What’s When: Arizona State House

If you’re new to state politics, calendars can be confusing. Each state has its own quirks and deadlines, and you may find yourself closely following the slow-moving proceedings in one legislature while another is in the middle of a flurry of votes. Especially if you’re a new staffer whose experience in politics has been campaigning and/or federal government, it can take time to understand when everything happens.

This is the fourth installment of a series that looks at the timetables of legislative bodies and what you need to know to stay on top of events. 

Here, we’ll be looking at the Arizona State House. To see our first installment on the Massachusetts State House, click here; to see our second installment on the Connecticut State House, click here; and to see our third installment on the Delaware State House, click here.

Two Year Cycles

The state legislature in Arizona is bicameral, composed of a 30-member State Senate and a 60-member State House of Representatives. Members of both chambers serve two year terms and there are term limits; an individual may only serve 4 consecutive terms, or 8 years, in either chamber. These term limits were first approved in 1992 via ballot initiative.

Arizona has 30 legislative districts, each of which is represented by one state senator and two state representatives. This is called a multi-member constituency; more than one rep is tasked with representing the same district. Only six other state legislatures in addition to Arizona adhere to this system. 

Starting Year One

Article IV of the Arizona Constitution governs when the legislature shall be in session. Section 3 of Part 2 of the Article states that sessions are to convene on the second Monday of January of each year. The governor also has the power to convene special sessions. The legislative session in Arizona tends to end mid-May, though it can sometimes extend into June if needed.

Overall, there are 25 standing committees in the Arizona legislature. In the Senate, there are 11 standing committees: the Ethics Committee, the Finance Committee, the Government Committee, the Natural Resources and Energy Committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Senate Commerce Committee, the Senate Education Committee, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Rules Committee, and the Transportation and Technology Committee. In the House, there are 14 standing committees: the Criminal Justice Reform Committee, the Elections Committee. The Government and Elections Committee, the House Appropriations Committee, the House Commerce Committee, the House Education Committee, the House Health and Human Services Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, the House Rules Committee, the Land & Agriculture Committee, the Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee, the Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee, the Transportation Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee.

Pace of Legislation

Legislation moves pretty quickly in Arizona due to the short session. The Bill Request deadline occurs mid-January for the Senate and at the beginning of February for the House, meaning that representatives must work quickly at the beginning of the term to get their ducks in a row and figure out what legislation they want to push for.

The Senate Bill Introduction Deadline occurs a week before the House deadline; both traditionally occur at the beginning of February. Thus, all legislation for the entire session only has a few weeks to be introduced. Representatives tend to introduce about a combined 1,000 pieces of legislation during a session, and Senators tend to introduce about 900 pieces of legislation in total during a session.

The end of February is the last day for Senate committees to hear Senate Bills and the last day for House Committees to hear House Bills. Thus, and we’re sensing a theme here, committees must work feverishly to hold hearings and make sure that prioritized bills get through this process. 

The end of March is the last day for Senate committees to hear House Bills and the last day for House Committees to hear Senate Bills. Committees spend the month of March hearing bills from their counterpart committees and figuring out details. Then, the first two weeks of April are spent in Conference Committees. Conference Committees allow House and Senate committees to iron out details and come to a consensus on one bill that can be passed by both chambers and sent to the Governor’s office for his signature.

The Budget Sprint

Compared to other states, Arizona doesn’t have much of a budget sprint. The state budget authorizes spending for one fiscal year, beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30 of the following year. As is fairly standard, state agencies are instructed to submit their budget requests starting on June 1; agencies then must submit requests to the Governor’s office by September 1 for the following year. The Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee begin to work on the budget for the year at that point.

The governor is required to present a preliminary budget for the upcoming year within 5 days after the start of each regular session of the legislature. The legislature is then allowed to conduct public budget hearings in January and February. What’s interesting is that there’s no official deadline for passing the budget, though the fiscal year begins on July 1. This is allowed because Arizona law does not require the legislature to pass a balanced budget, as is the case in many other states. Therefore, the budget is much less pressing because it doesn’t have to be balanced nor does it have to be passed by a particular deadline. In Arizona, the governor has line item veto authority, meaning that he or she can strike particular line items from the budget without vetoing the whole bill.

End of Year One, Year Two

Because Arizona has an annual budget process, year one and year two of the legislative session are pretty similar. The biggest difference is that, in even-numbered years, state senators and representatives must campaign for reelection. Primaries take place in Arizona in August before the November generals.

How Legislata Can Help

Legislata is a productivity software launching in December. Our team has experienced firsthand the challenges of working in the State House, and we want to help those at the frontline of government serve their constituents in ways that make everyone’s lives easier. Get in touch for information on how Legislata can work for your office.