'Adults in the room': Outnumbered AZ Democrats tout legislative priorities ahead of session

Another session, another closely divided Legislature.

Lawmakers return to work Monday to a familiar scenario: A mere one-seat margin keeps Republicans in control in both the state Senate and the Arizona House of Representatives.

But Democrats, buoyed by successes in the 2022 elections and an ally in the governor's office, are hopeful their work this year will convince voters to hand them control next year.

They say in contrast with Republicans, they will emphasize housing, protection of public education and water management. Republicans cite many of the same priorities, albeit with a different policy approach.

Oscar de los Santos is the Democrats' assistant leader in the House. He said the approach matters.

“We’re trying to show the voters and the people of Arizona that we are ready to govern for all Arizonans, that we are the adults in the room, that we are not bogged down with conspiracy theories and strange ideas," said de los Santos, D-Laveen.

Education

Democrats are united in supporting the K-12 system and backing policies that would put some guardrails on the state's universal voucher program.

They have already thrown their support behind Gov. Katie Hobbs' proposals to rein in parts of the Empowerment Scholarship Account program, arguing it needs transparency and accountability.

They're skeptical of a GOP proposal to give teachers a $4,000 pay raise by redirecting some funding from the state's Permanent Land Endowment Trust Fund.

Mitzi Epstein, a Tempe Democrat who serves as the minority party's leader in the state Senate, called it a "cotton candy poof in the air" that lacks details.

De los Santos said teacher pay raises are laudable. But he added lawmakers shouldn't exclude the other jobs that make a school tick, from bus drivers to cafeteria workers.

Democrats will push for modifications to a spending limit that has threatened to force deep cuts in school spending over the last two years. They say the aggregate expenditure limit is not needed, as each school district already has its own spending cap.

Housing

House Democrats put housing into a broader "affordability" category, saying work is needed to not only bring down housing costs but also to do the same for child care and prescription drugs.

“We’re hoping to be quite clear to the people of Arizona that we want to focus on kitchen table issues," de los Santos said.

How to bring down prices remains to be seen. He said House Democrats will release details early in the legislative session.

However, Democrats in both chambers have acknowledged the need to do something about the businesses that buy homes and rent them out by catering to higher-income renters or to vacationing visitors.

Epstein said she is encouraged by some cities' movement on zoning laws to loosen some requirements so new housing is more affordable.

Water

Over the last several months, task forces have been working on proposals to safeguard Arizona's water supply.

Some of those proposals are expected to become legislation. If they do, Democrats want to prioritize laws that would protect rural water supplies, preferably by giving rural communities the tools needed to provide protection.

De los Santos added it's important to ensure policies keep water safe as well as sustainable.

Both Epstein and de los Santos have reacted with alarm to Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, who questioned why the state has a 100-year requirement for a sustainable water supply in the urban areas. They interpreted that as Petersen signaling he wants to loosen water protections, and have vowed to block any such moves.

Petersen said he has no intention to do so but wanted to point out how random some of the state's water restrictions are.

Budget

Creating a state budget is usually the biggest divide between Democrats and Republicans.

Lawmakers will need to cut spending in the current year's budget, as well as pull back on spending for the year that begins July 1.

Democrats said they'll make it clear they blame the pending cutbacks on the Republicans.

"This is a Republican-created problem," de los Santos said. He cited the move to a single-rate income tax, which resulted in a tax cut for everyone, as well as the sudden growth of the voucher program. Both are policies that split cleanly along partisan lines with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.

“When we’re talking about the budget, we first need to look at the ESA program," de los Santos said.

He agreed with Republican suggestions that some of the programs and projects funded with the state's now-evaporated $2.5 billion budget surplus may have to be pulled back.

“There’s certain things that can be clawed back," he said. " We can start with the Prescott Rodeo.”

A proposal from GOP lawmakers representing the Prescott area gave the nonprofit that runs the annual July 4 rodeo $15.3 million in state funds. The allocation is now being challenged in court as a violation of the state's gift clause.

Social, cultural issues

De los Santos said Democrats would like to erase a ban on same-sex marriage from the state Constitution, even though a federal court ruling overrode that restriction in 2015.

They want to strike an abortion law dating from 1864 that currently is being pondered by the state Supreme Court.

“We’d like to see the territorial ban taken off the books," he said, noting it's impossible to know how the court will rule.

He also promised Democrats will stand up for same-sex, transgender and other individual rights, topics which have enflamed cultural debates at the statehouse and beyond. Hobbs vetoed GOP proposals, but de los Santos said it's important to be proactive on the issues.

“We’ll be introducing anti-discrimination legislation, for sure," he said.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ Democrats to focus on water, housing, K-12 during legislative session