Arizona budget: House passes partisan spending plan

House Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez, D-Yuma, said Democrats have repeatedly been told they should embrace the budget plan. While it does include some of Democrats’ priorities, they were never involved in negotiations, she said.

“I wish we had been brought to the table, I wish this was a bipartisan budget, and I vote 'no,'” she said when explaining her final vote on the budget Saturday.

Rachel Leingang, Lily Altavena and Ryan Randazzo, Arizona Republic, May 25, 2019

The Arizona House of Representatives approved a budget for the state in a series of votes on Friday and early Saturday.

Meanwhile, after working through the day Saturday, the Senate still made no progress in getting enough Republicans to support a spending plan.

The uneven movement between the two chambers is unusual and has led to uncertainty about when and how lawmakers will agree to the $11.8 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Typically, both chambers approve budget bills in tandem, once it’s clear they have enough votes to secure passage.

But this week’s budget process hasn't followed a traditional path. The House has a smaller Republican majority than the Senate, but leaders there had the support from their members since the start of the budget debate on Friday.

Senate negotiations have been at a standstill during the same period, with at least two and potentially three senators holding out against the plan.

The frustration spilled into public view on Thursday when House GOP lawmakers were caught on a hot mic talking about potential retaliation against their Senate colleagues, including not hearing their bills and considering an ethics complaint.

Finally, House members decided to trudge forward alone. The House approved all of the 11 budget-related bills by about 5 a.m. Saturday and adjourned until Monday, when the chamber plans to return and may complete business for the session. Monday is Memorial Day.

Meanwhile, the Senate ended its work on Saturday evening after it was clear leaders still didn't have enough support. They intend to return to work at 11 a.m. Monday.

The path forward for the budget is murky and highly dependent on what, if anything, the Senate does next week.

Graduation, ER visit stall votes

In the House, Republicans hold 31 seats in the chamber to Democrats' 29. That means that if one member is against a bill or is not present, the bill couldn’t pass without Democratic help.

But Republicans haven't needed to reach across the aisle to win support.

“I wish we had been brought to the table, I wish this was a bipartisan budget, and I vote 'no,'” she said when explaining her final vote on the budget Saturday.

The tighter vote count in the House left operations hanging by a thread a couple times throughout Friday night.

Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, had to leave for a few hours to attend a graduation, and bills could not be voted on in his absence. Voting immediately resumed once he returned.

Later that evening, Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, left because his son had been taken to the emergency room. Again, bills could not be considered.

Kavanagh returned to the House a few hours later and let members know his son was OK. Voting resumed.

What's in the budget?

The $11.8 billion spending plan largely follows the budget Gov. Doug Ducey initially proposed in January.

Under the agreement between Republican leaders and the governor, the state would increase its rainy-day fund to $1 billion, with infusions of $271 million in the current fiscal year and in the fiscal year that begins on July 1.

A $130 million plan to expand Interstate 17 over the next three years at areas where motorists often hit heavy traffic also is included in the deal.

The next step of the 20% by 2020 teacher pay raise plan, a 5% raise, would go into effect, and $136 million in additional assistance for schools would be included.

There's $15 million to expand academies that train teachers at the state's universities.

A $32 vehicle registration fee for public safety would be phased out during the next two years.

Ducey and Republican leaders also apparently reached a deal over state income taxes, which were contentious because of changes at the federal level that indirectly increased state taxes this year for individuals.

The plan from Rep. Ben Toma, R-Peoria, would lower the tax rate and make changes to the child tax credit, standard deduction and charitable contribution deduction, more than offsetting the increase for 2019.

Changes appease wavering GOP members

During debate on the main budget bill, Republicans rarely spoke. Democrats offered more than 20 amendments, all of which failed, without so much as a question from a Republican lawmaker.

The House included several provisions that appeared aimed at securing support from any wavering members.

One would require the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to forward complaints regarding the use of school resources to influence elections to the Senate president, House speaker and Governor’s Office.

The provision seemingly relates to a bill that Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, tried to revive that would have punished school districts for political speech from teachers or staff members in the classroom.

While explaining her vote on the budget, Townsend said she couldn't stand by while what she views as political indoctrination happens in schools.

"I am now satisfied that I can move forward and proudly vote yes with my colleagues on this budget," she said.

Rep. Tony Rivero, R-Peoria, told the Arizona Capitol Times earlier in the week that he, too, would vote against the budget. One reason he cited: He wanted funding for trade offices in Mexico and Israel. The plan approved Saturday morning included $475,000 for two trade offices in Mexico and one in Israel.

The final changes also ramped up funding for several programs that were priorities for Sen. Heather Carter, R-Cave Creek, who has so far opposed the budget in the Senate.

There’s more than $18 million for graduate medical education programs and $8 million for a University of Arizona health sciences center, both of which were included a bill Carter sponsored this year.

Will the Senate pull it together?

Meanwhile, the Senate, often considered the more orderly, mature older sibling of the two chambers, was in disarray.

Republicans hold 17 seats in the Senate, while Democrats occupy 13. Two GOP members confirmed they were still against the budget as of late Friday, dooming its fate without Democratic support.

When asked if the Senate would have the votes to pass the budget on Saturday, Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, responded, “That’s the goal.”

Sen. J.D. Mesnard, who has withheld support unless the budget includes an income tax plan that lowers individual ratesto hold all taxpayers harmless, said he knew of no progress as of Friday.

The Chandler Republican wasn't offered a compromise from Senate GOP leaders, and he hasn’t talked with the Governor’s Office about it, either.

Phoenix Republican Sen. Paul Boyer, who is withholding his budget vote until the Legislature agrees to increase the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, said he’s still opposed and hasn’t been a part of any negotiations. Senate leadership brought in Carter to discuss his issue instead. Carter had backed Boyer in the revolt over the abuse bill.

“I’m pretty sure you’ll know if there’s a deal on budget. Until then I’m a no,” Boyer said in a text message.

How the budget got to this point

The winding and bumpy journey to a budget deal began May 19, when Bowers and Fann announced that they had struck a budget deal with Ducey and were ready to discuss it with their members.

But even before that announcement, it was clear multiple senators weren’t ready to play ball. One of those holdouts, Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, changed her position after she convinced leadership to agree to phase out the $32 vehicle registration fee for public safety over two years instead of five.

The chambers had a couple false starts — and a whole lot of inaction — over the course of the week.

Appropriations committees in both chambers approved the budget Wednesday, though Republicans in the Senate had to add a member to the panel to ensure there were enough votes to pass that first hurdle.

By Thursday, the House had decided to start voting on budget bills regardless of the Senate’s predicament. They approved three budget bills in the early morning hours on Friday, then returned to work at 10 a.m. that day.

With a couple fits and starts, the House continued on through budget bills and a handful of other measures, working into the morning on Saturday.

The Senate considered only non-budget bills on Friday, including measures on Empowerment Scholarship Accounts for Native American students and funding for crisis pregnancy centers.

They called it quits for the night just after 9 p.m. They would come back Saturday and try yet again.

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