This was week 15, which reminds us that we just passed the 100-day point in this legislative session. We don’t know how long this session will last, but there is still a lot of unfinished business, and we still have to deal with the budget.
It is very likely that this will be a very Democrat/Liberal/Marxist budget. With a Democrat governor and a very thin Republican majority in the legislature, to expect otherwise would be unrealistic. Hopefully, the damage to the state may be minimized.
In terms of substantive activity, this was a quiet week because the legislature was in recess. This recess was most likely the result of being one republican short because of the Harris expulsion.
There was, however, a lot of activity outside or the legislative chambers because of two issues, namely the choosing of a replacement for Harris, and the prospect of overriding Hobbs’ veto of HB2509.
Regarding the Harris issue, enough has been written on both sides of the issue, so we will not go beyond pointing out two facts that seem to escape those agitating on either side.
First, the AZ constitution gives the state legislature extreme independence regarding how they conduct their business. The AZ revised statutes follow suit. Therefore, those who object to the way in which the legislature has handled this matter should present to the voters an initiative aimed at amending the AZ constitution, the revised statutes, or both. The remedy sought by some, that includes screaming, yelling, demonstrating, and calling for censures, only have the opposite effect. They only divide and infuriate. This tends to improve the democrats’ prospect of gaining victories in the legislature and elsewhere, with disastrous results for conservatives.
Second, the claim that due process was violated is ill-advised. The 5th amendment guarantees that right, but it only pertains to “capital or otherwise infamous crime”. That protection pertains to being “deprived of life, liberty, or property. None of this applies to the Harris case.
The override of the HB2509 veto turned out to be a rollercoaster ride for Republicans. At first, we saw a glimmer of hope. After all, enough democrats voted in favor of this bill to provide the supermajority needed to override. The democrat legislators were presented with a golden opportunity to act according to their rhetoric, and do something that benefits their constituents. In fact, we at AZ Peoples Lobbyist promoted the encouragement of democrat legislators to do the right thing. But then reality reared its ugly head. The democrat leadership made it clear that they would not allow their members to vote in favor of the override.
It is one thing for democrat legislators to vote the right way in order to gain favor from their constituents, when they know that Hobbs will veto the bill. It is quite another for them to go against her by supporting the override. It would be similar to the drones going against their queen, not likely to happen.
It is possible that the democrats will act according to the best interests of their constituents and vote in favor of the override, but we are not holding our breath.
Looking forward, it seems that next week there will be some sort of return to normalcy. There is a lot of unfinished business and there is the matter of the budget.
We expect tandem tracks, working both on dealing with the remaining bills, and budget negotiations. From past experience, we know that once a budget agreement is reached, adjournment follows almost immediately. When that will happen is anyone’s guess and an excellent subject for an office pool.