Weekly Legislative Reports

The Arizona Senate had a relatively quiet week while the House had lengthy debates on several controversial proposals. Consuming the bulk of their time in debate this week was SB 1532 (impending school operations; civil liability) which outlines restrictions and penalties relating to the inclusion of controversial issues of public policy and social affairs within school coursework. House Education Chair Rep. Michelle Udall (R-Mesa), the sponsor of the amendment and an educator, said her “Unbiased Teaching Act” would require a teacher to present issues from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective if the teacher chooses to discuss controversial matters. House Democrats strongly opposed the bill contending that there are not two sides to issues like slavery, genocide, and the results of the 2020 election. The Democrats also highlighted their concern that teachers who violate the law may be subjected to a $5,000 fine/penalty under provisions of the legislation. The bill ultimately passed on a party-line 31-29 vote with all Democrats voting in opposition to the measure. The bill will now head back to the Senate for concurrence on the House amendments.

The Arizona Legislature continued to advance a host of bills through the legislative process this week as budget negotiations ramp up behind the scenes. House Appropriations Committee Chair, Regina Cobb (R-Kingman), said as recently as this morning that they are close on a budget package and that she is hopeful for the conclusion of session some time over the next couple of weeks. However, there is still some pessimism in achieving that goal by other legislators (both in the majority and minority).

The Arizona Legislature passed the 100th day mark of session this week, the general timeframe in which the body attempts to conclude session by annually. However, the end does not appear too close as budget negotiations continue behind the scenes. Several legislators in the majority have already expressed their uneasiness with the significant tax cut package proposed to be included in the budget as well as a desire to have a say in allocating some of the latest federal dollars that will be funneled into Arizona. Delaying the traditional course of business this week, the Arizona Legislature skipped convening on Wednesday as several members from both the House and Senate joined Governor Ducey in Yuma where he has declared a national emergency and deployed Arizona National Guard troops in response to the federal government’s inaction on the recent increase of migrants at the border. Despite only meeting for three of the typical four days this week, there were a host of contentious battles on legislation and procedural tactics.

The Arizona Legislature had a relatively quiet week as budget negotiations continue to ramp up behind the scenes. However, the House Appropriations Committee held its first special meeting to streamline a strike-everything amendment to SB 1752 (conformity; internal revenue code) to conform Arizona’s state tax code with the federal government’s changes as it relates to various federal relief dollars distributed over the past year. The bill passed the full House unanimously on Tuesday and was signed by Governor Ducey that same day.

With the official conclusion of House and Senate Committee hearings last week, the Arizona Legislature spent the bulk of this week continuing to move remaining bills through the legislative process. Additionally, the focus from legislative leadership in both chambers shifted to ramping up budget negotiations and holding “small group” meetings with their members. However, there seems to still be quite a discrepancy in the amount and target of the proposed tax cuts, especially with Arizona’s revenues coming in much higher than anticipated, along with the influx of additional federal relief dollars.

Last Friday was the Arizona Legislature’s deadline for bills to receive committee hearings in the second Chamber in order to remain in viable form to continue forward this legislative session. The one exception is the Appropriations Committees in both bodies who can meet for one additional week, and then once again after budget reconciliation bills have been introduced. Accordingly, House and Senate Appropriations Committees held lengthy hearings this week on over 50 bills and strike-everything amendments on a variety of policy matters that proponents hoped would either allow for a late introduction of an issue or revive issues that had previously failed to move through the process. Floor action in both chambers slowed while the Appropriations Committees held their all day hearings. Action is expected to ramp up again next week as the focus will shift to moving remaining bills across the legislative finish line and more aggressively tackling the budget.