Arizona lawmakers could move to a once-a-week work schedule. Here's why

The Arizona Legislature is preparing to move to a once-a-week work schedule for the session, with most of their legislative work done for the year but negotiations just starting on the state budget.

Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma, both Republicans, said they expect the Legislature to finish up most of the bills still under consideration this week. Starting next week, they said, lawmakers would very likely be coming in only on Wednesdays.

"I'm not going to take people away from their families and their jobs to come and pledge and pray and then send them back home," Petersen said. "I'm not going to make my members stay there while we negotiate the budget."

The shortened schedule has a couple of advantages for lawmakers in both chambers: It gives those with election challengers breathing room to work on their campaigns, and it allows them to continue earning per diem income without needing to work for most of the week.

Besides their $24,000-a-year annual salary, state lawmakers earn extra money each day the Legislature is in session, including weekends and holidays.

Lawmakers who live in Maricopa County — where the state Capitol is located — make an extra $35 a day for the first 120 days in session, which ends May 7. Those who live elsewhere in the state get $238 a day. The daily supplement drops after 120 days to $10 for Maricopa County residents and $119 for others.

So far, there's no sign lawmakers will take the long breaks they enjoyed last year due to disputes over bills, including Proposition 400, a transportation package that eventually passed and will be on November's ballot.

The 2023 session that unfolded after Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs took office marked the Republican-dominated Legislature's biggest challenge with divided government in years. Hobbs and the Republicans, who hold one-seat majorities in each chamber, agreed on a $17.8 billion budget in mid-May but didn't end the session until July 31.

Hobbs has resisted budget negotiations for months, according to the legislative leaders, canceling numerous meetings without explanation, according to Petersen and Toma.

But now, "budget meetings are back on the schedule," Toma said. "So, barring any future derailments, we should finally start making progress."

Hobbs' spokesperson didn't return a message Monday about the negotiations. The governor on Tuesday said in response to questions by The Arizona Republic that she was "not aware" of any canceled budget meetings. Hobbs didn't directly refute statements that her office canceled them.

On the Legislature planning to meet once a week during budget negotiations, she noted the work left to be done.

"There's still a lot of pressing issues, bills to address the sober living home situation (and) affordable housing that I'm hoping to get to my desk," she said. "And, again, working on a budget that works for Arizona. So I'm hoping we can get those done in the near future."

Budget to take precedence as bill-making winds down

Creating a balanced budget is one of the most important tasks lawmakers and the governor must do, and by law should be completed by June 30, the end of the state's fiscal year.

Toma said he and Petersen have two meetings scheduled with Hobbs' office on April 2 and 4, and those so far haven't been canceled. But the two sides are still "out of whack" with each other, he added, and not just over how much each wants to spend. They don't yet agree on how much money exists to spend, Toma said, adding that new tax revenue projections set to be released next week should get Republicans and Democrats on the same page.

"We’ll see if our projections are right or if there needs to be significant changes," he said.

A surplus in last year's budget that led to millions in so-called "pork" expenditures became a shortfall when revenue predictions turned out to be several hundred million dollars less than expected. This year, Hobbs and the Legislature must adjust the current year's budget to the revenue reality and do the same with the budget for next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

A budget Hobbs proposed in January to absorb the revenue shortage involved large cuts to transportation projects and a plan to reform the state's private school voucher program that Republicans found untenable.

New schedule will allow some lawmakers to campaign

The Senate has about 75 bills remaining, while the House has about 100. The leaders said nearly all of those will be handled this week. The winning proposals in that bunch will get voted down, go to Hobbs' desk for her signature or veto, or head straight to the November ballot. Lawmakers only need one day a week to deal with the leftovers, they said.

Petersen said the legislative mix could include a new version of the Border Invasion Act that Hobbs has already vetoed or other border bills, though that depends on how the courts address a similar bill in Texas being challenged by the Biden Administration. Like the Texas bill, the Border Invasion Act would allow Arizona law officers to act as border control agents and allow state judges to issue deportation orders.

Toma's running for office in Arizona's 8th Congressional District, but the new schedule doesn't mean he'll have much extra time to campaign, he said. Petersen and Toma said they'll still be at the Capitol nearly every day in the planned budget talks.

They'll brief Republican lawmakers on Wednesdays, telling them how the negotiations are going and getting input from them on their wants and needs for their constituents.

"Toma and I are not dictators," Petersen said. "We're mediators."

He expected Democrats to get updates from their leaders, who would be apprised by Hobbs' office. He predicted the budget negotiation process could last weeks.

Senate Minority Leader Mitzi Epstein said Democrats would prefer a longer break if the intent is to drop the daily routine. That way, lawmakers could better manage their schedules, especially for those who hold jobs outside the Legislature.

Epstein said it's not just the budget causing delay. There are some bills still being worked on behind the scenes in what she called "tender negotiations."

House Majority Whip Teresa Martinez, a Casa Grande Republican, said she appreciates the coming shorter schedule. It'll give her more time to work her day job as the Hispanic outreach coordinator for Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar.

The extra days without floor sessions and committee hearings will also "give members some time to go out into the districts and go on and win their races," said Martinez, an incumbent who faces both Republican and Democratic challengers.

Reporters Mary Jo Pitzl and Stacey Barchenger contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter at  rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: GOP leaders of Arizona Legislature eye once-a-week work schedule