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Burns wants debt genie back in the bottle
Senate President Bob Burns is working on legislation to cap the state's ability to create new debt, but he said he hasn't worked out all the details.
Budget plan includes dramatic reduction in AHCCCS enrollment
Republican leaders say they hope to get approval by the end of the week for a proposal to fill in yawning deficits in both this fiscal year and the next, though the spending plan has yet to be made public.
Legislature to focus on budget work beginning next week
The Legislature will stop all committee hearings March 1 to allow lawmakers to focus all their attention on the multibillion-dollar state budget deficit.
Bipartisanship a thing of the past in Arizona Senate
The bipartisanship that was displayed when Senate Republicans and Democrats cooperated to pass the sales tax referral last month appears to have flickered out since then.
State lawmakers say budget to include what-if plan
Arizona voters will know the impact of their decision when they cast ballots in a May 18 special election on a proposed temporary sales tax increase to help balance the next state budget, Republican legislative leaders said Feb. 22.
Arizona Senate going paperless
The Arizona Senate is trying to go paperless, which means relying on laptops instead of printed documents during debates and votes on the floor.
Legislature at impasse over amendment to last special session bill
The Senate sent a committee to the House to signal it was ready to end the special session sine die on Feb. 10, without taking action on a House-amended version of the remaining special session budget bill, S1002.
Hostile amendment slows House passage of budget bill
The fate of a bill that would delay payments to schools and universities as a deficit-closing gimmick is in question after the House of Representatives amended the measure, linking its enactment to a jobs creation and business tax cut bill that is stalled in the Senate.
Local governments against changes to shared-revenue formula
So far, lawmakers and the Governor's Office have avoided conjuring the greatest fear of local governments - changing the formula that determines who gets what from the collective pot of money they all share.
Harper named chairman of Senate Finance
Sen. Jack Harper, a Republican from Surprise, has been appointed chairman of the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 4.
Day 2: Tracking the special session
UPDATE: 4:35 p.m. Senate President Bob Burns acknowledged it took a significant effort by Republicans and Democrats to pass all six special session budget bills out of his chamber, even though he wouldn’t “put it in the fiscally responsible plan category.”
Senate reaches filing deadline; fewer bills on tap
The bill moratorium is over, but senators still filed fewer bills this year than they did last year. This year, 443 bills were filed in the Senate before the Feb. 1 deadline. The House still has another week before representatives are cut off.
