PHOENIX (AP) - After passing a $10.4 billion budget, the Arizona Legislature is aiming to finish remaining legislation quickly and adjourn for the year late Thursday or sometime Friday.
Lawmakers must make final decision on several hot-button pieces of legislation, including a proposal allowing counties to ask voters to boost sales taxes to pay for roads and changes to the state’ redistricting and clean election commissions.
The changes to the redistricting commission approved by voters in 2000 failed in the Senate late Thursday, although another vote is possible to revive it. It would ask voters to boost membership to nine from five and require that all legislative districts are within 2 percent population differences. Democrats oppose the measure, saying it is designed to manipulate districts to advantage the GOP and could eliminate districts that now have American Indian representation. Republican Senate President Steve Yarbrough said the changes make the commission more fair and accountable.
A contentious effort to repeal last year’s massive school voucher expansion appeared unlikely to make the final cut amid Senate opposition.
Two Republican state senators, Kate Brophy McGee and Bob Worsley, said they would oppose any effort to repeal the bill and prevent voters from having a say in November.
A grass-roots group of teachers and other education advocates called Save Our Schools Arizona had gathered more than 100,000 signatures to block the universal voucher bill last summer, a move that kept it from taking effect until voters statewide could weigh in.
They argued that private school vouchers siphoned money from the state’s cash-strapped public schools, while backers said they give parents a choice about where their children attend school.
There has been talk all session of majority Republicans repealing or replacing it to negate the ballot measure, but it appeared highly unlikely because the two senators with the swing votes said they would oppose it.
“It needs to go to the ballot,” Brophy McGee said. “The huge grassroots group, and I’ve talked to them multiple times, checked with them multiple tomes, they’re willing to take it to the ballot.”
The House and Senate also moved to revise 10 bills vetoed by Gov. Doug Ducey two weeks ago to send a message to the Legislature that he wanted them to send him a budget that boosted teacher pay.
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