THE ARIZONA LEGISLATURE FINALLY PASSES A BUDGET

The Arizona legislature finally passed a budget on June 27^th Gov. Katie Hobbs would sign. If you’ve watched the legislature in action for any length of time, you would understand a budget passed in late June certainly has precedent. I served in the Senate when we finally passed a budget at 6 am on July 1^st.

I didn’t notice, but it has been said that someone changed the time on the clocks so that we could say the legislature passed the budget before the end of the fiscal year. Then Gov. Fife Symington had state agencies draw up emergency plans in case of a shutdown that fortunately never happened.

Perhaps we set a precedent back in 1992, because former Speaker Jeff Groscost, a.k.a. Captain Chaos, pulled a similar stunt during his tenure as Speaker from 1997-2001. Not to be outdone, former Speaker Kirk Adams took note and pulled something similar back in 2009 when the legislature adjourned sine die at 7:30 am on July 1^st. For a great bit of history on this I refer to a June 26^th Arizona Republic article by Mary Jo Pitzl. How Arizona lawmakers 'stopped time' to dodge a 2009 shutdown

But I digress. One of the really disturbing outcomes of this year’s budget process has to do with legislative in-fighting. In a July 2^nd Arizona Republic article Rep. David Livingston (R-Peoria), chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, told reporter Mary Jo Pitzl, “We don’t like each other.” The Arizona Republic

Livingston called Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) a RINO for compromising on a budget with Democrat Hobbs after Republicans had already sent her two previous budgets which she vetoed. Everyone should know that calling someone a “Republican in Name Only” is almost akin to a racial slur, especially when that someone hails from the East Valley. Those are fighting words and apparently that’s what they did. (Ibid)

“What every East Valley Republican aspires to be,” said no one ever.

Adobe Stock Photo AI

Rep. Jeff Weninger (R-Chandler) took a two-year hiatus from the legislature, but when he came back he noticed that part of the increased friction had to do with the “subgroups” within each party’s caucus. (Ibid)

AND THAT’S ANOTHER THING! What is the deal with all these caucuses? Back in the Legislative Stone Age when I served, we had two caucuses . . . one for Democrats and one for Republicans. Of course, that harkens back to a time when we just had two sexes. Those were simpler days. In the recent past we have had the Freedom Caucus, the Veteran’s Caucus, the Rural Caucus, the Latino Caucus, etc. . . In the not-too-distant future we may get the Left-Handers Caucus, the Vegan Caucus and the exclusive Narcists Caucus.

Senate Republican Caucus group photo circa 1991. I’m directly behind the big guy with the club. Adobe Stock Photo AI

Some of our legislators are wannabe future US Congressmen or Senators and so they must emulate what they see in Washington, DC. I have news for them . . . THIS IS NOT A WORKING MODEL!!!

A “working body” like Congress, rife with splinter groups, doesn’t work very well. On the flip-side, the US Congress has 535 members in both chambers and so to get a little more leverage on an issue and to get heard a single member might join forces with other like-minded individuals. The Arizona legislature has 90 members in total. A smart legislator wouldn’t paint himself in the corner with a caucus label if he actually wanted to get something accomplished.

For example, the Freedom Caucus has the allegiance of about a dozen House Republicans. It is certainly the most vocal caucus, but it failed in getting what it wanted in budget negotiations. One can argue that state general fund spending has increased at a rapid rate, but while soundbites may get you up the next rung in the political ladder, they don’t solve the problem.

Figure from Common Sense Institute of Arizona

Since FY 2019 state general fund spending has increased by a compounded annual growth rate of 7.4 percent. That figure dwarfs last year’s population and inflation factor of 4.4 percent. Over time that can lead to unrealistic expectations that Arizona’s economy may not have the ability to fully fund.

While Livingston and fellow budget hawks are right to be concerned with Arizona’s budget trajectory, Petersen has a point. The legislature is not a mere debating society. The legislature exists to get things done. To forge together a compromise on a budget Hobbs could sign, took “courage, compassion and leadership,” he said. He chided the Arizona Freedom Caucus for taking political potshots without offering any ground for compromise. (Ibid)

The caucus mentality has accelerated the disintegration of the legislative body. The legislature would do well to go back to two.