PHOENIX (AP) - The Latest on the Arizona Legislature’s final push to adjourn (all times local):
7:01 p.m.
The Arizona Legislature has adjourned its 2017 session after an unusual nine-hour day that ended just before nightfall and saw about 15 bills sent to the governor in a final push.
The session ended Wednesday after Republican lawmakers focused on giving tax breaks to corporate interests to drive economic development in the state.
The Legislature passed a series of business tax breaks. One helps chip-maker Intel and other big manufacturers. Another creates a $10 million tax credit program for capital infusions into small businesses, while a third expands eligibility for a state job training fund to smaller businesses.
Another bill restores a welfare cut Gov. Doug Ducey made in his first year in office.
Wednesday’s action comes nearly a week after lawmakers passed a $9.8 billion budget.
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6:50 p.m.
The Arizona Senate has approved what President Steve Yarbrough says is its last bill of the 2017 session.
The Senate approved its most contentious remaining issue on a 17-12 vote. That measure would restore a welfare cut Gov. Doug Ducey made in his first year in office. The Republican governor pushed through a measure in 2015 that limited lifetime welfare payments to one year, the shortest in the nation.
The chamber joined the House in voting to extend a job-creation tax credit for big companies that had been set to expire this year until 2025. Lawmakers voted 21-8 on the measure that also makes it easier for the city of Chandler to add infrastructure for a new intel plant using tax money instead of charging the chip-maker.
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5:41 p.m.
The Arizona House has approved what Speaker J.D. Mesnard says is its last bill of the 2017 session.
Wednesday’s 32-21 vote extends a job-creation tax credit for big companies that had been set to expire this year until 2025. The measure also makes it easier for the city of Chandler to add infrastructure for a new Intel plant using tax money instead of charging the chip-maker.
It now goes to the Senate for a final vote.
Senate Bill 1416 by sponsor Rep. Jeff Weninger also includes new lower property taxes for Intel and other manufacturers in special trade zones that already pay an ultra-low tax rate on new equipment.
Weninger amended the bill on the House floor to Chandler to keep sales taxes normally sent to the state for new roads and other facilities. But he narrowed the scope, overcoming opposition from numerous fellow Republicans.
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4:45 p.m.
A bill that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed has been revived on the last day of the legislative session.
Ducey vetoed the sales tax exemption for people who buy partial ownership interests in corporate jets last month. The tax cut was backed by NetJets, a company owned by billionaire Warren Buffet’s company, Berkshire Hathaway. Lobbyists for NetJets testified that state sales taxes are forcing Arizona buyers to finalize deals in other states.
Republican Rep. Jill Norgaard of Phoenix inserted the same language in a bill extending a research and development tax credit program and giving a big tax break to chip-maker Intel on Wednesday.
Ducey said in a veto letter that the tax cut would likely have state budget implications and should have been part of discussions on spending and revenue priorities.
Norgaard said the governor has not said if he supports her effort to revive the bill, but the bill helping Intel has broad support from top Legislative leaders.
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4:10 p.m.
The House has given initial approval to a measure that would extend to 2025 a job-creation tax credit for big companies that was set to expire this year. The measure also makes it easier for the city of Chandler to add infrastructure for a new Intel plant using tax money instead of charging the chip-maker.
Senate Bill 1416 by sponsor Rep. Jeff Weninger also includes new lower property taxes for Intel and other manufacturers in special trade zones that already pay an ultra-low tax rate on new equipment. The House gave initial approval to Weninger’s bill Wednesday and it awaits a formal vote.
Weninger amended the bill on the House floor to Chandler to keep sales taxes normally sent to the state for new roads and other facilities. But he narrowed the scope, overcoming opposition from numerous fellow Republicans.
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3:15 p.m.
Republican House Speaker J.D. Mesnard has withdrawn his last-minute proposal requiring school districts to spend half of their yearly inflation increases on teacher raises.
The amendment to an unrelated education bill would have required school districts to spend about $38 million a year on raises for their teachers.
Mesnard says he wanted to focus on the issue and will continue to do so.
The state budget passed last week gave teachers a 1 percent raise at a cost of $34 million.
The Arizona School Boards Association quickly came out in opposition of the proposal. The group said the requirement directly violates a voter-approved law requiring the Legislature to provide yearly inflation increases and last year’s Proposition 123, which added about $350 million in new funding for schools each year.
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1:46 p.m.
The House has joined the Senate in voting to provide lawsuit protections for people who break into cars to rescue children or pets.
The House approved House Bill 2494 by Republican Sen. John Kavanagh on a 35-20 vote Wednesday. Kavanagh revived it after it failed to get a House committee hearing. The Senate approved it for a second time on a 20-7 vote in April.
The vote sends the measure to Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk for consideration.
Ducey mentioned the proposal in January’s state of the state address and said he will sign the bill if it hits his desk.
Republican Rep. Eddie Farnsworth said the bill is unneeded because of good Samaritan laws already in place and it wrongly raises animals to the level and rights of children.
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12:45 p.m.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed a bill that increases the personal income tax exemption and requires it to be adjusted annually for inflation.
Ducey called for indexing the annual exemption to create a small tax cut in his state of the state address at a yearly cost of $2.8 million. But during budget negotiations, some House Republicans pushed for an increase in the personal exemption from $2,100 to $2,200 over two years. That adds nearly $11 million to the cost and saves the average taxpayer less than $5.
The bill Ducey signed Wednesday also eliminates several tax credits that haven’t been used in recent years.
Ducey also signed legislation allowing unused parts of the state mental hospital in Phoenix to be leased to private operators. A proposal urging a reduction of the state transportation fleet was also signed.
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11:30 a.m.
House Republicans are sharply divided on a proposal that creates a new tax credit plan for investments in rural businesses.
Senate Bill 1212 would allow out-of-state companies who generate $50 million in investment capital to get $30 million in tax credits, which they would sell to generate cash to repay investors. House Republicans meeting Wednesday were split, with many rural members pleading for a vote on the plan and other members strongly opposed.
Republican Speaker J.D. Mesnard says he hasn’t decided whether to put the bill up for a vote on the final day of the 2017 legislative session.
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club opposes the bill by Rep. T.J. Shope, saying the state should avoid adopting a complex tax credit scheme that lets the funding company profit for questionable results.
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11 a.m.
The Arizona Senate has approved the repeal of a requirement that welfare recipients be fingerprinted in order to qualify for benefits.
Wednesday’s 20-9 vote was among the first of the expected final day of the 2017 legislative session.
Just 7 of 1.1 million welfare recipients were found to have inappropriately applied for benefits in 2015. The state is expected to save more than $390,000 by stopping fingerprinting.
The Senate also passed bills legalizing hemp farming and waiving taxes on the sale of U.S. gold coins. it also approved a bill increasing eligibility for a job-creation fund to very small businesses.
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3 a.m.
The Arizona Legislature’s 2017 session is expected to come to an end after the passage of bill requiring cities and counties to put sales tax increase measures before voters only during November general elections.
The passage Tuesday evening broke a logjam that had threatened to extend the session into next week. With the deal, it’s likely to end sometime Wednesday.
House Speaker J.D. Mesnard had insisted that the Senate pass the bill before adjourning because it was part of a budget deal. Republican Sen. Kate Brophy McGee opposed the measure but finally agreed to back it after getting small concessions from Republican legislative leaders.
Remaining issues include the partial restoration of a cut to welfare Gov. Doug Ducey pushed through in 2015 and a series of business tax breaks.
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