Rep. Russell Pearce sits dejected after learning an immigration proposal he pushed for never received a vote in the Senate. He says he was promised the proposal would be voted on June 21, the final day of the legislative session.

At the moment he learned the Senate didn’t vote on an immigration enforcement measure, Rep. Russell Pearce could have been felled by a feather.
“Promises made, promises not kept,” the District 18 Republican said, staring in disbelief when he learned the Senate declined to put HCR2035 to a vote.
After the veto of H2577 earlier this month, Mr. Pearce says he was promised by leadership a number of portions of the comprehensive immigration bill — including the never-voted-on measure that would have prohibited cities from turning a blind eye toward known illegal immigrants — would be put on the ballot in the fall election.
That this provision didn’t receive a vote came as a surprise to many, as it was expected to be one of three ballot measures dealing with illegal immigration.
Senate President Ken Bennett said there was a lack of support for the measure in the Senate.
“I think that was a decision that was made individually by many members who felt that was a minor part of the package that we had sent the governor and to just pick one piece out of it and move forward on that and not move forward on other pieces of the package was not the best way to go to the voters,” he said.
“There wasn’t the 16 votes here in the Senate to move forward on that.”
Mr. Pearce said the Legislature botched its chance to provide meaningful reform on border security.
“It’s a failure on the number one issue for the public,” he said. “To me, it’s absolutely a failure on their part to recognize a crisis and deal with it effectively…
“The federal government is failing to do their part, too. We’re going to go months, now, doing nothing, while we have an invasion coming across our border.”
An inability for Senate and House leaders to come to an agreement earlier in the day on ballot language for employer sanctions further exacerbated the situation, Mr. Pearce said. He blamed the business community for opposing stricter enforcement of labor laws and said they want to continue hiring illegal workers.
“This is simply big business who has control, apparently, of the Senate,” he said. “And they’re protecting those that violate the law and compete illegally and unfairly against the honest person.”
Last minute legislation
Surprises were in store for a few other lawmakers pushing last-minute legislation June 21. That afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved HCR2002, which would have let voters enact stricter eminent domain laws, limiting the ability of cities to obtain private property for public projects.
Earlier this month, a bill that would have done the same, H2675, was vetoed.
The Senate approved HCR2002 by a 17-11 vote, but it died in the House, where it was not voted on.
Sen. Chuck Gray, R-19, who sponsored the original legislation and the ballot proposal, told Arizona Capitol Times there were not enough votes in the House to pass the resolution.
A resolution that would have prohibited the governor from commandeering or seizing firearms and ammunition from citizens in an emergency also failed to receive a vote after National Rifle Association lobbyist Darren LaSorte told lawmakers the gun-rights group was opposed to the measure.
HCR2010 died in the Senate.
A bill to make it more difficult for Child Protective Services to remove children from their parents failed on a pair of votes in the House. S1430 was defeated by votes of 30-20 and 29-27, with 31 votes needed for passage.