A block of five Republican senators joined forces with Senate Democrats on May 16 to wrest control of the chamber from Sen. President Andy Biggs and provide momentum to Gov. Brewer’s proposal to expand Medicaid in Arizona.

Senators are prepped for a lengthy floor debate on the GOP-led budget plan and a wildly anticipated fight to add Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion proposal to the mix against the objection of most Senate Republicans.

Ten budget bills cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee, many by 6-3 party line votes, and the Rules Committee on Wednesday afternoon. That paves the way for lawmakers to take a final round of votes on the $8.89 billion spending plan Thursday.

Gov. Jan Brewer said the budget introduced today by Senate President Andy Biggs is fairly close to her own and that she has few problems with the proposal, except for one major exception – it doesn’t include the expansion of Arizona’s Medicaid program.

Unable or unwilling to take on Medicaid expansion at the Capitol, House speaker Andy Tobin wants to ask voters in the state whether they want to expand Medicaid coverage. He is working on a resolution to send the question to the ballot in a special election this year.

Senate President Andy Biggs stepped forward Tuesday with a budget proposal similar to the one offered by Gov. Jan Brewer in January, but it defiantly does not include her Medicaid expansion plan.

The current Arizona Supreme Court has the potential to become the longest sitting court since the state stopped electing justices.

The crop of justices averages 56 years old. The earliest any of them reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 will be 2021.

Gov. Jan Brewer is determined to expand Arizona’s Medicaid plan, Senate President Andy Biggs has vowed to prevent it, and House Speaker Andy Tobin is somewhere in the middle.

Conservative lawmakers rallied against Medicaid expansion at a press conference on the Capitol lawn last month. But some expansion opponents warned that publicly staking out their position and standing up against Gov. Jan Brewer can come with political repercussions.

More than a dozen bills have been reconsidered on the floors of the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives after their earlier demise, and while most have passed when given a second thought, a few have stalled or met another death by vote.

Officials in Phoenix and Tucson say it’s no longer viable to organize gun buyback programs now that a state law will require the guns to be sold back into circulation, not destroyed.