Weekly Legislative Reports

Budget negotiations continued at the Arizona Legislature this week, meaning that action on remaining non-budget bills (about 250 remain) was quite slow, with normally no more than a relative handful of bills being heard on either floor on any given day. Negotiations continue between the Legislature and Governor Ducey, with reportedly little progress being made on key issues, including how much the State should put into its “rainy day fund.”

The Arizona Legislature is moving at a deliberate pace while budget negotiations continue in both chambers. Most of the action right now is on the Senate or House floor, where about 300 bills remain in the process, needing to be approved by one or both houses before proceeding to the Governor.

Action was somewhat limited at the Arizona Legislature this week, consisting almost entirely of floor action to move bills through the process in each chamber. Most floor calendars were small, and the vast majority of bills moving this week were non-controversial and passed with ease.

Committee hearings on bills are nearly over for the 2019 session of the Arizona Legislature, with the Appropriations committees in both houses hearing full slates of bills this week, many of them “strike-everything” amendments designed to give a struggling issue a final shot at staying alive.

This week marked the end of the standard committee hearing process for the 2019 session of the Arizona Legislature, the final opportunity in those committees for bills to be heard (except for the Appropriations committees, which have an extra week). Things became more eventful when Rep. David Stringer (R-Prescott) resigned yesterday to avoid a continuing ethics investigation and possible expulsion.

The 2019 session of the Arizona Legislature is nearing the end of its standard committee hearing process, with next week being the final opportunity in those committees for bills to be heard (exceptions are the Appropriations committees, which have an extra week). The Legislature at this point remains “on-schedule” for a session that should last about 100 days (today is day 67).