Weekly Legislative Reports

The House and Senate did not convene this week, but Governor Katie Hobbs (D) acted on more than 100 bills the legislature sent her before suspending the session.

There was a shakeup in Arizona state governance this week when two key agency directors resigned instead of facing Republican opposition to their Senate confirmation. Governor Katie Hobbs (D) bemoaned the resignations, criticizing the Senate’s “unprecedented politicization” and “partisan witch hunt.” Her nominees to lead the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) and the Department of Health Services (DHS) said the confirmation process created an “intrusion of partisan agendas that drag professionals through career damaging hearings.” Senator Lela Alston (D-Phoenix) accused Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Director Nominations, of being a “hypocrite extraordinaire.”

Governor Katie Hobbs (D) and legislative Republicans engaged in another round of accusations this week about a looming shortfall in funding for the state’s services to individuals with developmental disabilities, each blaming the other for delayed action on the issue.