House and Senate Republicans agreed to stand their ground against the veto of a school-choice measure and said they would not alter the bill in any way to appease the governor.

The move came in separate May 31 caucuses for the majority party to decide what should be done in response to Governor Napolitano’s May 20 veto of legislation that would have allowed corporations to offset their tax liability by donating to student tuition organizations that would provide scholarships for students to attend private and parochial schools.

Without the governor’s assurance she would sign the bill, Republican leaders say there would have been no hope of passing the rest of the budget, the bulk of which Ms. Napolitano has signed into law. By not signing S1527 to create the corporate tuition tax credits and other negotiated compromises, Republicans say she has broken her word.

“We thought that the deal was the deal was the deal,” House Speaker Jim Weiers, R-10, said. “It was one broken word after another after another after another.”

Senate President Ken Bennett, R-1, said the governor was backtracking on her agreement with the Republicans to score points with her supporters, many of who were upset when she agreed to the school-choice bill.

“She looked for an excuse to veto because of political pressure from her base,” Mr. Bennett said. “She believes the ends justify the means.”

Ms. Napolitano says it was the Republicans who violated the deal by crafting S1527 without sunset language that would automatically repeal the legislation after five years. Instead, the bill contained a clause that called for a review after five years; a two-thirds vote of the Legislature would be required to repeal the law because the change in state revenue would technically amount to a tax increase.

Through a spokeswoman, the governor said June 1 that she would sign the corporate tuition tax credit bill if it were redrafted to include the sunset repeal instead of the review.

In their caucuses, Republican lawmakers fumed at Ms. Napolitano’s actions. They pointed to the fact that the governor’s top budget aide signed off on the version of S1527 that was ultimately passed.

“If the written word of the governor’s chief budget officer [George Cunningham] isn’t binding on this governor, then nothing’s binding on this governor,” House Majority Leader Steve Tully said.

Rep. Farnsworth: ‘She’s A Liar’

Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-22, said no one should be surprised that Ms. Napolitano went back on her word.

“She’s a liar, she’s always been a liar, I assume she’ll always be a liar,” he said.

Mr. Weiers said the most offensive part of the fallout since the session ended May 13 was not the veto itself, but that he and Mr. Bennett have been called liars by the governor’s camp.

The governor, he said, has changed her story on the deal — initially she defended the corporate tax credits, saying they were a viable trade-off; then she said she was confused about the language she agreed to; then she said the Republicans broke their deal by including the wrong language.

Further, Republican leaders said, the governor is trying to link a bill to fund English education to comply with a federal court order to the budget, a deal that was never agreed to.

Mr. Tully, R-11, said any assertion that the budget deal was contingent on reaching an agreement with legislative Democrats on H2718, which sought to satisfy the court in the Flores v. Arizona case, “is, on its face, ridiculous.”

In January, a federal judge said the state would be considered in violation of the 2000 court order if a plan were not signed into law by the end of the legislative session. Republican leaders ceded in caucus that the veto left the state in violation of the court.

The bill provided about $30 million and created a new way of paying for English Language Learner, or ELL, students in Arizona schools. Instead of paying school districts a flat rate for each ELL student, the new plan would have reimbursed districts based on the district’s education plan and the actual cost to educate the student.

In her veto message of the bill, Ms. Napolitano said the Republicans failed to negotiate a Flores bill with Democrats and that she would call the Legislature into a special session to resolve the issue once a bipartisan deal is struck.

However, through her spokeswoman, the governor said June 1 that she was “working on an ELL proposal.” No details were available.

Rep. Knaperek: Veto Puts State In Difficult Position

Rep. Laura Knaperek, R-17, said the veto of the Flores bill puts the state in a “precarious” situation with the courts, which may have the ability to put a spending plan into place since the Legislature has been unable to pass one into law since the 2000 ruling. With Ms. Napolitano in office, she said any Republican plan is certain to be greeted with disapproval.

“We’re never going to win this one – I just don’t know how,” she said. “We’re going to have to keep fighting the court.”

Mr. Tully said the House will not budge in their resolve and will not even discuss a Flores bill until Ms. Napolitano signs all of the budget items she vetoed.

“We’re not going to start any negotiation on Flores with her, with the minority leadership, with anybody, until she agrees to comply with the requirements of the last agreement,” he said, adding that there would be no link between the corporate tuition tax credits and Flores. —

Senate Reporter Phil Riske contributed to this story