Hopefully, nobody picked April 18 in the annual sine die pool at the Capitol.
The 100th day of the Second Regular Session of the 47th Legislature — the target date prescribed in the House and Senate rules for ending the session — came and went, leaving some lawmakers wondering if the end is actually in sight.
“We’ve got another three to six weeks,” Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-15, postulated. She said a lengthy session was expected by many members.
The biggest obstacle to ending the session, as is often the case, is passing a budget. The catch this year is that virtually all of the machinations surrounding how to spend an estimated $1 billion surplus have been done by Republican leaders behind the scenes, leaving most legislators in the dark.
Sessions stretching past the 100-day mark are nothing new; the last to end in 100 days was the 2000 session. At least in those previous sessions, some lawmakers say, budget negotiations were done in the open, giving legislators a sense of when things might end. Not so this year.
“I can’t believe we’re in mid-April and we don’t have anything to look at,” Rep. Marian McClure, R-30, said of the lack of information about the budget. “In my opinion, we’re not getting out any time soon.”
Rep. Pete Hershberger, R-26, said the Legislature has dealt with 90 percent of the legislation but only 50 percent of the actual work, since the budget still remains on the table. The Legislature’s job, he said, is to stay until all of the work is done.
“We’re here to do the state’s business,” he said, “no matter how long that takes.”
Revenue agreement reached
Budget negotiations are expected to start in earnest in the coming weeks, as Governor Napolitano and Republican leaders came to an agreement April 18 regarding the amount of money that will be available in the budget.
Mr. Hershberger said he was less concerned with the length of session than he was with the process, which was “rushed to hit a fictitious deadline” of 82 days. Before the session began, Republican leaders said they intended to send the governor a budget in 65 days and wrap up the session by the end of March.
That hurry-up scheduling, he said, meant committees couldn’t give bills proper scrutiny before voting on them.
However, some, like Rep. Jerry Weiers, R-12, don’t see what all the fuss is about when it comes to hitting the 100-day mark. After all, last session was 124 days.
“Why anybody would become aggravated over 100 days is amazing to me,” Mr. Weiers said. “100 days is really not that big of a deal.”
Mr. Hershberger says the Legislature ought to think about extending the length of the session, as there is so much business to attend to.
“State government is so complex nowadays that 100 days may not be realistic, $24,000 [legislative salary] may not be realistic, the limited staff may not be realistic,” he said.
House Minority Leader Phil Lopes, D-27, though, said there’s plenty of time to get things done, as long as the time is used efficiently.
“At 100 days, we ought to be done — that’s plenty of time,” he said.
Mr. Weiers had another, perhaps less practical, way to shorten the session. Members all too often, he says, make long floor speeches but rely on printed notes or information on their computer screens. Extemporaneous speaking, he suggests, would speed up the process.
“If all the members down here, when they gave their floor speeches, were forced to wear a blindfold, I think we’d be able to get done in less time,” he said.