Arizona Legislative Session Update
Today marks the 51st day of session and the 56th Legislature has had an eventful past month. The single largest issue this month was the Majority caucuses in both chambers pushing through a baseline budget. This version of last year’s budget with some formulaic increases was passed along party lines and didn’t include any of the priorities the Governor had in her budget plan. As a result, the Governor vetoed the bills, which both Republicans and Democrats expected. Since then, both sides have used it as a talking point of Republican’s attitude of steamrolling Democrats, or Democrats unwillingness to work collaboratively and the Governor’s desire to veto all Republican efforts. The validity of those narratives has yet to be tested. This month there was bipartisan interest in passing a temporary bypass to the Aggregate Expenditure Limit and willingness to work across the aisle in most committee meetings creating a diverse, but maybe not representative, agenda for the floors of both houses.
The new Senate Elections Committee, and House Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee have held meetings with presentations widely criticized by Democrats on the supposed fraud and mismanagement of the 2022 mid-term election. Most recently on Thursday February 23rd, a joint meeting of the two committees heard presentation from a litany of presenters on their evidence of fraud. One of the final speakers, invited by Rep. Liz Harris, provided testimony to the joint committee alleging widescale fraud and corruption of nearly every elected official in the state. In an attempt to distance themselves from the speaker after the fact, Sen. Wendy Rogers issued a press release indicating that there was no actual investigation into the claims, and Speaker of the House Ben Toma called the presentation “disgraceful fringe theater”.
Elections weren’t the only issue that caused dissonance. The Senate committee on Director Nominations also met this month to review Gov. Hobbs’ appointments to certain State Agencies. While they have issued support of Dept. of Transportation Director Jill Toth, Chair of the committee Sen. Jake Hoffman came well prepared to vivisect Dept. of Health Services appointee Dr. Theresa Cullen. The first meeting being so contentious that Gov. Hobbs attempted to withdraw the nomination prior to the Senate voting to reject the appointment. A similar withdrawal occurred for Dept. of Child Security appointee Matthew Stewart.
As bills crossover into the other chamber and move up to the ninth floor, we will have to see if this pattern of partisan friction continues or if the necessity of bipartisan support will force dialogue. We look forward to watching the developments and seeing how our lawmakers approach the challenges in front of them.
Arizona Legislative Session Update
Today marks the 51st day of session and the 56th Legislature has had an eventful past month. The single largest issue this month was the Majority caucuses in both chambers pushing through a baseline budget. This version of last year’s budget with some formulaic increases was passed along party lines and didn’t include any of the priorities the Governor had in her budget plan. As a result, the Governor vetoed the bills, which both Republicans and Democrats expected. Since then, both sides have used it as a talking point of Republican’s attitude of steamrolling Democrats, or Democrats unwillingness to work collaboratively and the Governor’s desire to veto all Republican efforts. The validity of those narratives has yet to be tested. This month there was bipartisan interest in passing a temporary bypass to the Aggregate Expenditure Limit and willingness to work across the aisle in most committee meetings creating a diverse, but maybe not representative, agenda for the floors of both houses.
The new Senate Elections Committee, and House Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee have held meetings with presentations widely criticized by Democrats on the supposed fraud and mismanagement of the 2022 mid-term election. Most recently on Thursday February 23rd, a joint meeting of the two committees heard presentation from a litany of presenters on their evidence of fraud. One of the final speakers, invited by Rep. Liz Harris, provided testimony to the joint committee alleging widescale fraud and corruption of nearly every elected official in the state. In an attempt to distance themselves from the speaker after the fact, Sen. Wendy Rogers issued a press release indicating that there was no actual investigation into the claims, and Speaker of the House Ben Toma called the presentation “disgraceful fringe theater”.
Elections weren’t the only issue that caused dissonance. The Senate committee on Director Nominations also met this month to review Gov. Hobbs’ appointments to certain State Agencies. While they have issued support of Dept. of Transportation Director Jill Toth, Chair of the committee Sen. Jake Hoffman came well prepared to vivisect Dept. of Health Services appointee Dr. Theresa Cullen. The first meeting being so contentious that Gov. Hobbs attempted to withdraw the nomination prior to the Senate voting to reject the appointment. A similar withdrawal occurred for Dept. of Child Security appointee Matthew Stewart.
As bills crossover into the other chamber and move up to the ninth floor, we will have to see if this pattern of partisan friction continues or if the necessity of bipartisan support will force dialogue. We look forward to watching the developments and seeing how our lawmakers approach the challenges in front of them.