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Splitting budget bill jeopardizes support in House
While splitting the tax referendums may help the budget agreement gain enough support to climb out of the Senate, the maneuver might alienate enough House members to kill the fledgling deal.
House leader calls budget ‘best deal possible’
More than a week after the governor and legislative leaders announced a new budget deal, the state was still without a complete budget and time was running out to call... […]
A session to remember – even if you don’t want to
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.
UpClose with House Speaker Kirk Adams
Kirk Adams was elected speaker of the House after campaigning on a platform of opening up the budget process to make it more transparent to lawmakers and the public. How well that was achieved has been debated throughout the session at the Capitol, but Adams maintains the Legislature is moving toward that goal.
Senate falls one vote short, may try again today
Despite intense lobbying, Republican leaders failed to persuade Sen. Pamela Gorman to vote for a referral for a sales tax increase. Brewer talked with Gorman, the majority whip, for more than an hour at Gorman's Senate office, but the governor was apparently unable to persuade the senator to change her mind.
Agreement in hand; vote expected tonight
Gov. Jan Brewer and House Speaker Kirk Adams announced that they and Senate President Bob Burns have reached a tentative budget deal, which they hope will be approved in the Legislature by the end of the night.
GOP working both sides; separate budget deals in play
It’s been three weeks since lawmakers were called into a special legislative session to patch a massive hole in the budget, but there are finally signs that negotiations with Democrats may be bearing some fruit.
Capitol Quotes 7/24
“I’m out here trying to get NCSL to take a turn to the right.” – Sen. Russell Pearce, speaking July 22 from Philadelphia, where he is attending an event hosted... […]
Lawmakers could have avoided line-item vetoes
When Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a large portion of the budget approved by lawmakers earlier this month, she sent the Legislature back to square one. Now Republican leaders are working with Democrats instead of the governor to craft a spending plan, and the state still faces a $2.5 billion deficit a month after the fiscal deadline.
Building a new budget, starting from scratch
House Speaker Kirk Adams on July 20 said lawmakers will try to craft another budget by September, but he would not put a specific timeframe on it because lawmakers are, essentially, starting from scratch.
Part-time Arizona lawmakers working into the summer
Arizona's part-time legislators are on the job in midsummer after their inability to work out an on-time solution to the state's budget trouble led them to crack a barrier they hoped to avoid. The annual regular session starts in January and has adjourned in May or June in recent years. This year, it ran 71/2 hours into July 1 before lawmakers approved a new budget and finished action on other [...]
Burns, Adams ask AZ high court to rethink budget ruling
In late June, the Arizona Supreme Court delivered what could be considered a draw for Gov. Jan Brewer and Republican legislative leadership, who argued over how long the Legislature can... […]
