In Arizona Legislature's first day, divisions with new governor were on display

The 56th Arizona Legislature opened for work Monday with new leaders, 41 new members, a new governor and a touch of acrimony in a new era of divided government.

The most dramatic moment came when several lawmakers left the opening-day ceremonies during Gov. Katie Hobbs State of the State speech. Two protesting legislators, Sens. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, and Justine Wadsack, R-Tucson, stood with their backs to Hobbs for a few minutes as she spoke.

Wadsack said in an email that she turned her back because Hobbs vowed to dismantle Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, which provide tuition assistance for students in private schools, saying that it was needed to help combat the "sexualization of our children" in public schools.

When Hobbs began talking about abortion, Wadsack walked out, she said.

Kern declined to speak to an Arizona Republic reporter after the event.

The ceremonies began at noon in the House and Senate with typical pomp and circumstance: religious invocations, a flag ceremony and patriotic music. Guests included former Arizona governors Fife Symington and Jan Brewer, state Supreme Court justices, former lawmakers, university presidents, and the many family members and friends of lawmakers.

Hanna Zack Miley, 91, a Holocaust survivor, was invited to speak and told those gathered about her early life under Nazi rule and the road to fascism.

Before Hobbs' speech, Democrats staged a minor skirmish during the election of the Senate President, offering their own choice for the job — Senate Minority Leader Raquel Terán — despite the Republican majority. After Republicans nominated Warren Petersen to lead the 30-member chamber, the Democrats nominated Terán the minority leader. But Petersen, R-Gilbert, prevailed on a 16-13 vote, which ran along party lines.

Sen. Juan Mendez, D-Tempe, was absent due to a case of COVID-19. Newly elected Rep. Leezah Sun, D-Phoenix, was the only other absent lawmaker on Monday; she said she had the flu.

No surprises in picks for leaders at Legislature

The decisions on who would lead the chambers were made by Republicans two months ago in meetings that were kept secret from public view.

Rep. Ben Toma, R-Glendale, was the Republicans' pick for House Speaker, though some members preferred Rep. Joseph Chaplik of Scottsdale, whose bid was supported by a more conservative faction. On Monday, House members made his election official with a unanimous vote. Several Democrats joined Republicans in a standing ovation for Toma, including Reps. Alma Hernandez, Consuelo Hernandez and Analise Ortiz.

Toma promised to listen to fellow House members and said his actions would be “in the best interest of this institution and the state.”

Debates “will be at times heated” in the coming months, he said, “precisely because we all care about the priorities.”

Opening day this year marked the return of divided government, something the state hasn't seen for 14 years. While Republicans have retained control of the Legislature, albeit with one-vote margins in both the House and Senate, a Democrat now occupies the Governor's Office. Hobbs will have to work with a Republican-controlled Legislature, and vice versa.

Some members retained a note of optimism on the first day about the session's possibilities, hoping that crucial issues including water resources, school funding and affordable housing would get addressed without political hijinks.

Rep. Amish Shah, D-Phoenix, said he's hopeful lawmakers will work quickly to raise the state's Aggregate Expenditure Limit for public schools, which Republicans failed to do last year. Without raising the limit, schools can't use all the money budgeted for them this year, possibly leading to school closures later this year.

"It has to be done," Shah said. "I think the Republican members know that, we certainly know that."

Senate and House majority leaders Sonny Borrelli and Leo Biasiucci, respectively, said in a video statement that the reason the expenditure limit was reached was because Republicans have poured so much money into schools. But the Republicans, both from Lake Havasu City, pledged that schools would not lose out.

"We will address this, but we will not rush the process," Biasiucci said. "We will not rubber-stamp a budget that includes more reckless spending like the federal government has done."

Members of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, on the other hand, showed that they would stand firm for their principles.

The walkout incident, which Hobbs later called a political stunt, involved members and supporters of the caucus who had held a press conference before the start of the ceremonies to knock Hobbs' recent executive orders. The group targeted Hobbs' Jan. 2 executive order that bans the state from discriminating against the LGBTQ community in hiring or contract work, but its leader, Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, said that any executive order that didn't comport with existing law would face opposition.

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New faces, ambitious timeline

While leaders from both parties hold aspirations for bipartisanship, disagreements and vetoes are expected — and probably inevitable.

"You're going to have a little bit of gridlock," Petersen, the new Senate President, told the audience at an Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry luncheon Friday.

Committee hearings start Tuesday, with a proposed cut in the corporate income tax as one of the first bills scheduled for a hearing.

Many of the new lawmakers could face a steep learning curve. The House will have 31 freshmen, although three are returning to the chamber after several years away. In the Senate, 10 members are new this term, including four who have served previously, some as recently as two years ago. In all, new faces will comprise 46% of the Legislature.

Although Petersen offered a sunny prediction that the Legislature would wrap up its work in 90 days, or by early April, few are as hopeful. Recent legislative sessions have dragged into June, and with a crop of newbies, as well a one-vote GOP margin in both the House and Senate, the chances of a protracted session are high. The previous session didn't adjourn until June 25.

Video of the opening day ceremonies is on the Legislature's website, Arizona Capitol TV.

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

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Legislature's first day of work highlights opposition to Hobbs