The new set of lawmakers who make up the 49th Legislature took the oath of office Jan. 12, preparing for what could be some of the most difficult budget decisions state lawmakers have faced in decades.
Their primary task in the coming months will be to close a $1.2 billion budget gap. Then they will move on to the fiscal 2010 budget, which is estimated to be $3 billion short.
Most of the senators are returning members. A number of them crossed over from the House, including: Sen. Russell Pearce, a Republican from Mesa; Sen. John Nelson a Republican from Glendale, Sen. Manny Alvarez, Democrat from Elfida; Sen. Linda Lopez a Democrat from Tucson; and Sen. Jonathan Paton, a Republican from Tucson.
The two true freshmen are Al Melvin, a Republican from Tucson and Steve Pierce, a Republican from Prescott. Sen. Sylvia Allen a Snowflake Republican who replaced the late Sen. Jake Flake last year, also took her oath. Allen retained her seat in November after beating Democrat challenger Bill Jeffers.
A full third of the House of Representatives is new to the Capitol, as 20 freshmen were among the lawmakers sworn in. Among those 20 were two who were returning to the Capitol after suffering Election-Day defeats to Democrats in 2006.
Russ Jones, a Yuma Republican, lost a bid two years ago for his district's Senate seat, and Doug Quelland, a Republican from northwest Phoenix, was upset by a Democrat in his re-election campaign that same year.
The incoming crop of new representatives also includes David Gowan, a Tucson Republican who won election to the House on his third try, and Rae Waters, an Ahwatukee Democrat who captured a seat in a GOP-leaning district.
The other House freshmen include: Christopher Deschene, D-2; Doris Goodale, R-3; Carl Seel, R-6; Debbie Lesko, R-9; Eric Meyer, D-11; Steve Montenegro, R-12; Cecil Ash, R-18; Steve Court, R-18; Laurin Hendrix, R-22; Frank Pratt, R-23; David Stevens, R-25; Vic Williams, R-26; Matt Heinz, D-29; Daniel Patterson, D-29; and Frank Antenori, R-30.
Once the Legislature had convened to handle the state’s business, Senate President Bob Burns did not waste time in reminding colleagues about the enormity of the task at hand.
Lawmakers, he said, are faced with one of the most challenging fiscal deficits in state history. It would put a strain on each of them, he said. He reminded everyone to “seriously debate” the issues and concentrate on “keeping personality out of the mix.”
At 12:22 p.m., Arizona Supreme Court Justice Ruth McGregor swore in the lawmakers.
“I am glad to be here, and I think there is a lot of opportunity to fix things and create a government that is more streamlined,” Pierce later told the Arizona Capitol Times. 
Pierce recalled that when he was first running in the primary, the main issue in his district was illegal immigration. By end of September, the focus had turned to the economy.