address is a looming budget shortfall of between $700 million and $1.7 billion over the next two years. Other big issues like healthcare and border security are also being addressed but all of which are being done with an eye on the cost.

As a change from last year, the Legislative Majority is working to prevent many of their efforts from being vetoed by Governor Hobbs. While both chambers have stated they do not intend to continue sending up contentious bills which will receive a veto. One way some are avoiding this is by running their efforts as ballot measures instead of legislative proposals, skirting around the Governor’s approval and instead leaving it to the voters. We’re looking at a lengthy November ballot should this strategy succeed.