Arizona Legislature: Lawmakers approve school voucher changes, adjourn session for the year

The Arizona House and Senate have concluded a legislative session that was among the longest in recent state history. Wednesday marks the 171st day since lawmakers started their work in January.

Several significant issues, including school voucher expansion and criminal justice changes, were resolved Wednesday. Republic reporters Andrew Oxford and Mary Jo Pitzl have covered what happens hour by hour at the state Capitol.

Read recent coverage here: June 28-29 | June 25 | June 24

4:54 p.m.: Legislature adjourns sine die

The Arizona Legislature adjourned for the year on Wednesday afternoon, bringing an end to a session that dragged on for 171 days and featured the passage of sweeping tax cuts, approval for an increase in unemployment benefits starting in 2022 and an unsuccessful effort to hold the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in contempt.

The end of the session came on the last day of the fiscal year — a crucial deadline for passing a budget, which seemed elusive just a week earlier as lawmakers continued to wrangle over the $12.8 billion spending plan.

Gov. Doug Ducey signed the budget mid-afternoon.

As one of their final acts, lawmakers approved the education budget bill, including a last-minute tweak to the state’s private-school voucher program.

The change means certain children who already qualify for the Empowerment Scholarship Account program will have quicker access to apply for the program. ESAs send a portion of the public funding for each child’s education to a voucher program which the student and family can use at the private school of their choice.

It passed with unified Republican support and Democratic condemnation that the move is another step toward defunding the state’s public-school system. Arizona voters repealed an expansion of the program that was passed by the Legislature in 2018.

The budget comes with a $1 billion tax cut, nearly $1 billion to pay off debts, $100 million for wildfire prevention and mitigation as well as an additional $50 million for special education.

The budget also includes a series of provisions that have little to do with the budget, such as a ban on local governments adopting certain public health precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and curbing the authority of the Democratic secretary of state.

— Andrew Oxford and Mary Jo Pitzl

3 p.m.: Troopers to get body cameras; access to video may be limited

As Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill funding body cameras for Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers on Wednesday, the Legislature approved a criminal justice budget bill that would significantly limit public access to the footage.

The Senate passed House Bill 2893 on a party line vote of 16-11 with three Democrats not voting. The bill would allow the DPS to withhold body camera footage if the department determines there is not an important public purpose to release it.

The bill’s language also says the department "shall deny" a request that does not include the date and approximate time of the recording, the specific location where it was recorded and the name of the person or persons involved — far more information than law enforcement agencies in Arizona usually require for public records requests.

Currently, the provision lists footage of the following as an example of important public purposes:

• A person being arrested for a misdemeanor or felony that could result in incarceration.
• One or more police officers using physical force.
• An allegation of law enforcement misconduct.

The DPS is currently the largest law enforcement agency in the state for which the majority of its force is not equipped with body cameras.

Advocates and lawmakers renewed calls to fund and equip state troopers with body-worn cameras last May after Trooper George Cervantes fatally shot Dion Johnson, sparking protests.

Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel decided not to pursue criminal charges against Cervantes but penned a letter to state lawmakers urging them to fund and equip all body cameras for all uniformed officers.

— Perry Vandell

1:30 p.m.: Senate passes ed bill (again)

The Senate passes the K-12 bill with voucher provisions added back in. It continues the conflict with the House version, so the differences still must be ironed out. House Bill 2898 passed on a 16-14 party-line vote, with Republicans in favor.

“When will it ever be enough to allow poor and minority students to leave schools that are not failing them?” Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, after ticking off the federal and state investment in education.

Democrats argued against the bill. "This is defunding education," said Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai, D-Window Rock.

— Mary Jo Pitzl

12:30 p.m.: Sign of life for budget bills

Moving the Legislature one step closer to finishing its work, the Senate passed the budget bill on criminal justice and gave voice approval to a K-12 amendment that would restore private-school vouchers.

On a 16-11 vote, the senators passed House Bill 2893, accepting a tweak the House made last week. That leaves just one budget bill outstanding — the education bill.

For the criminal justice piece, the House set a more stringent standard for triggering an investigation of local government policies, rules or regulations that could lead to a loss of state-shared income tax revenue.

The Senate accepted that change with little comment, although Sen. Tony Navarrete, D-Phoenix, noted the opposition from local governments as he cast his "no" vote.

The measure is largely seen as payback to cities and towns for their push against the original $1.9 billion tax package, which would have cut by up to a third the amount of income tax the state shares with them.

The K-12 bill vote will be up for debate and a vote Wednesday afternoon. Sen. Paul Boyer's amendment would remove a civics curriculum requirement approved by the House. And it seeks to restore, at least in part, the school-voucher expansion the House rejected last week.

The House and Senate versions of the bill must match to become law; Boyer's amendment gets halfway there, but the voucher provision is a lightning rod.

— Mary Jo Pitzl

Noon: Higher per diem goes to Ducey

Legislators from outside Maricopa County could get a bump in their daily allowances during the session if Gov. Doug Ducey signs a bill approved by the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Currently, those lawmakers get $60 a day and that sum is cut after the 120th day of the session (Wednesday is day 171).

If House Bill 2053 were law today, those lawmakers would earn a daily stipend based on the per diem rates determined by the federal government’s General Services Administration. For Phoenix, that amounts to $151 for lodging and $56 for meals and incidentals.

Republicans and Democrats from beyond Maricopa County praised the proposal, recounting how many have to dip into their own finances to rent a home in Phoenix during the annual sessions, particularly as those sessions drag into the summer.

Renting in downtown Phoenix was more affordable 20 years ago but times have changed, said Rep. Pamela Power Hannley, D-Tucson. The lawmaker said she ended up paying $1,400 a month for about 500 square feet during the session.

Some lawmakers argued it would be more appropriate to change the daily allowances after an election, rather than for lawmakers who will return next year.

And Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake, voted against the measure, arguing the better solution would be to raise lawmakers’ $24,000-a-year salaries with the approval of voters, who have shot down the idea several times over the last few decades.

“I think the people of Arizona are paying us exactly what we’re worth,” shot back Rep. Charlene Fernandez, D-Yuma.

But Fernandez argued the better rates would help lawmakers cover the basic costs of serving in the Legislature and traveling to the Capitol.

— Andrew Oxford

9:30 a.m.: What's on the agenda?

Arizona legislators are set to reconvene at 10 a.m. Wednesday, but their official agenda so far does not include one of the major sticking points in the state budget.

The Senate and House of Representatives have passed separate legislation on K-12 education spending — a major chunk of the state’s budget.

But while the Senate approved expanding the state’s school voucher program, the House rejected that idea. And the House proposed a civics education requirement that may not pass the Senate.

Wednesday’s agendas do not include those bills, though they could emerge as the day goes on.

Instead, the Senate is scheduled to take up other bills, such as legislation that would impose harsher penalties for damaging or tampering with a monument. House Bill 2552 comes after a man doused in red paint a monument to Confederate troops that stood outside the state Capitol. The state eventually removed the monument after years of requests that it do so.

— Andrew Oxford