Arizona Legislature updates

The Arizona Legislature expected to take a break after wrapping up committee work 

Hundreds of bills are nearing the finish line at the legislature this year, and Governor Hobbs is signing many of the proposals that have reached her desk so far. This week, she approved bills to bar sex offenders from being on school boards, require electricity providers to consider the dangers of electromagnetic pulses, change property tax valuations for split golf courses and extend the deadline for grandfathered water right applications in the Douglas Active Management Area.

Appropriations Committees wrap up for now

House and Senate Appropriations Committees convened their last regularly scheduled meetings of the year and plan to meet again only when there is a state budget proposal. This week’s hearings focused mostly on strike-everything amendments that revived dead bills or renewed policy debates. 

HB2024 (lottery; on-farm irrigation efficiency fund) passed Senate Appropriations this week. HB2024 would provide additional funding from the state lottery program to the On-Farm Irrigation Grant Program administered by UA’s Cooperative Extension Services. 

Additionally, the Committees advanced proposals to ban drugs in homeless service zones, outline requirements for pharmacy benefit managers, set licensing timeframes for the Board of Nursing, require schools to inform parents about student pronoun changes, remove step therapy protocols for some mental health medications, prohibit simulcast dog racing and ask voters to change how Arizona counts its population for redistricting.

What’s next?

More than 350 bills are still eligible for consideration this year, but the work is winding down and the calendar is nearing the 100^th day of session. According to House and Senate rules, that’s when the session should end – but there’s little chance the legislature will meet that goal this year. There are no serious budget talks and lawmakers want to get home to campaign ahead of the earlier-than-usual primary election.

House and Senate leaders plan to suspend the session next month, allowing lawmakers to campaign and conceding that budget negotiations will take more time.

Extended breaks during the session did not occur before the COVID-19 pandemic but have become a consistent part of recent legislative sessions. The Arizona Constitution requires the House and Senate to officially give each other permission to adjourn for more than three days.