Day 4 of special session: House passes all 15 measures 

UPDATE: 10 p.m.

The House has approved all 15 budget bills and resolutions and concluded its work for the week.

The votes on the individual budget bills were:
• H2001 (general approps): 35-24
• H2002 (capital outlay): 35-24
• H2003 (budget procedures): 35-24
• H2004 (regulation): 35-24
• H2005 (general gov’t): 35-24
• H2006 (criminal justice): 33-26
• H2007 (environment): 35-24
• H2008 (K-12): 33-26
• H2009 (higher ed): 35-24
• H2010 (health): 33-26
• H2011 (welfare): 35-24
• H2012 (revenues): 35-24
• H2013 (TPT tax credit repeal): 50-9
• HCR2001 (First Things First repeal): 31-28
• HCR2002 (land conservation fund sweep): 35-24

During the day of debating, amending and voting on the bills, Democrats attacked the budget plan for cutting spending too deeply and in areas that will primarily affect children, the poor and the vulnerable.

Assistant Minority Leader Kyrsten Sinema, a Phoenix Democrat, said the spending cuts were about more than just bridging the deficit in the upcoming year’s budget, saying they were part of a “systematic series of choices…that will dismantle state government.”

“We are failing more spectacularly than we have ever failed before, and I am ashamed,” she said.
Republicans, meanwhile, defended the cuts as a necessary reaction to a historic recession that has come on the heels of rampant growth in spending. House Speaker Kirk Adams chastised Democrats for avoiding difficult decisions and instead using the budget as a launching pad for political attacks.

“I can understand why it’s easier to stand on the sidelines and throw rocks,” he said. “It takes a whole lot more courage (to participate) than to just say no.”

The House adjourned until Monday at 1:30 p.m.

UPDATE: 7:52 P.M.

In almost staccato fashion, the Senate has begun the final vote on the budget measures.

Senators passed seven identical House bills so far.

As expected, senators voted mostly along partisan lines, with Democrats in opposition and Republicans in support.

The speeches were far and few in between.

Senate Minority Leader Jorge Garcia said it is the governor’s budget, and he is sad to say that the Senate has failed to make it better.

Sen. Thayer Verschoor once again spoke against a provision in the contingency budget plan to cut assistance to charter schools by $31 million. But he voted “yes” on the budget bills.

Sen. John Huppenthal, a Republican from Chandler, voted “no” on H2001. He did not explain his opposition.

Meanwhile, Sen. Carolyn Allen, a Scottsdale Republican, is absent.

UPDATE 7:29 P.M.

The Senate is back in session. The chamber has substituted five Senate bills with identical House bills and has begun voting on the measures. It is expected to the same for the rest of the budget measures.

UPDATE 7:26 P.M.

Budget votes in the House so far have been along party lines, except for H2006, which sets the stage for the Department of Juvenile Corrections to be closed in 2011. Votes on the first five budget bills were all 34-25, with Republicans voting yes and Democrats voting no.

However, on the criminal justice budget policy bill, H2006, two Republicans broke ranks and voted with Democrats. Rep. Doug Quelland, a Phoenix Republican, said he hopes the Legislature in the future is able to fix the problems at the agency rather than shifting the burden of rehabilitating juvenile offenders to counties, all of which have said they can’t afford to do so.

The other Republican who voted no was Lucy Mason of Prescott.

UPDATE 7:10 P.M.

The Senate just rang its five-minute bell, which means the Senate will soon third read bills.

UPDATE 6:53 P.M.

The House has approved H2001, the main appropriations bill, along a party-line vote. All 34 Republicans voted for the bill, while the 25-member Democratic caucus voted en masse against the bill, which cuts $1.1 billion of state funding.

“I’m not sure where the state’s going to be after tonight,” said Rep. Chad Campbell, a Phoenix Democrat, who added the spending cuts will “set the state back for decades.”

UPDATE 6:13 P.M.

After consecutive attempts-and failures-by Democrats to get their amendments adopted, the Senate finally wrapped up the Committee of the Whole report.

The Senate is now in recess, awaiting House bills to arrive.

The House bills will substitute the Senate bills, and they will then be voted on and then sent to the governor, according to Burns.

UPDATE 5:53 P.M.

The House has completed its floor debate of the budget package. It is taking a short break to allow amendments that were approved to be incorporated into the bills and will be returning tonight to vote on the bills.

UPDATE 5:01 P.M.

As the House debates the main appropriations bill, Democrats are criticizing the cuts for the impact they will have to education, health care, children, disabled adults and the elderly.

“I think we’re going into the Dark Ages with cuts like this,” said Rep. Nancy Young Wright, a Democrat from Tucson.

But Republicans have defended the cuts, saying the state’s precarious financial situation warrants drastic action and deep cuts to government services.

“This is not something that I…wish that we had to do,” said House Speaker Kirk Adams. “But sometimes we have to be grown-ups and make tough decisions. This is one of those times.”

UPDATE 3:35 P.M.

The Senate has begun debating a the budget package in Committee of the Whole.

The debate is a prelude to passing the measures agreed upon by the governor and Republican legislative leaders

UPDATE 3:12 P.M.

The House has finished debating eight of the 15 budget measures on the floor, with all approved by a voice vote. Among the bills considered were policy changes to education, health care, welfare. Additionally, two measures would ask voters to undo programs and funding they have previously approved. One would shift $123 million from a fund dedicated to preserving open spaces and another would repeal the First Things First program and direct all of its money to the general fund.

“There’s ‘nice to have’ and there’s ‘need to have.’ We’re trying to shift money to the ‘need to have,’” said Kavanagh.

UPDATE 2:25 P.M.

The window to make changes to the budget deal reached between Republican leaders and Gov. Jan Brewer has already closed, according to Senate President Bob Burns.

“The budget deal is closed at this point so we got to move with what we have and then, you know, we’ll have to deal with other things later,” Burns told the Arizona Capitol Times.

The Senate is expected to debate and vote on the 15 budget measures in a few hours.

Burns will lead the charge to vote down any amendment that is not agreed on by the House, Senate and Governor’s Office

UPDATE 2:15 P.M.

Several conservative Republicans are threatening to withhold their votes on the budget plan, which cuts $1.1 billion from state spending in the upcoming fiscal year, because of a $31 million cut to charter schools that would take place if a sales tax increase fails at the ballot in May.

Rep. Andy Biggs said cuts, which come on top of about $38 million already proposed in the budget, had the potential to force up to 20 percent of the privately run schools to close. He said he would like to see the contingency cuts dropped to about $15 million.

UPDATE 2:05 P.M.

Debate of cuts to AHCCCS are underway on the House floor. Democrats are bemoaning cuts to health care funding, including eliminating the KidsCare program that provides insurance to 47,000 children.

“In my view, this is short-sighted, unethical, penny-wise and pound foolish to pass this budget,” said Rep. Daniel Patterson, a Tucson Democrat.

Likewise, Phoenix Democrat Chad Campbell said an ASU study has shown that the $385 million in cuts to AHCCCS will eliminate 42,000 jobs next year. He called H2010 “a huge step backwards” in improving the state’s economy.

But John Kavanagh, a Fountain Hills Republican and chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, said the cuts are necessary because the state’s financial situation is so grim.

“Under the circumstances, this is the best that we can do,” he said. “Make no mistake: This is drastic action, but this is unavoidable action.”

UPDATE 1:03 P.M.

After a two-hour delay, Senate Republicans finally held their caucus on the budget.

The meeting went fast because there wasn’t much discussion on the bills. Some Republicans expectedly raised concerns against eliminating $31 million in assistance to charter schools in the contingency budget. But Senate President Bob Burns told reporters no changes have been made to the budget’s provisions on education.

The Senate is expected to finish action on the budget this afternoon.

UPDATE: 12:35 P.M.

Sen. Thayer Verschoor, a Republican from Gilbert, is objecting to the elimination of $31 million for charter schools in the Plan B budget, or the contingency budget if the sales tax referral fails.

He is OK with the $10 million in cuts to charter schools that is reflected in the Plan A or regular budget, but he said he won’t support the $31 million reduction in the contingency plan, because he said charter schools cannot absorb a cut that big.

Also, Verschoor has raised concerns about the fee-raising authority that would be given to several agencies. He has opposed provisions in previous budget bills that granted similar fee-raising authority.

UPDATE 11:40 P.M.

The House convened its special session this morning at 11:21, then immediately recessed so it could vote on bills in regular session. House Speaker Kirk Adams said the special session would resume later today, at which time lawmakers would debate the 15 budget bills in committee of the whole. A final vote on the budget package is expected today, as well.

There were 49 legislators present, 9 absent and 1 excused.

UPDATE 11:15 A.M.

The Senate gaveled to order shortly after 9 a.m. on March 11, the fourth day of special session.

The Senate then went into recess to allow the Rules Committee to approve the budget measures.
The Senate Republicans were supposed to go into caucus soon after, but nearly an hour after Rules adjourned, the majority has yet to meet.

“I guess we’re not ready yet,” was the only explanation that Senate Majority Whip Steve Pierce gave.