Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission’s decision to remove Rep. Doug Quelland from office will be contested this week before an administrative law judge. On Aug. 3, attorneys representing the commission and Quelland filed a list of witnesses and exhibits they ...

Senate Republicans have postponed a vote to permanently replace Senate Majority Whip Pamela Gorman, who resigned her leadership position earlier in the day. But they did choose a temporary replacement: freshman Sen. Steve Pierce.

From: Pamela Gorman [mailto:pgorman@azleg.gov] Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 10:18 AM To: Robert Burns Cc: .SREPMEMS Subject: Dear President Burns, I’m writing today to tender my resignation as Senate Majority Whip. I believe our ideological and philosophical differences on important ...

Sen. Pamela Gorman has resigned her position as majority whip. "I believe our ideological and philosophical differences on important issues like taxes and spending make it necessary for me to resign my position," Gorman wrote in a letter to Senate President Bob Burns that was first obtained by the Yellow Sheet Report.

Considering the internecine warfare that has been the hallmark of Jan Brewer’s tenure as governor, some Republicans may have been tempted to forget why they were so happy when Janet Napolitano left. But one look at the scores of conservative bills Brewer signed may be enough to jog their memories.

The 2009 legislative session started out slowly in terms of bill advancement, but it ended in a flurry that left even some lawmakers wondering what all they had voted on. When the Legislature adjourned sine die on July 1, lawmakers had sponsored 1,133 bills during the 2009 regular session. A total of 213 made the cut and were passed by the Legislature. And 191 bills were signed into law.

The Senate will meet today (Aug. 4), but it’s unclear how many senators will show up. Gov. Jan Brewer has been working the phones in the past few days to lobby lawmakers for their vote on an agreement that she and Republican legislative leaders reached last month.

Nearly one-fifth of the state’s general fund revenues eroded in the 2009 fiscal year, the largest decline on record since World War II. New revenue figures show the state was short nearly $479 million in fiscal 2009, which ended June 30.

In January, House Minority Leader David Lujan said it would be up to the leaders of the Republican majority caucus to determine what role Democrats would play in the legislative session. They ended up being sidelined and were never included in the process by Republican leaders or GOP Gov. Jan Brewer.

The wear and tear of the 2009 session was visible on the faces of virtually every legislator, lobbyist and staffer at the Capitol, leaving little doubt that this year will be etched into the memories of those who watched it.