PHOENIX (AP) - The Latest on action in the Arizona Legislature on a state budget (all times local):
5:55 p.m.
The Arizona Senate has adjourned after a fruitless day pursuing a deal on a state budget that has already passed the House.
Senate President Karen Fann started Saturday hopeful she could persuade a handful of holdout Republicans to sign onto the budget. As the day progressed, it became clear that wouldn’t happen.
The House passed an $11.8 billion budget package before dawn Saturday.
Three of 17 Republican senators remained opposed to the budget plan Saturday for various reasons. The chamber needs 16 GOP votes to pass it if Democrats remain opposed.
The biggest stumbling block is unrelated to the budget. A proposal to give childhood sex assault victims more time to sue their assailants is being blocked by Fann and some other Republicans. Proponents won’t back the budget without it.
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4:05 p.m.
Arizona Senate Democrats are leaving the Capitol after a day of continued inaction by majority Republicans who don’t have the votes to pass a state budget.
Democratic Minority Leader David Bradley said late Saturday afternoon that no budget deal is possible until the House returns on Memorial Day. Democrats skipped debates on two bills that don’t have enough GOP support to pass.
Bradley says most Senate Democrats have left since there is nothing that can be done. He says Republican Senate President Karen Fann knows she doesn’t have the GOP votes to do substantial budget action and wondered why the chamber hasn’t just adjourned.
The House passed a budget package before dawn Saturday but several Senate Republicans have held out for a week and show no sign of changing their opposition.
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12:25 p.m.
The Arizona Senate has given initial approval to two bills that are part of the $11.8 billion state budget package but a resolution of issues that have held up action for days remains elusive.
Three of 17 Republican senators remained opposed to the budget plan at midday Saturday for various reasons. The chamber needs 16 GOP votes to pass a budget if Democrats remain opposed.
Senate President Karen Fann said late Saturday morning that she’ll try to get some of the less controversial bills passed while she works to wrangle the needed GOP votes for the full plan. Minority Democrats don’t back the plan she and House Speaker Rusty Bowers negotiated with Gov. Doug Ducey.
House Republicans adjourned at about 4:30 a.m. after passing the budget and plans to return on Memorial Day.
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11:01 a.m.
The Arizona Senate is back in session but still short of votes to pass a state budget as Republican leaders try to reach a breakthrough agreement with GOP holdouts.
Senate President Karen Fann said late Saturday morning that she’ll try to get some of the less controversial bills in the $11.8 billion budget package passed while she works to wrangle the needed GOP votes for other parts of the plan. Minority Democrats don’t back the plan she and House Speaker Rusty Bowers negotiated with Gov. Doug Ducey.
House Republicans adjourned at about 4:30 a.m. after passing the budget and plans to return on Memorial Day.
Several Senate Republican senators want changes to the budget. Sen. J.D. Mesnard wants a tax cut package tweaked while Sen. Paul Boyer is holding out for an increase in time for child sex assault victims to sue.
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4:45 a.m.
The Arizona House approved an $11.8 billion state budget in an overnight session that puts pressure on the deadlocked Senate to resolve an impasse.
House Republicans backed the budget package in party-line votes that finished shortly before 5 a.m. on Saturday. The Senate was scheduled to meet later Saturday for a third attempt to find sufficient support.
Democrats cried foul about last-minute changes to the spending plan. Those included changes to the elections budget for the secretary of state and a requirement for the attorney general to give legislative leaders all complaints he receives about political influence in schools.
At least three Republican senators are refusing to vote for the budget. With all Democrats in opposition, there aren’t enough votes to approve it.
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3:30 a.m.
A Democratic lawmaker says an overnight addition to Arizona budget legislation could lead to harassment of teachers.
One of dozens of budget items adopted early Saturday would require the attorney general to forward to the governor and legislative leaders any complaints about the use of school resources to influence an election.
Democratic Rep. Kelli Butler says that “seems like a way to threaten, harass teachers.” She worries teachers will be targeted for wearing red after last year’s “red for ed” protests.
The attorney general is charged with investigating complaints about the misuse of school resources for politics. Butler says automatically forwarding those complaints to the Legislature and governor is worrisome.
Lawmakers are considering separate legislation to fine or otherwise punish teachers for getting too political in the classroom.
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