The majority’s mantra for this year’s legislative session was “16 and 31” — the number of Republican votes needed to pass the GOP agenda in the Senate and House, respectively.

In the end, only 20 of 319 Republican measures passed by the bare minimums — 19 of them in the Senate — but a dozen bills crucial to the legislative agenda that the majority announced in January needed Democratic support to pass.

In the last night of the session May 12, for example, the Senate approved changes to the AIMS test (S1038) on a 16-8 vote, with the help of six Democrats. In a news release the next day, Republicans took credit for the bill under what they called the “majority program pledge” to “promote policies to improve education for Arizona’s families.”

“It obviously was a high-profile bill because of the controversy that occurred, but it wasn’t in our original majority platform,” said Senate Whip Jay Tibshraeny, R-21. “That bill would not have passed without bipartisan help and participation.”

Assistant Democratic Leader Sen. Harry Mitchell, D-17, said that whenever Senate President Ken Bennett, R-1, talked about having 16 votes on a bill, he assumed he meant 16 Republicans.

“Our members were open minded,” Mr. Mitchell said. “We never took caucus positions against those who didn’t go along” with the minority’s positions. “We didn’t put any pressure on them.”

In its list of accomplishments for the past session, Republican leadership said it “championed the first major tax relief for Arizona residents and businesses in five years…”

On a bill providing an income tax credit for qualified investments in small business (S1335), six Senate Democrats joined 10 Republicans to approve the measure 16-10. On two corporate tax credit measures, H2379 and H2782 (which were vetoed), Republican Sens. Carolyn Allen and Toni Hellon, both voted no, leaving the minimum 16 GOP votes for passage.

The corporate sales factor bill, H2139, passed the Senate 16-10, with Republican Sens. Karen Johnson and Thayer Verschoor voting against it.

Illegal immigration issues were included in the majority program, and two bills, H2030, which restricts educational and other benefits for illegal immigrants, and H2592, which prohibits local governments from building and maintaining work centers that facilitate the hiring of illegal immigrants, each passed 16-12, with Ms. Hellon voting no on both.

On four other bills, Ms. Allen and Ms. Hellon went against Republican sponsors, reducing the majority’s 18 votes to 16. Those measures were HCM 2005, a message to Congress to adopt a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage; S1239, calling for a special audit of services to the seriously mentally ill in Maricopa County by the Department of Health Services; H2431, which lists 22 specific “parental rights” in the public education system, and HCM 2009, which sends Congress a message that the nearly $6 billion Arizona receives in federal funds go to the Legislature for appropriation, rather than directly to state agencies and local governments.

A similar House measure, H2226, would have required the governor’s budget office to, among other things, create a central clearinghouse of information about all federal funds spent by the state. Rep. Pete Hershberger, R-26, was the only Republican who voted no, but the bill passed with the minimum 31 votes. It was later vetoed.

Back in the Senate, Democrat Leader Linda Aguirre of District 16 sided with Republicans on a bill (S1052) that provides separate penalties for harming or killing an unborn child while injuring or killing the mother. Her vote made it 16-12 for passage, and Governor Napolitano signed it April 25.

Ms. Napolitano vetoed S1145, which passed the Senate with 16 votes, with two Republicans absent. The bill would have excluded marital misconduct as a factor in disposition of property and other matters in divorce proceedings.

Other 16-vote approvals in the Senate were:

H2676 — order of names on ballots for election of judges, and S1193 — outdoor advertising. Sen. Marsha Arzberger, D-25, joined 15 Republicans to pass both bills.

H2461 — Expansion of outdoor advertising standards. Three Democrats joined 13 Republicans for passage.

S1413 — 1.5 per cent surcharge on rental agreements for heavy equipment. Six Democrats and 10 Republicans passed the bill.

S1085 — University or community college permitted to sponsor charter school. Sen. Robert Cannell was the lone Democrat for the bill.

The session passed 392 bills and 25 memorials and resolutions. Of the totals, Democrats sponsored 26 measures that went to the governor’s desk. —