In normal years, the first floor action seen by freshmen legislators consists of debating a few straightforward bills and learning the ropes of amending and discussing legislation.
But 2009 is not a normal year, and new lawmakers were required to vote on a budget fix aimed at closing a $1.6 billion deficit through massive spending cuts within weeks of being sworn in.
Freshmen lawmakers were asked not only to assess the policy matters before them, but also to grapple with the sometimes intricate procedural movements that go along with a Committee of the Whole, during which bills are debated and amended by the entire body.
The debate process can be confusing, as motions must be made in specific order and with precise language. Rep. Christopher Deschene, a Democrat from Window Rock, offered an amendment to restore funding to the Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs, but struggled to correctly introduce the amendment with a motion that was longer than the actual changes he was proposing: a floor amendment to another amendment, which was a substitute amendment for a committee amendment to the bill.
To help with the procedural mumbo-jumbo in the House, where there are 20 freshmen, lawmakers were given a sheet with a list of the most common motions to help them get the verbiage right. And Democratic leaders were often standing beside freshmen, coaching them on the proper motion.
Voting even caused at least one new legislator some heartburn. Rep. Doris Goodale, a Kingman Republican, said she mistakenly pressed the wrong button on the first bill, making her the only Republican voting with the Democrats.
“I said, ‘Oh, what do I do?’ And (Rep. Frank Antenori, another freshman) said, ‘Try pushing the other button.’ Whew! It worked. I thought it was going to be some crawl-on-your-knees-and-beg-for-forgiveness (thing). Do you have to do Hail Marys? Nope, it’s just as simple as pushing the other button,” she said.