On Tuesday, Arizona lawmakers were advised that Governor Doug Ducey was taking a page from former Governor Jan Brewer’s playbook and was blocking bills until he gets the budget he wants. The moratorium on signing any legislation by the Legislature, could spell doom for many bills.
Because Senate President Andy Biggs is eager to flee the chamber and begin a full-time run for the U.S. House, many believe that he will end the session as soon as the Legislature passes the budget. That budget is expected to be austere once again, and Ducey’s moratorium should help get it crammed through in record time.
Unlike Brewer, who vetoed many bills, Ducey has seen to it – through Biggs and friends in the House – that bills he is not fond of disappear before they ever make it out of both chambers. Biggs has carried Ducey’s water dutifully, and ending the session quickly will serve to kill bills with little effort.
Biggs, who has held many bills that do not serve that agenda, bragged earlier this year to activists that he would continue to hold bills until “5 minutes before sine die” and then assign them. Using that approach will allow Biggs to say the bills died rather than admit that he killed them.