Taking a SPRING BREAK because..

There's still so much work to do..............

On Thursday the Senate sent 20 bills to the governor's desk then adjourned until May 28th while the House sent 32 bills to the governor's desk and adjourned until May 20th. Adjournment does not mean they have no work to do, it means they cannot adequately function to get the work done.

One of the major points of contention, and there are many, is how to link extending Prop. 123 with enshrining school vouchers in the constitution. The GOP majority held a press conference on the issue last week and announced they were bringing a resolution for a vote.

There was a loud public outcry and the resolution was not brought forth before they adjourned. They are not likely to bring forth a pure resolution which would just extend the $300 million dollar funding but are sure to try again after their break. Be assured the secret back room horse training of funding priorities is being discussed with budget items and constitutionally assured school vouchers is a bargaining chip.

In addition to the Prop 123 extension, after the break we could see a vote on tax funding for a new Diamondback's stadium, and possibly a vote on The Starter Homes Act.

While the House sent six Resolutions to the Secretary Of State none were ballot referrals. (whew!) A resolution can be a statement of a position sent to a governing body in addition to being a ballot referral. Many of the resolutions were statements of nonsense expressing the legislature's opinion on Arizona's water issues.

Bill tally to date:

152 bills have been signed this year and 88 have been vetoed.

The Weekly published each week by Civic Engagement Beyond Voting gives a great recap on the latest bills vetoed and those still sitting on the governor's desk waiting for a signature.

The bills waiting for action by the governor include Sen. Kavanaugh's pronoun and bathroom bills, and his bill number SB1036. There is already a statute prohibiting a city, town, county or school district from using any taxpayer funds to influence an election. SB1036 allows any resident to initiate a lawsuit against the jurisdiction aiming to influence an election and the resident would claim the $5,000 penalty already in statute. Let the frivolous lawsuits begin!