Amazing non-lege fact of the day

From an email...

AT 5 MINUTES AND 6 SECONDS AFTER 4 A.M., ON THE 8TH OF JULY, THIS YEAR, THE TIME AND DATE WILL BE: 04:05:06 07-08-09

THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN UNTIL THE YEAR 3009!!!

(I had a deep feeling that you just needed to know this)

Aren't you glad you are in my address book? of course you are.

A nice, light way to end the day, even if the fact isn't really that "amazing"...

I hate to crow, really...but I pretty much pegged the attendence levels today...

I speculated that 48 Representatives would answer the call in the House, and 24 Senators would answer in the Senate.

It looks like the final attendance was 47 and 24.

Absent in the House, based on voting records: Ableser, Crandall, Lopes, Montenegro, Meyer, Quelland, Cajero Bedford, Patterson, Biggs, Deschene, Jones, Lesko, Williams.

Absent in the Senate, based on observation: Burton Cahill, Cheuvront, Gould, Waring, Gorman, Miranda.

Later...

"Kicking the can down the road"

That phrase is from Tim Schmaltz, CEO of PAFCO and an astute observer of all things lege.

And with that brief phrase, he summarized today's activities at the Arizona legislature.

While there *was* some good work done today, very good work in fact, it didn't address the state's long term budget issues. There weren't any real cuts enacted today, and neither did the lege address the revenue issue.

And both spending cuts and revenue increases (or at least stabilization - i.e. - no more tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy during a budget deficit) are necessary to bring AZ out of the fiscal hole that it finds itself in.

Items listed on the "good" side of the ledger include funding of K-12 education at levels that protect eligibility for federal stimulus money and rules changes that keep AZ eligible for federal a federal Medicaid match. Schools will be able to open for the fall semester on schedule.

Items on the "bad" side of the ledger include increasing the deficit and putting off for a few more weeks that which should have been dealt with over the last six months.

While there is a *lot* to be happy with here (education is taken care of, and that's the largest part of the state's budget), the main problem still exists, and until that is addressed in a more permanent way, education and services will remain in jeopardy.

Some of the highlights of today's bills, taken from the "fact sheets" prepared by legislative staff for the legislators (HB2001/SB1013; HB2002/SB1016; HB2003/SB1014; HB2004/SB1015) -

[Education Appropriations]
Appropriates $3,677,068,200 from the state General Fund and $46,475,500 from the Permanent State School Fund to the Arizona Department of Education for basic state support of K-12 Education in FY 2009-10 as follows:
- Basic State Aid – $3,283,073,800
- Additional State Aid – $404,880,500
- Other State Aid to Districts – $983,900
- Arizona English Immersion Fund – 32,508,700
- Operating Lump Sum – $2,096,800

[K-12 BRB]
Increases the charter school Additional Assistance for FY 2009-10 as follows:
- For pupils in grades K-8, from $1,474.16 to $1,588.44.
- For pupils in grades 9-12, from $1,718.10 to $1,851.30.

- Prohibits Basic State Aid for the second year of kindergarten if a school district or charter school admits a child to kindergarten, after the effective date of this act, who has not reached the required age and readmits the child to kindergarten the following school year. Allows the school district or charter school to charge tuition for students who repeat.
- Specifies the Base Level (per-pupil funding) for FY 2009-10 at $3,267.72.
- Increases, by 2%, the Transportation Support Level per route mile formula for FY 2009-10
- Prohibits a school district, until October 1, 2009, from adjusting its Revenue Control Limit in FY 2009-10 for Actual Utility costs.
- Specifies that school districts do not have to submit an Excess Utilities Funding Plan for FY 2009-10.
- States that until October 1, 2009, for FY 2009-10, a school district that is eligible to budget for Career Ladder Programs shall not exceed the amount budgeted in FY 2008-09.
- Caps, until October 1, 2009, school district Desegregation budgets at the FY 2008-09 level.
- Reduces, until October 1, 2009, Basic State Aid Soft Capital budget capacity and budget limits for all school districts by $175,000,000 in FY 2009-10.
- For districts not eligible to receive Basic State Aid, the Soft Capital allocation is reduced by the amount that would be otherwise reduced if the districts were eligible.

[Health and welfare BRB]

Specifies the amounts counties shall contribute for the Arizona Long-term Care System (ALTCS) for FY 2009-10 totaling $190,467,500.
- States that if the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) had not been passed, the amounts would have totaled $262,889,400.
- Modifies for FYs 2008-09 and 2009-10, the 50/50 split for reversions of excess appropriations in ALTCS to 62.2% counties and 37.8 state to comply with ARRA.
- Requires the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) to transfer Acute Care county savings due to ARRA provisions in FY 2009-09 to counties by December 31, 2009.
- Allows AHCCCS to spend federal monies drawn down by local or tribal spending to the extent that it would not reduce enhanced matching funds available pursuant to ARRA.
- Mandates that AHCCCS to transfer savings from the Proposition 204 – DES Eligibility line item FYs 2008-09 and 2009-10 to counties to comply with ARRA.

[Per diem bill]

- States that during the Forty-ninth Legislature, Third Special Session, legislators shall only receive per-diem payments for days that both houses of the Legislature convene and record attendance.
- Allows members to continue to receive interim per-diem when the member acts on a legislative matter.

AZCentral.com coverage of today's happenings here.

Final? Senate floor session for the day...

6:20 - Actually, they're doing some procedural stuff relating to the recess, but the upshot is, they're done until next Monday.

6:18 - Senate recesses until next Monday.

6:17 - HB2004, per diems. Passes unanimously. Huppenthal calls this budget "an empty promise" and voted aye.

6:13 - HB2003 passes unanimously.

6:12 - Verschoor votes, but Pearce hasn't done so.

6:10 - Steve Pierce criticizes members who are present and not voting. He states that he is "putting his political career on the line" to do the right thing, and wonders why certain members aren't doing the same. Pearce shows up.

6:07 - HB2003, Health and welfare BRB, Verschoor not voting, Burns holding vote open.

6:06 - HB2002, K-12 BRB, passes unanimously.

6:03 - HB2001, Ed appropriations, passes unanimously. Looks like Russell Pearce has bugged out. Linda Lopez expresses concerns, but supports the bill.

5:59 - House bills substituted.

5:57 - Looks like the House bills are here. At least, the pages are passing out stuff.

5:54 - Burns announces that the House bills are on their way over...

5:46 - Waiting for House to vote Third Read; once that is complete, their bills will be sent over here and exchanged/substituted.

5:44 - SB1016 passes COW unamended. COW over.

5:43 - SB1015 passes COW unamended.

5:43 - SB1014 passes COW unamended.

5:42 - SB1013 passes COW unamended.

5:40 - Meeting into order. Going into COW. Leff as chair of COW.

5:39 - Well, the 10-minute bell sounded off like, oh, eight minutes ago. Senators starting to stroll in.

5:16 - Can't hear the conversation, but Harper is on the phone to the MIA Gould, who is presumed to be back home profiting from the heat in Lake Havasu (Gould owns an AC business there.)

The floor is still pretty quiet, though...

5:06 - There is a bit of a delay since the Senate Dems were still caucusing at the end of the Rep caucus, but this intermission should end within 10 - 15 minutes.

Posting pics to kill time...

I don't know what the formatting will look like, but here goes...


A pic of the least contentious Senate Approps meeting that I've ever seen. An occasion worthy of pictorial remembrance.

Sign outside of Russell Pearce's office; I wonder if he appreciates the irony of the use of the terms "members" and "staff" given the way the Rep caucus is screwing the state? OK, probably not.

The half-empty Senate parking lot, a mere 30 minutes before the start of the session...

Republican caucus

4:59 - Caucus over.

4:57 - SB1014, per diems.

4:55 - SB1015, Health and welfare BRB. Tibshraeny asks what happens if governor lets bill become law without the her sig. No difference.

4:52 - SB1016, K-12 Ed BRB. No new school districts can add "career ladders", but new teachers can enter existing programs. I think. I'm going to have to read the details later.

4:49 - Pearce calls ELL "totally inappropriate." Huppenthal reminds Pearce that the sort of ELL funded here, structured English immersion, was one of the reasons that they prevailed in the latest Supreme Court decision on the matter.

4:47 - Pearce, true to form, questions funding for ELL.

4:46 - Staff advises Tibshraeny and the caucus that voting for the bill will ensure that school districts get their scheduled payments on July 15.

4:40 - This bill is about maintaining the status quo. It gives them until October 1st to do a real fix. Approps was less contentious than this, and Approps is *always* contentious.

4:38 - Harper stresses that SB1013 includes a 2% inflationary increase to base level funding. They're jumping on this.

4:37 - The Rep caucus is gathering...Jack Harper is griping to Sylvia Allen about the Arizona Guardian doing "opposition research" for the Dems...meeting called to order....

Senate Rules

4:29 - It is. Bills found to be constitutional and proper. Meeting adjourned. Rep caucus next.

4:28 - in order. This should be a rubberstamp.

Live blogging Senate Approps

4:22 - Approps adjourns. Rules next.

4:19 - SB1015, legislative per diem. Limits per diem payment to days that the lege is in session. Passes unanimously. Aboud expresses that she is "happy" to be voting in Appropriations *with* all of her colleagues.

4:16 - SB1014, health and welfare. Protects state eligibility for fed match rate. Bill passes unanimously, though Harper's "aye" was very faint. :)

4:12 - SB1016, K-12 Education reconciliation. Protects fed stimulus money by maintaining base level funding at 2006 levels. Aboud says "it's not a perfect piece of legislation" but supports much of what it does. Bill passes unanimously.

4:09 - SB1013, feed bill for Education. Harper "regrets" that we are increasing our deficit, though he is careful to say this is still a good cause. Bill passes unanimously.

4:08 - called to order. Gorman and Gould out

4:07 - Not started yet...close though

Live blogging the Senate session

3:54 - Approps will meet in SHR109, Rules meeting upon adjournment of Approps. Caucuses after Rules.

3:51 - Bills first read and assigned to Approps. Rules suspended re: committee agendas so that bills can be considered today. Rules suspended to allow same day 2nd and 3rd reads (final passage.)

3:50 - Burns here, along with Hale, Nelson and Sylvia Allen. Into order.

3:48 - Mostly interns, pages, and staff on the floor right now, though Senators Carolyn Allen, Linda Gray, Harper, Garcia, and Chuck Gray are wandering around.

1 other person in the gallery...

3:47 - The five-minute bell sounded about 2 minutes ago. Meaning the senate should be in session in about, oh...10 minutes.

OK, Yawn.

3:29 - and still waiting for the Senate to start. There has been some minimum activity on the floor, but there is currently only one person in the chamber (an MSM photographer) and one in the gallery (a blogger.)

"Hurry up and wait" should have been the lead item on the Senate's agenda for the day...

Looks like some bipartisan movement is taking place

Update at 3:05 - Waiting for the Senate to reconvene.

According to a couple of Capitol regulars, the Governor was not part of the negotiations regarding the bills dropped today. I don't know what that portends for their "signability" in the event that they are passed, but the fact that the leadership of the two caucuses in the lege are actually speaking to each other is a good omen.

Well, it is at least until they *stop* talking to each other.

Yes, I'm getting more cynical by the minute... :)

End update...

There are some House budget bills already up on their website, sponsored and cosponsored by the leadership of both caucuses...

HB2001 - Ed approps
HB2002 - K-12 Budget reconciliation
HB2003 - Health and welfare, budget reconciliation
HB2004 - Legislative subsistence payments, exception

That last has to do with the lege's per diem payments.

Over in the Senate, similar bills, numbered SB1013 thru SB1016, have been dropped under the names of Bob Burns and Jorge Garcia, the leaders of the two caucuses.

Looks like that they are at least together on continuing resolution-style bills at least.

More later...

Live blogging the start of the Special Session in the Senate

1:56 - Heading back to the Senate.

1:55 - Joint session ends. House expected to be back on the floor in an hour.

1:52 - Seel clarifies his position that the vetoes "increase taxes" and "increase spending" over what the lege passed. Isn't straying too far from his Kool-Aid IV (Hey - When Aboud and Tibshraeny called on the *lege* to refrain from name-calling, they didn't mention wiseass bloggers. :)) )

1:49 - The presentation from JLBC is here. That's easier than trying to regurgitate all of the details from the presenter. More here.

1:35 - start of presentation. most members not in the chamber.

1:23 - During the brief Senate session, Jay Tibshraeny and Paula Aboud both stood up to call on the lege and the governor to "work together" and refrain from "mudslinging" and "name-calling."

Given the number and volume of the side conversations on the Senate floor during their speeches, it might be best to keep low expectations in that regard.

1:20 - Over in the House now. Waiting for the joint session to start. The gallery is more than half full; security is visibly higher than normal. Still, they're just looking. So far, everyone is well-behaved, in the gallery and on the floor. The joint session will hear a presentation from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) on the effects of the Governor's veto of the lege's budget.

Considering the meaning of the "L" in "JLBC", is it cynical of me to think this is going to be nothing more than a joint *spin* session?

1:02 - No Burton Cahill, Waring, Gould, Miranda, Landrum Taylor, Cheuvront, Gorman...quorum present

12:58 - Word just came down that after a brief Senate session, they'll be going over to the House for a joint session.

12:55 - The Republican caucus has started trickling in - Paton, Melvin, Sylvia Allen, Steve Pierce...Tibshraeny just poked his head in up in the gallery...

Expectations are that they will have a quorum and after attendance is taken, recess into caucus meetings...

Special Session Update

A quick update before I head to the lege to watch the beginning of the session in person...

The AZ Republic is reporting that Senate President Bob Burns has cancelled his previously-planned trip to Germany in order to attend the special session of the legislature that was called by the Governor after her vetoes of most of the budget that the lege sent to her at the very beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1.

OK - I've got dibs on 48 and 24 in the quorum pool

On Monday, July 6, the Arizona Legislature is scheduled to hold a special session to work up a budget after the governor vetoed most of the one that they sent to her at the very last minute.

Actually, it was after the very last minute, but due to a localized time dilation phenomenon (known as shutting off the clocks at the lege)... :)

It's already known that at least one Republican, Senate President Bob Burns, had already made vacation plans (trip to Europe) and probably won't be there, and that one Democrat, Representative Ed Ableser, will be out of town on personal business (wedding and a honeymoon - yup. That's "personal" business. :)) Congrats Ed!). Others are sure to have made other plans for July because most lege types know better than to make any plans to be out of town from the beginning of January through the end of June.

Since we *are* into July, others are certain to have made plans and won't be able to attend the session. And at least a few who are able to attend may not do so, in a protest of one thing or another.

Still, under the law, legislators are required to attend duly noticed special sessions.

So, with all that as background, we should start the AZ blogosphere quorum pool (no money changing hands, just bragging rights.)

My predictions are that 48 members of the House and 24 members of the Senate will answer the call, for an absentee rate of 20%.

Of course, no matter how many attend, they are a long way from the 31 and 16 votes needed to pass a budget that the Governor will find signable*.

Especially if they insist on still not involving the Democrats (other than demanding their votes without, you know, actually *dealing* with the Democrats).

*And what she considers "signable" is pretty damn bad, so that should tell you how bad the lege's budget had to be for her to veto it.

More 2010 campaign committees...

It's been a while, and there have been a number of committees formed since the last one of these...

- In LD4, former state senator Scott Bundgaard, Republican, has formed a committee to run for the senate seat currently held by term-limited Republican Jack Harper (filer ID 201000138). A Phoenix New Times' article from 1999 shows that if he wins the seat, Bundgaard probably won't exceed the low standard of professionalism in office set by Harper.

- In LD6, Steven Kaiser, Republican, has filed to run for State Representative (201000136). I'm not absolutely sure that this is his Facebook page, but if it is (this one is a fan of the AZ House GOP and the AZ Senate GOP), he's a winger.

He's also a fan of Glenn Beck.

According to this winger website (April 26, 2009 entry), he's also a Captain in the Army Reserves and works at a Target Corporation distribution center as an "executive." More likely, he's a manager of some kind; most large corporations don't assign "executives" to its warehouses. (The use of that term is probably the writer's responsibility, not Kaiser's.)

- In the AG's race, current LD6 state rep, Sam Crump, Republican, has opened an exploratory committee (201000134) to gauge support in a quest for the Republican nomination.

Not sure if this means that he thinks he can beat the field of possible Rep candidates, or if he thinks the field will open up as certain expected AG candidates (Horne, Thomas) mull runs for Governor instead.

- In LD27, Dustin Cox, Democrat, as filed for an exploratory committee to look at a run at a State Representative spot. This seems to be his Facebook page. Since this is southern AZ, Tedski will do a better job of covering the story when the time comes.

- In LD16, Robert Gular has filed for a run at the Republican nomination for state rep (201000131). Couldn't find out much about him in a Google search.

- In LD11, Rich Davis, Republican, is exploring a run at state rep (201000130). It's a crappy name for an internet search, but his campaign website is here, though it isn't really up and running yet.

- In the area of ballot measures, "Pennies for Prevention" has formed a committee (201000129). Not sure what they are about (I've got a phone call out to the contact number listed for the committee).

Since that contact number is for a doctor, I'm guessing (pending a call back with specific info) that it is related to a healthy lifestyles effort.

- In the area of legalized bribery corporate campaign contributions, The GEO Group Inc. has formed a PAC (201000125) as of June 8. The GEO Group is a private prison company.

[start sarcasm] Geez, I wonder why there was some much support in the Republican caucus of the lege for selling off the state's prisons? [end sarcasm]

Later...