AZ Legislative Update 04-14-2023
It’s the 96th day of the 2023 legislative session, and the House and Senate have hit “pause” on their work after a very unusual week at the Capitol.
For just the fifth time in Arizona history, the House of Representatives voted to expel one of its members. The decision, which required a bipartisan two-thirds supermajority, came after the House Ethics Committee determined that Representative Liz Harris (R-Chandler) violated House rules when hosting a controversial legislative hearing on election claims.
The narrow Republican majority means that an empty legislative seat dramatically impacts the House’s ability to do its work – Republicans do not have the 31 votes required to pass controversial bills and would have a harder time defeating Democrats’ efforts to force votes on their policy priorities. Instead of navigating with a vacant Republican seat, House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Glendale) announced a 12-day suspension of the session, adjourning the House until April 25.
The Senate did the same, which created an opportunity for Senator Raquel Terán (D-Phoenix) to announce her resignation from the legislature so she can focus on her Congressional race.
The lengthy suspension of the session means the legislature will not even be at work when it marks the 100th day of the session next week – the point when House and Senate rules say the session should wrap up. Though the Governor and Republican leaders all seem optimistic about their closed-door budget negotiations that will continue during the legislature’s break, there are no details available and it’s unclear when this session could end.
What’s Next?
The House and Senate vacancies start the process of naming replacements for Representative Harris and Senator Terán. That process unfolds in several steps:
· The Secretary of State will notify the appropriate political party of the vacancy.
· Precinct committeemen will name three candidates to serve for the remainder of this legislative term.
· The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will choose one of those candidates to fill each seat.
State statute requires the seat to be filled by someone of the same political party as the person who vacated it, so the new state representative will be a Republican and the new state senator will be a Democrat.
Priority Bills
After months of disagreement, the Senate spent hours debating how long to continue the work of the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. The issue has been a top priority for organizations that advocate for people with disabilities and want the legislature to extend the life of the ASDB in state statute for at least eight years. Several Senate Republicans held up consideration of that extension, seeking to continue the ASDB for just four years.
Senate Democrats objected to the effort to limit the life of the ASDB, as well as short notice for the debate. Some Senate Republicans joined with Democrats to urge the House to force more discussion on the issue and push for a longer continuation of the ASDB.
Despite the concerns, all but one senator voted for the four-year continuation because they believe it is better than creating even more uncertainty around the status of the agency by voting against the four-year extension.
HB 2456 (ASDB; continuation) goes back to the House, where the bill’s sponsor, Representative Beverly Pingerelli (R-Peoria) will decide whether to accept the Senate’s changes or fight for a longer extension of the ASDB.
Governor Enacts, Vetoes More Bills
As she celebrated her 100th day in office this week, Governor Hobbs continued to add to her veto total. She’s vetoed a total of 48 bills.
The Governor signed more bills, as well: There are a total of 53 new laws so far this year..
In the News
The Arizona Department of Education extended the deadline for school safety grant applications – and wants schools to focus on armed officers. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne wants to block a federal policy on transgender student athletes.
On the Bright Side…
It’s all fairs and love for these two Arizonans.