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Senate plans to work on Saturday
Senate Minority Leader Jorge Garcia spoke too soon when he teased Sen. Manny Alvarez about working on Saturday, June 27 because of a committee hearing scheduled that day.
Texting-ban revival falls flat in Senate
A last-minute effort on June 23 failed to revive legislation to ban texting while driving. Senators had rejected the measure the day before. It was two votes short of passing... […]
Senate acts on scores of bills, shoots down texting ban
Bills to ban texting while driving, smoking in a car with a minor fail The Arizona Senate has rejected legislation that aimed to ban texting while driving on all state roadways. Senators also have voted down a measure that would have prohibited smoking in a car if a minor is in the vehicle.
Adams, Burns: Courts don’t have jurisdiction over budget negotiations
House Speaker Kirk Adams said a budget deal is likely before the end of the fiscal deadline as long as Gov. Jan Brewer agrees to continue negotiations. Adams said budget talks have been ongoing since the budget passed June 4. But he said Brewer's decision to ask the Arizona Supreme Court to intervene in the suit will only delay the process.
With $650-million budget hole fixed, lawmakers tackle the Big One
Now that the fiscal 2009 budget gap has been readjusted — hopefully for the last time — leaders will hunker down and try once more to hammer out a deal on the fiscal 2010 budget. “We got a lot to do on (fiscal 2010) yet,” Senate President Bob Burns said May 13, the day the Legislature fixed a $650-million hole in the fiscal 2009 budget.
Legislature fixes $650M deficit in fiscal 2009
The Senate and the House approved a plan on May 13 that suspends a payment of $300 million to school districts until the next fiscal year and instead allows them to tap into their excess cash balances to cover ongoing expenses. The plan is part of a two-bill package aimed at solving a $650-million budget deficit in fiscal 2009.
Senate Democrats renew budget cooperation offer to Brewer
Senate Democrats met with Gov. Jan Brewer on May 11 to renew their offer to cooperate with her to reach a budget agreement, but the meeting did not include discussion of any particular budget-balancing options.
Budget deadlines become a moving target
A lawmaker half-jokingly predicted several weeks ago that this year’s legislative session might turn out to be the session that never ends. For now at least, it is shaping up to be the session of cancelled budget hearings.
