This week, the Arizona legislature passed its 120th day of session, which, as this article from KJZZ, points out, means the legislators might have to start having to start skipping their afternoon lattes, as their per diems have been cut from $60 to $20 for out-of-county legislators and $35 to $10 for those from Maricopa. The per diem cut is meant to be an incentive for legislators to get things wrapped up quickly, but as it stands right now there is no definite end in sight as June is coming quickly on the horizon.
What is causing the holdup? Well, with slim majorities in both houses and a firm commitment to not working in a bipartisan manner and letting Democrats in on negotiations, the Republicans have little margin for disagreement within their own caucus and several Republicans in both houses are unhappy right now and unwilling to sign on to a budget from their leadership.
According to an anonymous source with knowledge of the negotiations, some Senate Republicans are reportedly backing the “Bradley Budget” proposed by Democrat and Senate minority leader David Bradley, while many House Republicans are complaining about being shut out of the process by the small and secretive group working on the House Republican proposal.
In the Senate, one of the Republicans who has been most vocal in his refusal to sign on to the budget is Paul Boyer of LD 20. Boyer has said he won’t vote for any budget until the Senate allows a vote on his bill, SB 1255, which extends the statute of limitations for civil suits by survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Why is this seemingly uncontroversial piece of legislation now threatening the entire budget?
