Arizona legislative manual

              ARIZONA
LEGISLATIVE
MANUAL
2001 EDITION
Arizona Legislative Council
Phoenix, Arizona
Copyright c 2001
Arizona Legislative Council
Suite 100, Legislative Services Wing
State Capitol
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
www.azleg.state.az.us
Editor
David M. Thomas
Deputy Director
Arizona Legislative Council
This publication is available in alternative formats by contacting the Legislative Council at (602) 542-4236.
Front Cover: Winged Victory on dome of Arizona State Capitol. All photographs courtesy of research division, Arizona State
Library, Archives and Public Records, and Lynn Bistany.
Table of Contents
Chapter Page
One The Legislative Function ................................................................. 1
The Legislature ................................................................................ 1
Direct Citizen Legislation ............................................................... 2
Initiative ..................................................................................... 3
Referendum ................................................................................ 3
Amendment, Repeal or Veto of Initiated or Referred Measures4
Two The Arizona Legislature .................................................................. 5
History of the Arizona Legislature .................................................. 5
Territorial Arizona ..................................................................... 5
The Enabling Act and Constitutional Convention of 1910 ...... 6
Early Arizona Legislature .......................................................... 7
Constitutional Principles Regarding the Legislature ................ 8
Size and Apportionment.................................................................. 8
Membership ..................................................................................... 9
Qualifications ............................................................................. 9
Elections ..................................................................................... 9
Term Limits ................................................................................ 9
Vacancies .................................................................................... 9
Leadership ..................................................................................... 10
President of the Senate and Speaker of the
House of Representatives ........................................................ 10
Majority and Minority Leaders ............................................... 11
Majority and Minority Whips .................................................. 11
President Pro Tempore and Speaker Pro Tempore ................. 11
Parliamentarian ........................................................................ 12
Standing Committee Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen ............... 12
The Committee System ................................................................. 12
Standing Committees ............................................................... 12
Subcommittees ......................................................................... 13
Joint Statutory Committees ..................................................... 13
Interim Committees ................................................................. 13
Political Party Caucuses ................................................................ 14
Staff ................................................................................................ 14
Secretary of the Senate ............................................................ 15
Chief Clerk of the House ......................................................... 15
Research Staff ........................................................................... 16
Rules Committee Staff.............................................................. 16
Committee Secretaries ............................................................ 16
Majority and Minority Staff ..................................................... 16
Members’ Assistants and Secretaries ...................................... 16
Accounting Staff ....................................................................... 17
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Chapter Page
Sergeant at Arms ...................................................................... 17
Pages ......................................................................................... 17
Other Staff ................................................................................ 17
Legislative Agency Staff ........................................................... 17
Lobbyists ........................................................................................ 17
Press ............................................................................................... 19
Three Legislative Finances ...................................................................... 21
Legislative Budget .......................................................................... 21
Legislator Compensation .............................................................. 21
Salary ........................................................................................ 21
Per Diem and Other Expense Allowances .............................. 22
Retirement and Other Employment Benefits .......................... 23
Four Legislative Powers, Privileges and Responsibilities ...................... 25
Legislative Immunity ..................................................................... 25
Limitations on Legislative Power .................................................. 26
Crimes Against the Legislature ..................................................... 26
Legislative Discipline ..................................................................... 26
Reporting Campaign Finances ...................................................... 27
Reporting Personal Finances......................................................... 27
Five Legislative Procedure .................................................................... 29
Parliamentary Procedure in the Senate and the
House of Representatives .............................................................. 29
Senate Procedure ........................................................................... 29
House of Representatives Procedure ............................................ 30
Six The Legislature in Operation ........................................................ 33
Sessions: Organization of the Legislature ..................................... 33
Drafting .......................................................................................... 34
Bills ........................................................................................... 35
Resolutions ............................................................................... 35
Memorials ................................................................................ 36
Fiscal Notes ................................................................................... 36
Introductions ................................................................................. 36
First and Second Reading .............................................................. 37
Committee Action ......................................................................... 37
Notice and Agendas ................................................................. 37
Hearing ..................................................................................... 38
Subcommittees ......................................................................... 39
Amendments ............................................................................ 39
Appropriations Committees .................................................... 40
Rules Committees .................................................................... 40
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Caucus ........................................................................................... 40
Calendars ....................................................................................... 41
Committee of the Whole ............................................................... 42
Floor Debate ............................................................................ 42
Floor Amendments .................................................................. 43
Engrossing ................................................................................ 43
Third Reading ................................................................................ 44
Second House Consideration ........................................................ 44
Concur, Refuse, Conference Committees ..................................... 45
Final Passage and Transmission to Governor or
Secretary of State ........................................................................... 46
Gubernatorial Action .................................................................... 46
Effective Date ................................................................................ 47
Example ......................................................................................... 49
Seven The State Budget Process .............................................................. 51
Eight Legislative Oversight ..................................................................... 55
Sunset Review of State Agencies and Programs ........................... 55
Senate Advise and Consent on
Gubernatorial Appointments ........................................................ 56
Nine Impeachment ................................................................................. 57
Investigation and Indictment by House of Representatives ......... 57
Trial by Senate ............................................................................... 58
Historical Perspective ................................................................... 59
Ten Legislative Service Agencies ......................................................... 61
Legislative Council ........................................................................ 61
Joint Legislative Budget Committee .............................................. 61
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records .................... 62
Office of the Auditor General ....................................................... 63
Ombudsman-Citizens’ Aide........................................................... 63
Ombudsman for Private Property Rights ...................................... 64
Eleven Legislative Constituent Services ................................................... 65
ALIS On-line .................................................................................. 65
Information Desks ......................................................................... 65
Visiting the Legislature................................................................ 66
Twelve Glossary of Legislative Terms ....................................................... 67
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Chapter One
The
Legislative
Function
The Legislature is a complex institution
with traditions rooted in Colonial
American and European experience, but it
is also a contemporary institution in which
politicians with strong personalities and political
philosophies deal with current problems, interests
and strategies in a way that easily overwhelms a
casual observer. The Legislature touches the life of
every person in this state. With such power focused
in a complex organization following esoteric
processes, it is easy for the ordinary citizen to
become frustrated and distrustful of government
that, in the final analysis, exists solely to benefit
the public. This manual is devoted to describing
the Arizona Legislature and what it does so that
interested citizens and new lawmakers can better
understand how their Legislature operates and can
be more effective in participating in the legislative
process.
The American system of government recognizes
three broad functions properly assigned by the
public to its representatives. These functions are
reflected in the separate branches of government
traditional in the United States: The legislative or
lawmaking function, the executive or administrative
function and the judicial or adjudicatory function.
In Arizona, the people only partially delegated
the legislative power to the state government. The
Constitution of Arizona provides:
The legislative authority of the State shall be
vested in a Legislature, consisting of a Senate
and a House of Representatives, but the people
reserve the power to propose laws and
amendments to the Constitution and to enact
or reject such laws and amendments at the
polls, independently of the Legislature; and they
also reserve, for use at their own option, the
power to approve or reject at the polls any Act,
or item, section, or part of any Act, of the
Legislature. (Article IV, part 1, section 1.)
The Legislature
The Legislature is a permanent organization
established to enact state laws and perform other duties
that are appropriate to the legislative branch of
government. The lawmaking function is certainly its
most visible activity, performed annually in formal
regular and special sessions. The Legislature is
organized specifically to enable it to deliberate issues
of public concern and resolve problem areas and
conflicts among competing proposals and interested
parties. The system of committees and multiple stages
and forums for hearings and debate are designed to
provide the opportunity for a thorough consideration
of proposals before they can affect the public as new
laws, as changed or amended laws or as repealed laws.
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Aside from lawmaking, however, the Legislature
performs several additional important functions
that allow state government to operate in a normal
productive manner. In a pure or direct democratic
political system laws would be made by the mass
citizenry, but because of practical problems with
having all citizens participate in making complex
and time-consuming determinations, citizens elect
their representative legislators to make policy
decisions. To ensure that their representatives
adequately reflect the views of at least a majority
of the citizens, the State Constitution requires the
Legislature to provide for a system of conducting
elections to select major federal, state and local
officials, and to revise congressional and legislative
electoral boundaries every ten years in the
reapportionment process.
Arizona voters hold their legislators
accountable through biennial elections. In addition,
although seldom considered, the Arizona
Constitution also allows the citizens to recall their
legislators and vote them out of office before their
elected term of office expires. Arizona legislators
are thus highly accountable for their performance
in office, and one of the major concerns in the
Legislature is service to constituents, whether it
constitutes promotion or support for local causes,
acting as intermediaries for citizens with
government agencies or providing citizens with
information or guidance in dealing with the
government.
The Legislature shares with the citizens the
power to propose changes to the State
Constitution, the state’s fundamental political
document. Since statehood, the Legislature has
proposed a substantial number of amendments to
the State Constitution and has been successful in
getting them ratified by the electorate in a majority
of cases.
The United States Constitution delegates
responsibility for ratifying proposed amendments
of that document to the state legislatures. No other
branch of state government is involved in amending
the State or United States Constitutions other than
in a purely functionary capacity.
From the perspective of the ordinary taxpayer
the operation of state government appears to be
extremely expensive, and the Legislature is given
the daunting challenge of budgeting those expenses
and determining the financial priorities among
numerous competing worthy programs and
agencies. Monitoring the collection of state
revenues, allocating them and accounting for their
use is a full-time process and occupies a major
portion of the time and effort of the Legislature.
The Legislature engages in several activities to
oversee and supervise the operation of state
government, again in an effort to ensure that the
state’s assets are properly and wisely used for the
benefit of the public and to avoid burdening the
public with cumbersome and unnecessary
government intrusion. State agencies and programs
are subject to periodic audits and reviews and must
prove to be justified or face automatic termination.
Increased legislative review and supervision over
administrative rules and programs has been a
notable trend in recent years. Additionally, the
Senate has the power to consent to or reject the
appointment of certain executive branch officials
and thus exercises significant influence over the
personnel and governing philosophy of the people
administering the laws.
The ultimate oversight of elected officials is the
power of involuntary removal from office for breach
of their responsibilities and the public trust. The
Legislature is given the exclusive power of
impeachment over elected executive officers and
judges, and the Legislature may police its own
elected members and expel them from office in the
case of serious misconduct.
Direct Citizen Legislation
While the Constitution gives the Legislature the
power to enact laws, it also reserves to the people
the power to initiate laws and constitutional
amendments and to approve or disapprove laws
passed by the Legislature.
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Initiative
Under the initiative power, Arizona voters can
suggest changes to the State Constitution or statutes
by filing with the Secretary of State’s office a petition
that sets forth the title and full text of the proposed
measure.
Initiative petitions must be filed with the
Secretary of State at least four months before the
general election at which the measure will be voted
on. A number of registered voters equal to at least
ten percent of the total number of votes cast for all
candidates for the office of Governor at the
preceding general election must sign a petition to
propose a statutory change. For a constitutional
amendment, at least 15 percent of such electors
must sign the petition for the measure to qualify
for placement on the ballot. If an initiative petition
contains a sufficient number of valid signatures,
the measure is submitted to the voters for their
approval or disapproval at the next general election.
Persons who gather signatures on initiative
petitions must be residents of Arizona and must
be qualified to register to vote. After petition
circulators submit their completed signature sheets
to the Secretary of State’s office, the Secretary of
State and the county recorders undertake a
verification process to ensure that the sheets
contain the requisite number of valid signatures.
The Secretary of State then publishes and mails
to all registered voters a publicity pamphlet that
contains the text of each initiated and referred
measure, arguments advocating or opposing the
measures that have been submitted to the Secretary
of State and an impartial analysis of the provisions
of each measure prepared by the Legislative
Council.
An initiated measure becomes effective after its
approval by a majority of the voters who cast votes
on the measure and on proclamation of the election
results by the Governor.
Referendum
The referendum power allows the people to
voice their approval or disapproval of laws or parts
of laws passed by the Legislature. To allow the
referendum process to occur, the Constitution
provides that acts passed by the Legislature do not
go into effect for 90 days after the close of the
legislative session. Certain laws, such as those that
require earlier operation to preserve the public
peace, health or safety or those that provide for
the support and maintenance of state agencies, are
not subject to the referendum power and take effect
immediately.
A number of registered voters equal to at least
five percent of the total number of votes cast for all
candidates for the office of Governor at the
preceding general election must sign a referendum
petition. The requirements that apply to
referendum petition circulators are the same as
those that apply to initiative petition circulators.
Completed petitions must be filed with the
Secretary of State no later than 90 days after the
adjournment of the session of the Legislature that
passed the measure being referred.
If a referendum petition has been filed with what
appears to be an adequate number of valid
signatures, the law that is the subject of the
referendum does not go into effect until after the
voters have approved the law at the next general
election. A law that has been referred and is not
approved by the voters does not go into effect
unless the Legislature or the people take action to
enact the law at a later date. The filing of a
referendum petition against part of a law does not
prevent the remainder of that law from becoming
operative.
The Legislature itself may refer statutes to the
voters for their approval or rejection. This is most
often done when a measure is particularly
controversial and the Legislature wants to allow
the people to vote directly on the matter, when
the matter at issue has been the subject of
previous voter-initiated measures or to bypass a
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Governor who would veto the measure. These
measures go before the voters for approval or
disapproval at the next general election. In
addition, all constitutional changes approved by
the Legislature must be submitted to a vote of
the people. Constitutional amendments referred
by the Legislature may appear on the ballot either
at the next general election or at a special election
called by the Legislature for this purpose.
As with initiated measures, referred
measures, whether they appear on the ballot as
a result of citizen petitions or are referred directly
by the Legislature, become law when approved
by a majority of those voting on the measure and
on proclamation of the election results by the
Governor.
Amendment, Repeal or Veto of
Initiated or Referred Measures
In 1998, the voters amended the Constitution
of Arizona to prohibit the governor from vetoing
any initiative or referendum approved by the
voters at the 1998 general election or thereafter.
Similarly, the State Legislature may not repeal a
successful ballot measure. The State Legislature
may amend or supersede an initiative or
referendum passed by the voters only with a
three-fourths vote of the members of each house
and only if the legislation furthers the purposes
of the measure. The Constitution now also
requires a three-fourths vote of the State
Legislature to appropriate or transfer funds that
were designed for a specific purpose by an
approved ballot measure and requires that the
appropriation or transfer further the purposes
of the measure.
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Chapter Two
The
Arizona
Legislature
The Arizona Legislature
History of the
Arizona Legislature
Every state in the nation has a distinct history
regarding its formation as a state and as a
government. Arizona’s early settlers, in
conquering the harsh and unforgiving environment
of the state’s frontier, necessarily possessed
courage, determination and not a small amount of
independence—attributes that would impact
greatly on the future state’s system of government.
Territorial Arizona
The history of Arizona, as a part of the United
States, began officially in 1850 when Congress
formed the New Mexico Territory consisting of the
land that is now Arizona north of the Gila River,
along with what is now New Mexico, parts of
Colorado and Nevada. Mexico ceded these and
other western lands to the United States for $15
million under the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo at the conclusion of the Mexican-American
War. In 1853, the United States paid an additional
$10 million to Mexico under the Gadsden Purchase
agreement to add to the New Mexico Territory
nearly 30,000 square miles of land south of the
Gila River in Arizona, forming the state’s current
boundary with Mexico.
Although officially part of the New Mexico
Territory, the territory’s western residents in
Arizona felt distanced both geographically and
culturally from the territorial capital of Santa Fe.
Numerous bills were introduced in Congress in the
1850’s seeking to grant Arizona territorial status,
but to no avail. The primary opposition to an
Arizona Territory was the area’s low population;
according to the 1860 census, fewer than 2,500
non-Indians resided there. Interestingly,
Confederate President Jefferson Davis designated
Arizona as a Confederate territory on February
14, 1862—50 years to the day before Arizona
became a state.
Faced with evidence of Arizona’s mineral
wealth, however, the opposition in Congress
eventually relented and in 1863 President Abraham
Lincoln signed the Arizona Organic Act creating
the Territory of Arizona. The following year, in
September 1864, the First Territorial Legislature
convened in Prescott, the territory’s capital at the
time. The capital moved from Prescott to Tucson
and back to Prescott again before being permanently
established in Phoenix in 1889.
While the early territorial legislatures may have,
in the words of historian John R. Murdock, “lacked
the dignity of older lawmaking bodies,” they
nevertheless exhibited a progressive bent as
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evidenced by their generous appropriations for
education, support for roads and railroads and
opposition to any kind of slavery in the newly
created region. The early territorial legislatures
busied themselves with creating counties,
expending funds and dealing with unfriendly
Indians. They also performed some unusual
functions, including the granting of divorces and
the changing of names of individuals. Special
legislation of this nature would later be expressly
prohibited by the State Constitution.
Arizona enjoyed certain benefits as a result of
its territorial status. Congress paid all costs of the
territorial government. The territory’s citizens were
well-treated by the federal government and enjoyed
the civil liberties guaranteed by the United States
Constitution.
Nonetheless, the Arizona Territory was subject
to Congressional control, and as such, laws passed
by the territorial legislature could be stricken by
Congress. Territorial officials, including the
Governor, were federally appointed, which meant
they were often of a different political party than
the majority of the territory’s residents of the time.
Congress controlled territorial finances and could
readjust territorial borders, as it did by ceding
Arizona’s former Pah-Ute County to Nevada.
Finally, territorial residents could not vote for
President, nor could the territory’s delegate vote
in Congress.
The territory’s citizens began to determinedly
pursue statehood and the greater degree of self-government
it would allow them. This goal met
with great resistance, however, as the perception
of Arizona among many in Washington, D.C. was
that of a lawless, feuding, undeveloped desert
populated by too few white settlers, too many
hostile Indians and too many Democrat residents
to suit the Republicans controlling Congress at the
time. A constitutional convention, held in
September 1891, resulted in a constitution that was
approved by Arizona’s residents but ignored by
Congress, which considered it to be too radical. It
would be another 19 years before federal legislation
was passed allowing the citizens of Arizona to form
their own government.
The Enabling Act and
Constitutional Convention of 1910
On June 20, 1910, President William Howard
Taft signed the Enabling Act, allowing the Arizona
Territory (as well as the New Mexico Territory) to
hold a constitutional convention. This act did not
admit Arizona as a state but rather conditioned
statehood on the ability of its citizens to adopt a
constitution that would meet with presidential
approval.
In September 1910, territorial voters elected
52 delegates—41 Democrats and 11 Republicans—
to attend the convention and frame the new
constitution. The delegates convened in Phoenix
at the territorial capitol on October 10, 1910 and
formed 21 committees to consider and draft
various constitutional provisions.
While it is impossible to know the source of
every provision of the Arizona Constitution, it is
clear that the constitution adopted by the
convention was, in the words of historian John R.
Murdock, “in the forefront in every progressive
notion of the hour.” With the progressives in control
of the convention, several measures that were
considered liberal at the time won approval,
including those providing for initiative, referendum
and recall, secret ballots, voter registration, direct
primary elections and a strong State Tax
Commission and State Corporation Commission.
The new constitution also provided generously
for public education and contained several wage
and hour protections for laborers. Although
convention delegates rejected constitutional
provisions for prohibition and women’s suffrage,
voters added both within three years of
statehood.
The Constitution’s provisions were not
established without a great deal of dissent among
delegates, however. While delegates split over many
issues, none were so divisive as initiative,
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referendum and recall. The two direct legislation
provisions—initiative and referendum—were
gaining a great deal of popularity throughout the
western part of the country at the time and, while
most Democrats supported these provisions,
Republicans—including those in Washington who
would ultimately approve or disapprove Arizona’s
constitution—generally opposed them.
Conservatives feared—justifiably, as it turned
out—that statehood for Arizona would be
threatened if the convention formed too radical a
constitution. The convention delegates adopted the
Constitution of Arizona on December 9, 1910, 60
days after they convened, by a vote of 40 to 12. All
but one Democrat signed the new document, and
only one Republican did so. Territorial voters
ratified the new Constitution by a wide margin on
February 9, 1911.
Citing objection to the provision allowing recall
of judges, President Taft vetoed the Congressional
resolution approving Arizona’s Constitution. To
achieve statehood, Arizona eliminated the offending
provision and was admitted as the nation’s 48th
state on February 14, 1912. Arizona voters,
exerting their independent streak from the start,
promptly reinstated the judicial recall provision in
their Constitution within months after statehood
was secured.
With the battle for statehood won and the
Constitution approved, Arizona’s citizens began
the task of forming a new state government.
Early Arizona Legislature
Arizona’s Legislative Department is governed
by Article IV of the Arizona Constitution, which
established the Legislature as a bicameral body
with a Senate and a House of Representatives. The
Legislature met on a biennial basis until 1950, when
the Constitution was amended to provide for annual
legislative sessions.
Pursuant to the Constitution, the state’s first
Legislature had 19 senators, with five of the 14
counties having two each, and 35 representatives
in the House. Legislators earned seven dollars a
day for their service. The membership changed in
1918 when the Constitution was amended to
provide for the creation of legislative districts
within each county. This section was subsequently
amended a number of times and the current system
provides for one senator and two representatives
from each of the state’s 30 legislative districts.
The first State Legislature convened on March
18, 1912. In the opening days of session, the Senate
established 24 standing committees and the House
established 25. Session was limited by law to 60
days, but after the initial session’s allotted time
expired, the new Legislature still had much work
to complete. Therefore, a special session was called
immediately after the conclusion of the regular
session to continue the work of establishing the
new state government.
The Constitutional Convention of 1910 framed
a document that gave the office of Governor largely
ceremonial duties. The new Constitution, for
example, gave the Governor few executive
appointive powers, instead providing for several
separately elected executive officials. The
Constitution further called for certain independent
commissions that were exempt from control by
the Governor.
The reasoning for the initial restraint on
executive authority dated back to territorial days.
Congress’ appointment of Republican officials in
the heavily Democratic Arizona Territory created
great resentment toward the appointees, which
at the time included the Governor. Although
subsequent changes to Arizona’s Constitution
eventually expanded executive branch powers,
the framers clearly and intentionally gave the
executive office little authority, preferring instead
to concentrate the bulk of powers closest to the
state’s citizens—with their Legislature.
The Arizona Legislature
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Constitutional Principles
Regarding the Legislature
Separation of Powers
Article III of the Arizona Constitution
(Distribution of Powers) provides for three separate
and distinct departments of government—the
legislative, which is empowered to determine policy
and make laws; the executive, which carries out
the laws; and the judicial, which is charged with
interpreting the laws and adjudicating disputes
under the laws. While the United States
Constitution and some other state Constitutions
have an implied separation of the three branches,
the framers of Arizona’s Constitution expressly set
forth the powers and limitations of each branch.
The establishment of three coequal branches
is a principle known as the “separation of powers,”
one that is fundamental to our constitutional form
of government. Separation of powers means that
one branch cannot encroach on the functions that
belong to the other two branches. Further, it
requires that those who make the law be different
from those who execute and interpret it.
Checks and Balances
Related to separation of powers is the concept
of “checks and balances.” This means that
governmental authority among the three branches
is arranged so that one branch is empowered to
keep in check, or to balance, the powers of the
other two branches. This system of checks and
balances prevents power from becoming
concentrated in a single branch of government by
authorizing each branch to “restrain” the others in
express ways.
The principle of checks and balances is seen,
for example, in the Governor’s ability to restrain
legislative power by vetoing a bill passed by the
Legislature. The Legislature may impact on judicial
power by increasing or decreasing the number of
Justices on the Supreme Court or by establishing
intermediate appellate courts. The House of
Representatives has the sole power of impeachment
over the Governor, and impeached officials are
tried by the Senate. The Supreme Court may
restrain legislative authority by determining that a
law passed by the Legislature violates the
Constitution and declaring it unconstitutional.
Size and Apportionment
Beginning with the 28th Legislature in 1967,
Arizona’s Legislature has been composed of 30
Senators and 60 members of the House of
Representatives, for a total membership of 90. The
members are apportioned among 30 legislative
districts. The districts for the Senate are identical
to the districts for the House, so that each district
elects one Senator and two Representatives.
Until 2001, the Constitution of Arizona
provided that the legislative districts were
“established by the Legislature,” which meant that
the Legislature passed a bill to establish the district
lines. Beginning in 2001 as a result of the passage
of a ballot measure, the Independent Redistricting
Commission has been charged with the task of
redrawing Arizona’s legislative and congressional
district lines, after receipt of comment from the
public and from the Legislature. Under federal law,
the legislative and congressional districts are drawn
to be equal in population, and are redrawn every
ten years, immediately after the United States
census. Additionally, Arizona’s state redistricting
process is subject to Section 5 of the Voting Rights
Act, a federal law that requires “preclearance” by
the United States Department of Justice of any
changes to the legislative and congressional district
lines or to the state’s voting practices or procedures.
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Membership
Qualifications
The State Constitution requires that members
of the Senate and the House of Representatives be
at least 25 years old at the time they take office.
Additionally, each Representative and Senator must
be a resident of the state for the three years
immediately preceding the person’s election and a
resident of the county from which the person is
elected for at least one year immediately before
election.1 Under the Constitution, each house
judges the qualifications of its own members.
Like all public officers, members of the
Legislature must be qualified electors. Accordingly,
they may not be under guardianship or otherwise
legally incapacitated and must not have been
convicted of treason or a felony, unless their right
to vote has been restored.
In general, the State Constitution prohibits
federal, state and local officeholders from serving
in the Legislature. Specific exemptions exist for
justices of the peace, federal commissioners,
notaries public and school trustees. Additionally,
no legislator may be employed by the state or any
county, city or town. This prohibition does not
extend to public school teachers.
Elections
All legislators are elected for two-year terms.
Elections are held in even-numbered years.
Candidates are nominated by the voters who are
registered with their political party and by those
voters who designate that party’s ballot at primary
elections held during the first part of September.
The names of candidates nominated at primary
elections as well as the names of independent
candidates who have formally qualified to run for
legislative office but who do not belong to a political
party appear on the ballot for the general election.
The general election is held on the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in November.
Once elected, a legislator has the right to remain
in office during good behavior. In the case of
misconduct, however, either legal or political, a
legislator may be removed from office, either by
the other members of the body in which the
legislator serves or by the voters of the legislator’s
district through the recall process.
Arizona has a “resign-to-run” statute and
constitutional provision that requires a legislator
who is not in the last year of office to resign from
legislative service before becoming a candidate for
any other public office. A state legislator may run
for another public office without resigning during
the final year of the person’s term as a legislator.
Term Limits
In 1992, Arizona voters amended the State
Constitution to impose term limits on state
legislators. Currently, both Senators and
Representatives may serve only four consecutive
terms in their offices. No legislator who has served
four consecutive terms (including any part of a
term) may serve in that same office again until
the person has been out of that office for at least
one full term. Only terms beginning on or after
January 1, 1993 are counted.
Vacancies
State law provides that if a vacancy occurs in
the Legislature due to the death or resignation of a
legislator or some other reason causing an inability
to serve, the Board of Supervisors of the county in
which the legislator’s district is located appoints
another person to fill the office. The appointee must
meet all of the constitutional requirements for
legislative service and must belong to the same
political party and reside in the same district as
the person who filled the office immediately before
the vacancy. The Board of Supervisors must make
1Although legislators are no longer elected “from” counties,
the county residency requirement remains in the Constitution (Art.
IV, part 2, sec. 2).
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this appointment within ten days after the office
becomes vacant. A person appointed to fill a
vacancy holds office for the remainder of the
unexpired term.
If the legislative district of the legislator creating
the vacancy is not entirely within one county, the
Board of Supervisors of the county of residence of
the vacating legislator fills the vacancy.
The procedure described above also applies
when a vacancy occurs after the election of a
legislator but before the person has actually taken
the oath of office. However, if a vacancy occurs
due to the death, mental incapacity or voluntary
withdrawal of a legislative candidate after the
deadline has passed for persons to file candidate
petitions but before the primary or general election,
the precinct chairman of the prior candidate’s
political party in the legislative district where the
candidate was running nominates a new candidate
to represent the party in the upcoming election.
Leadership
President of the Senate and
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
The President of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives are the only legislative
leadership positions mandated by state law.
However, both the State Constitution and statutes
leave to the Legislature the method of selecting these
officers and the powers and duties they possess
once elected.
Traditionally, majority party members of the
Senate nominate the President and the majority
party members of the House nominate the Speaker
at presession organizational caucuses, usually held
shortly after the November general election.
Caucus members must decide on rules to govern
the nomination process. Voting may be open or by
secret ballot. Candidates for President or Speaker
may run individually or may run as part of a slate
with other legislators-elect who are seeking the
position of Majority Leader or Majority Whip.
While the majority caucus nominates the President
and the Speaker, each must be elected by a majority
of the entire body at the beginning of each legislative
session. Traditionally, the person nominated by the
majority caucus to serve as President or Speaker is
elected by the entire chamber. However, any
member, including members of the minority party,
can be nominated to serve as President or Speaker
when this vote takes place.
Senate and House Rules prescribe many of the
powers of the presiding officers. These powers
include the right to appoint committee chairmen
and vice-chairmen and to assign both majority and
minority legislators to statutory, standing and
interim committees. Additionally, the President and
Speaker designate seating assignments on the floor
and allocate office and parking spaces to all
members of their chamber. They must approve all
debts incurred by their respective house. The
President and Speaker also make decisions
regarding employment and compensation of
legislative personnel and other matters relating to
the general administration of the institution. While
it is not required, the presiding officer may consult
with other members of majority leadership in
making these decisions.
As presiding officers, the President and Speaker
are responsible for referring bills to the appropriate
committees, setting the agenda for floor action,
calling the body to order and maintaining decorum
during floor sessions. The President or Speaker
recognizes members who wish to speak on the floor
and, subject to appeal by any member, decides
points of order. The President and the Speaker
relinquish their chairs during meetings of the
Committee of the Whole and assume their seats
on the floor. Senate and House Rules provide that
the President and the Speaker sign all bills,
memorials and resolutions passed by the house
over which they preside.
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Majority and Minority Leaders
Majority and Minority Leaders (also referred
to as “Floor Leaders” or “Party Leaders”) are
elected at the presession organizational caucuses.
Unlike the President and the Speaker, there is no
need for these officers to receive a vote of the full
body. However, the Majority and Minority Leaders
(like other partisan leaders) do not officially take
office until they are sworn in on the first day of the
legislative session.
The Majority Leader in each house works
closely with the presiding officer to develop and
implement the party’s main policy objectives. The
Majority Leader traditionally communicates with
other members of the party regarding majority
positions on specific issues. He or she may also
talk with minority members to determine how their
views may impact the outcome of a majority
program bill.
It is often the responsibility of the Majority or
Minority Leader to determine whether consensus
exists among party members on a given issue. He
or she also may attempt to ascertain whether a
party position on a selected bill is desirable. The
person who serves as Party Leader frequently
assumes the role of party spokesperson to the
media.
The Minority Leader tries to keep members of
the minority party informed about majority
leadership decisions on the scheduling of bills and
other matters. The Minority Leader also makes
recommendations to the presiding officer regarding
the appointment of minority members to
committees and the seating and office assignments
of members of the minority party. The presiding
officer is under no obligation to heed the
suggestions of the Minority Leader on these
matters. Traditionally, however, the Speaker or
President does give some weight to the Minority
Leader’s recommendations.
In recent sessions, the minority caucus has also
elected an Assistant Minority Leader. This person
schedules and chairs minority party caucus
meetings and works with the other party leaders
to make decisions regarding party objectives and
minority staffing.
Majority and Minority Whips
Traditionally, the duty of the Whip has been to
“whip up” votes to support a caucus decision. In
fact, the term derives from the British fox hunting
term “whipper-in,” which describes the person
responsible for keeping the foxhounds from leaving
the pack. The person who serves as the party whip
will likely ascertain how members of the caucus
stand on a given issue, often tallying actual vote
counts, and may try to solidify partisan support on
an issue that leadership deems especially important.
This may include getting members to the floor if
they are needed for a vote. The Majority Whip may
also serve as chairman of the party’s caucus
meetings.
President Pro Tempore and
Speaker Pro Tempore
The Senate and House Rules, respectively,
provide for the appointment of a President Pro
Tempore and Speaker Pro Tempore by the presiding
officer. As their titles suggest, the chief duties of
these officers are to preside over Senate and House
proceedings and to otherwise assume the duties of
the President and the Speaker when they are absent
from the Legislature. The Rules provide that if the
presiding officer does not make such an
appointment, the entire body elects a member to
preside during the President’s or Speaker’s
absence.
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Parliamentarian
The President and the Speaker each appoint a
legislator as the Parliamentarian for their respective
chamber. The person chosen as Parliamentarian
must be familiar with the rules of the particular
house and other procedural rules because the
presiding officer refers to this person when
questions arise regarding process or the order of
business. Final decisions on procedural matters rest
with the presiding officer, subject to appeal of the
entire body. In addition to the Parliamentarian, the
President or the Speaker may choose to consult
with the chamber’s Rules attorneys for advice on
these matters.
Standing Committee Chairmen and
Vice-Chairmen
The President and Speaker appoint all chairmen
and vice-chairmen of standing committees.
Accordingly, committee chairmen are customarily
members of the majority party.
Generally, the person chosen to chair a
committee will have an interest in and an
understanding of the areas over which the
committee has jurisdiction. Committee chairmen
also must be familiar with legal requirements
regarding public notice and with open meeting
laws. Committee chairmen set the agenda for and
preside over standing committee meetings.
Committee chairmen wield a great deal of
power, largely because they can decide whether
or not to hear measures that have been assigned
to their committees. A chairman who chooses not
to hear a bill effectively kills the bill by failing to
report it out of committee. If a committee chairman
refuses to hear a bill, two-thirds of the committee
members may sign a petition requiring the
chairman to schedule the bill on the next agenda.
In addition, the measure may proceed to the floor
over the chairman’s opposition if three-fifths of the
members of the entire body sign a petition calling
for the bill to be discharged from the chairman’s
committee or if the presiding officer
withdraws the bill from that chairman’s committee
and reassigns it to another committee whose
chairman will hear the bill.
The chairman may meet with the vice-chairman
to set the committee meeting agenda. The vice-chairman
has the powers and duties of a chairman
when the chairman is absent. The vice-chairman
often makes the motion to begin discussion on a
bill that is before the committee and moves bills
for a committee vote after the committee has taken
testimony on and debated the bills.
The Committee System
Due to the volume and diversity of issues before
the Legislature each session, it is impracticable for
each entire chamber to hold extensive hearings on
all introduced bills. Instead, bills receive their first
detailed consideration in committees. There are
several types of committees, each fulfilling a
different function.
Standing Committees
State law authorizes the presiding officer of each
legislative chamber to appoint standing committees
but provides that either chamber, by resolution or
rule, may direct otherwise. Traditionally, the
practice has been for the President and Speaker to
determine the number of committees and their
subject matter jurisdictions at the beginning of each
legislative session. However, the committees must
then be formally established in Senate and House
Rules, which requires approval by a majority of
the members of each chamber.
The number and titles of legislative standing
committees vary from Legislature to Legislature.
Each house generally has separate committees to
deal with matters such as agriculture, health,
education, finance, transportation, government
operations, commerce, natural resources, taxation,
insurance and the judiciary. Each committee
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considers bills that are within its subject matter
jurisdiction and that have been assigned to the
committee by the presiding officer.
The Rules Committee, while it is considered a
standing committee, has a different function from
other standing committees. The charge of the Rules
Committee is to consider the constitutionality and
proper form of bills and amendments reported from
the other standing committees. (The function of the
Rules Committee is described in more detail in Chapter
Six.)
As noted earlier, the presiding officer appoints
members to each committee. Most members serve
on more than one committee. The general practice
is for the majority party to have a majority of the
members of each committee.
Every measure must pass through the
committee system for scrutiny, debate and possible
amendment. Some standing committees have much
heavier work loads than others, and the number
of measures assigned to a committee can vary
greatly from year to year, depending on the amount
and subject matter of legislation that is introduced
in each chamber.
Standing committees adopt their own rules of
procedure and, during the legislative session, meet
weekly, or more often as necessary, at a regularly
scheduled time and place. Meetings are open to
the public and press. Special meetings may be called
by committee chairmen, but in the case of House
committees, this requires the permission of the
Speaker. The President or the Speaker also must
give permission for a committee chairman to cancel
a scheduled meeting.
Subcommittees
Except for the Appropriations Committees of
each house, which have permanent
subcommittees, all legislative subcommittees are
established on an ad hoc basis. Any committee
chairman can appoint a subcommittee consisting
of several members of the standing committee to
deliberate on a specific bill and report back to the
full committee. A chairman may choose to take
this route to allow a smaller group of legislators to
study and prepare amendments to a complex bill
that would consume an inordinately large amount
of the full committee’s time. Standing committees
are not required to accept the recommendations
of a subcommittee.
Joint Statutory Committees
State law establishes several permanent
committees with members of both houses. These
include the Joint Legislative Budget Committee
(JLBC), the Joint Committee on Capital Review
(JCCR), the Joint Legislative Audit Committee
(JLAC) and the Legislative Council. These
committees are comprised of members from both
houses appointed by the President and the Speaker.
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee and
Legislative Council have sizable professional
permanent staffs, while the other committees
receive support from the House and Senate staff.
These statutory committees differ from standing
committees in that they do not meet at regularly
scheduled times and places, they often meet during
the interim when the Legislature is out of session
and they usually deliberate on matters other than
bills, memorials and resolutions. For example,
the Joint Legislative Budget Committee makes
recommendations to the Legislature regarding
the state budget and fiscal operations of state
agencies. The Joint Committee on Capital Review
has responsibilities involving land acquisition and
capital projects. The Legislative Council oversees
the bill drafting functions of the Legislature,
prepares analyses of ballot measures for inclusion
in the statewide publicity pamphlet and operates
many legislative facilities.
Interim Committees
As the name implies, interim committees
(often referred to as “study committees”) operate
between legislative sessions. They may be created
by legislation or by the President or Speaker, or
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both. Often, persons other than members of the
Legislature serve with or instead of legislators
on interim committees.
Interim committees undertake studies and
investigate issues about which the Legislature
desires further information. Free from the
legislative session deadlines and other pressures,
interim committees have the time necessary to
tackle complex problems in depth. They may hold
meetings, take testimony and break into working
groups to gather additional information. Interim
committees usually report their findings to the
Legislature and often suggest legislation to be
considered in the next legislative session.
Political Party Caucuses
A person who is first exposed to the Legislature
and the legislative process will initially be confused
by the word and institution “caucus.” It is not
provided for in the Constitution or by law. It is
generally overlooked in civics and government
classes. Yet, the concept of a caucus is as old as the
United States. The word means a meeting of
persons belonging to the same political party or
faction, and in the Arizona Legislature the House
and Senate Republican and Democrat caucuses have
a long institutional history.
The caucuses begin organizational meetings
soon after a new Legislature is elected in the general
election in November of each even-numbered year.
In one or more meetings each caucus elects a
nominee for the presiding officer of the respective
body, either the Speaker of the House or President
of the Senate. The minority caucus usually offers a
nominee even though it is understood that the
minority nominee has little chance of election. The
Speaker and President are actually elected from
the nominees by the full House or Senate on the
first day of the regular session. In addition each
caucus elects a leader (Majority Leader or Minority
Leader) and a Whip or other officers.
The purpose of a caucus is to foster a sense of
political unity and loyalty. This is accomplished by
regular meetings throughout the session and
occasionally at other times during the interim
between sessions. Meetings of the caucuses are
commonly conducted as part of the legislative
process to discuss legislation that has cleared
the committees to which it has been assigned
but before consideration and debate by the full
chamber. The members of each caucus may also
meet to discuss other issues such as the state
budget, general party positions on legislative
issues and, in the Senate only, the Governor’s
nominations to state boards and commissions.
Senate and House Rules provide that caucus
meetings are open to the public, but a caucus
may conduct a closed meeting to elect officers
and for other specific purposes. Although caucus
meetings are usually open to the public,
individuals other than the members of the
caucus and staff are not invited to participate
directly.
Staff
According to A.R.S. section 41-1102, the
Senate and the House may hire as many
employees as each chamber directs.
Furthermore, the Senate Rules provide that “the
appointment, terms and conditions of
employment, compensation, discipline and
discharge of employees of the Senate shall be
determined by the President, subject to the
approval of the Senate.” The House Rules simply
state that “employment, compensation and
termination of personnel shall be determined by
the Speaker.” Both the Senate and House Rules
prohibit an employee from lobbying during the
employee’s term of employment and specify that
any violation is sufficient cause for the summary
discharge of the offending employee.
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A.R.S. section 41-771 also provides that the
Senate and House staff are employees in
positions that are not covered by the state
employee merit system. Such employees are
often referred to as “uncovered,” “exempt” or
“nonmerit system” employees, and they have no
right to continued employment or right of appeal
to the Arizona Personnel Board from disciplinary
actions taken against them. As uncovered
employees, Senate and House staff may be removed
at any time. Some of the specific House and Senate
staff positions are described below.
Secretary of the Senate
Pursuant to custom, the Secretary of the
Senate is a nonlegislator who is elected by the
members of the Senate. The Secretary acts as an
officer of the Senate and maintains all records of
any official action by the Senate, including
complete bill files, files on committee minutes,
tapes of committee and floor testimony, the Senate
Journal and various other historical documents.
The Secretary assigns numbers to all Senate
measures as they are introduced and oversees
the printing and engrossing of these measures
and amendments and conference committee
reports and assists in the preparation of session
laws in even-numbered years.
During floor sessions, the Secretary
coordinates the flow of legislation, prepares and
distributes Senate calendars, as instructed,
assists in parliamentary decisions, coordinates
among the House, Senate and Governor’s office
all messages, bills and information and works
closely with the Chief Clerk’s office in the House
to economize time and effort. The Secretary is
responsible for assisting the President and the
members in ensuring that all Senate action
conforms to the Senate Rules, the statutes and
the Arizona Constitution. The Secretary has a
staff that includes an assistant secretary, a journal
clerk, an administrative assistant, an enrolling
and engrossing supervisor, a file clerk, an index
clerk, a duplicating and supply supervisor, supply
clerks, an information desk clerk and a runner.
The Secretary also supervises the Senators’
assistants/secretaries and committee secretaries.
Chief Clerk of the House
The Chief Clerk is the counterpart to the
Secretary of the Senate. Similarly, the Chief Clerk
is a nonlegislator who pursuant to the House Rules
is elected by the members of the House of
Representatives and who acts as the chief
administrator of the chamber. The Chief Clerk
prepares the agenda for daily floor action at the
direction of the Speaker, assists the Speaker and
the members in ensuring that statutory,
constitutional and House Rules are followed, signs
all enrolled bills, memorials and resolutions,
oversees the preparation and publication of the
House Journal and assists in the preparation of the
session laws in odd-numbered years. Other
responsibilities of the Chief Clerk include
coordinating record keeping and maintaining all
official records, supervising the operation of the
voting and sound systems, directing the public
information services, maintaining and updating
information of current and former members and
assisting with new member orientation.
The Chief Clerk assigns numbers to all House
measures as they are introduced and oversees the
printing and engrossing of these measures,
amendments and conference committee reports.
The Chief Clerk has a staff that includes an assistant
chief clerk, an administrative assistant, a journal
clerk, a bill and index clerk, a bill tracking secretary,
an archivist, a reader, an information supervisor,
an information desk clerk, a duplication
supervisor, a duplicating/supplies clerk and a
mailroom/billroom supervisor and clerk.
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Research Staff
Each house has a research division comprised
of full-time personnel managed by a research staff
director. While the Senate research staff is
nonpartisan, the House research staff is
considered to be part of the majority staff. The
research staff members, known as research
analysts and assistant research analysts, perform
various functions including drafting summaries
of all legislative measures, providing verbal
explanations of these measures during committee
hearings and caucus meetings, drafting
amendments, assisting the chairpersons of the
standing committees, staffing interim committees
and responding to constituent inquiries. Each
research analyst and assistant research analyst is
assigned to one or more standing committees.
During the legislative session, the research staff is
supplemented by college interns who are paid a
modest stipend and receive college tuition and
credit. The interns assist the research analysts and
assistant research analysts.
A constituent service office is also a part of the
research division in both the Senate and House.
This office responds to constituent inquiries for
information or requests for help to resolve
problems. The constituent services staff will either
refer the constituent to the proper source or will
attempt to help resolve the constituent’s problem.
Rules Committee Staff
Both the Senate and House have full-time and
part-time Rules staff that consists of attorneys and
other administrative staff. After a measure is heard
in its assigned standing committee or committees,
the Rules attorneys review it to make sure that it is
constitutional and in proper form for consideration
by the entire body. The Rules attorneys check the
form of the measure by reviewing the measure’s
formal title and other legal constraints. The Rules
attorneys also make recommendations on how to
correct legislation that is not constitutional or not
in proper form by drafting proposed amendments
for consideration by the Rules Committee and the
entire body. The Rules attorneys also respond to
inquiries regarding parliamentary procedure and
compliance with the body’s rules.
Other nonattorney members of the Rules staff
perform various administrative functions including
preparing Rules Committee amendments and
preparing Rules Committee agendas. The Rules staff
is also assisted by legal interns (usually law
students) during the regular legislative session who
conduct legal research and prepare memoranda.
Committee Secretaries
In addition to the committee research staff, each
standing committee is assigned a committee
secretary who is responsible for taking roll,
recording committee votes, taking and preparing
the minutes of meetings of the committee, typing
committee reports and blending all amendments
passed in the committee meeting into a single
amendment for consideration by the entire
chamber during Committee of the Whole. When
the Legislature is not in session, the committee
secretaries perform similar duties for the various
legislative study committees that meet during the
interim.
Majority and Minority Staff
Each caucus has full-time partisan staff that
serve the members of that caucus. The majority
and minority staff assist the leadership of their
respective caucus in developing a legislative agenda,
serve as advisers to all members of their caucus,
provide policy and legal analysis on specific issues,
answer members’ information requests, brief
members on legislation, conduct research projects,
develop and draft legislation and amendments,
respond to constituent inquiries and assist with
press relations, communications and speeches.
Members’ Assistants and
Secretaries
Each member has an assistant/secretary who
works in the member’s office. The assistants and
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secretaries perform many duties, including
maintaining the member’s bill files, preparing
committee agendas if the member is a chairperson
of a committee, coordinating and maintaining the
member’s schedule, greeting and assisting guests,
responding to telephone inquiries, facilitating
solutions to constituent problems, managing the
member’s correspondence and performing various
other duties associated with the administration of
the member’s office at the capitol. Some assistants
and secretaries are assigned to work with more
than one member.
Accounting Staff
Both the Senate and House have an accounting
office with a controller who is in charge of handling
the body’s fiscal affairs.
Sergeant at Arms
Each body has a Sergeant at Arms who
maintains order under the presiding officer’s
direction. The Sergeant at Arms also compels the
attendance of members sent for by the body, directs
the delivery of mail, supervises the pages, clears
the chamber floor of persons not authorized to be
present and performs various other administrative
functions.
Pages
The Senate and House pages perform a variety
of tasks that assist the members and other staff
such as supporting committees and caucuses and
members during floor sessions, acting as
messengers and distributing documents.
Other Staff
Additional staff operate the public information
desk, duplication and supplies room, bill room and
mail room. These individuals in large part supervise
the considerable volume of paper that is generated
by and passed through each house during the
legislative session.
Legislative Agency Staff
The Legislative Council, Joint Legislative Budget
Committee, Auditor General and Arizona State
Library, Archives and Public Records each maintain
full-time staff that specialize in the work of their
respective agencies. (See Chapter Ten for further
details on these agencies.)
Lobbyists
There are approximately 4,800 lobbyists listed
on registration forms filed with the Secretary of
State and nearly 1,000 registered entities that
lobbyists represent when they are engaged in
lobbying activities, such as advocacy groups,
professional societies, public and private
corporations, trade and volunteer associations and
state and local governmental entities.
Lobbyists range from part-time volunteers and
grass roots coordinators to attorneys and full-time
corporate executives. Lobbyists attempt to
convince legislators to sponsor, support or oppose
legislation, and they monitor pending legislation
on behalf of their clients. Despite occasionally
disparaging publicity concerning lobbyists, they
play an important role in the legislative process in
advocating and providing information on legislative
policy questions and giving a voice to other
individuals who are members of the groups that
the lobbyists represent and for whom direct contact
with the Legislature is inconvenient or impossible.
The first step in understanding the lobbying laws
in Arizona is to know what activity is considered
lobbying. This is important since individuals who
are engaged in lobbying have to register with the
Secretary of State and file expenditure reports. The
statutory definition of “lobbying” (A.R.S. section
41-1231) includes any attempt to influence the
passage or defeat of any legislation by directly
communicating with any legislator or any attempt
to influence any formal rule making proceedings
by directly communicating with any state officer
or employee on behalf of another person. However,
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the statute also exempts certain activities from the
definition of lobbying. These exemptions include
interagency communications between state agency
employees, communications between a public
official or employee of a public body, public lobbyist
and any state employee or officer, except a
legislator, or any oral communication made in a
public meeting that is sponsored by a state entity
by a person to a state officer or employee regarding
a proposed rule.
In general, a person must register with the
Secretary of State before lobbying on behalf of
another entity. This requirement applies whether
the person is paid or a volunteer. The Secretary of
State publishes a handbook that explains the state’s
lobbying laws and includes the forms that must be
completed by lobbyists. The objective of the
handbook is to make it easier for everyone to
understand the lobbying laws and comply with the
statutory requirements. There are various
categories of lobbyists, and each has different
registration and reporting requirements.
Completed registration forms are public
documents and available for inspection.
Arizona law provides that in certain situations
registration with the Secretary of State is not
required. Those exempt from registration include:
! A person who appears for himself before a
legislative committee or state entity to lobby
in support of or in opposition to legislation
or an official action.
! A person who, acting on his own behalf,
sends a letter to or has a conversation with
a legislator, state officer or state employee
for the purpose of supporting or opposing
any legislation or official action.
! A person who provides technical
information at the request of a lobbyist or
legislator.
! An attorney who represents clients before
any court or quasi-judicial body.
! A person who contacts a state officer or
employee solely to acquire information.
Except in some limited circumstances, a
lobbyist must file with the Secretary of State a
quarterly report that lists expenditures made on
behalf of a principal (a person who hires a lobbyist)
or a public body (a governmental entity that hires
a lobbyist). The designated lobbyist for a principal
or public body must also sign an annual report on
behalf of that principal or public body that lists all
expenditures, including gifts, that were made by
or on behalf of that principal or public body and
that benefitted or were received by a legislator or
other state officer or employee, whether or not
the expenditure was made in the course of lobbying.
Expenditure reports are public documents and
available for inspection.
During any calendar year a principal or lobbyist
is prohibited from giving to any state officer or state
employee, and a state officer or state employee is
prohibited from receiving from a principal or
lobbyist, gifts with a total value of more than ten
dollars or any gift that is designed to influence the
official conduct of that state officer or state
employee. Similar prohibitions also apply to public
bodies and public lobbyists. A gift is defined by
statute (A.R.S. section 41-1231) as any payment,
distribution, advance, deposit or donation of money
or any intangible personal property or any kind of
tangible personal or real property. The lobbying
statutes specifically exempt numerous items from
the definition of gift such as a plaque, book or
calendar or a campaign contribution that is received
and reported as required by law.
Any person who knowingly violates any
provision of the lobbying laws is guilty of a class 1
misdemeanor. The Attorney General may serve a
person an order requiring compliance with any
provision of the lobbying laws and may assess the
person a civil penalty of not more than one
thousand dollars for failure to comply with the
order. In addition, the Secretary of State must
compile and issue an annual report to the
Legislature that contains the names of all principals,
public bodies and lobbyists that fail to report
lobbying expenditures as required by law.
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Press
The capitol press corps consists of news
reporters who represent various newspapers, news
services and television and radio stations. These
individuals regularly report the activities of state
government, including proceedings by the
Legislature, actions by the Governor and executive
branch agencies and notable decisions by the
courts. The capitol press offices are located on the
first floor of the Senate building. In addition to the
usual capitol press corps who cover the day-to-day
activities of the Legislature, additional news
organizations will periodically cover controversial
or notable legislative action.
The Senate and House Rules require each
chamber to maintain a press gallery. The current
practice by the Senate and House is to reserve tables
for the press on the floor of each respective
chamber. However, House Rules specify that the
Speaker may assign an alternative location for the
press gallery in the House. The Sergeant at Arms is
responsible for ensuring that only representatives
of the press who are duly accredited by the
President or Speaker are allowed access to the
press gallery on the Senate or House floor. Press
passes are nontransferable and revocable at the
discretion of the President or Speaker. The House
limits the number of press passes issued to any
newspaper or news gathering organization to no
more than four representatives of that newspaper
or news gathering organization. In addition to the
press gallery on the floor, the Senate provides
reserved press seating in the Senate hearing rooms
and majority caucus room.
The Arizona Legislature
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Chapter Three
Legislative
Finances
Legislative Budget
As with any other state agency, the
Legislature is funded by separate
appropriations of state money to the
Senate, House of Representatives and each
legislative agency (Legislative Council, Joint
Legislative Budget Committee, Auditor General and
Department of Library, Archives and Public
Records).
During each even-numbered year the officers
and leaders of each of the legislative houses and
agencies work with the budget staff of the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee to determine an
adequate level of funding to meet the projected
financial requirements for each of the next two
fiscal years. (The state fiscal year is July 1 through
June 30.) Early in the first regular session,
appropriation subcommittees of the Legislature
meet to consider the budget proposals for all of
state government, including the legislative houses
and agencies. The appropriation subcommittees
report their determinations that are then included
in the state budget and general appropriation bill,
which is enacted in a special session in March of
odd-numbered years.
The appropriations include amounts for each
house and agency for each of the two fiscal years
in the following biennium. The appropriation for
the second fiscal year in the biennium is subject to
revision to accommodate changing and unforseen
circumstances.
Once appropriated, the money becomes
available to the various houses and agencies of the
Legislature from the state general fund for use in
the designated fiscal year according to any terms
and conditions prescribed by the appropriation.
(The Auditor General and the Department of
Library, Archives and Public Records also receive
nonappropriated monies from sources outside of
state government for some of the unique activities
of those agencies.) The routine expenses of the
Legislature include legislator and staff salaries and
travel expenses and operating costs. Extraordinary
expenses might include things like litigation costs,
construction and renovation costs and
reapportionment costs.
(More detail regarding the state budget process is
included in Chapter Seven of this manual.)
Legislator Compensation
Salary
The procedures for setting the salary of
legislators are found in Article V, section 12,
The Legislative Finances
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Constitution of Arizona. The Legislature establishes
the Commission on Salaries for Elective State
Officers to make periodic recommendations
regarding pay increases for state officials, including
legislators. The membership, compensation and
duties of this commission are established by law.
Members are appointed biennially and serve until
they submit a report of their recommendations.
The commission is comprised of five members from
the private sector, two of whom are appointed by
the Governor and one each appointed by the
Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate
and the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court.
The commission’s recommended salaries for
nonlegislative elected officers are subject to
approval by the Governor and the Legislature.
With respect to legislative salaries, however,
the Secretary of State certifies the commission’s
recommendation and submits it to the voters at
the next regular general election. If the
recommended salary increase for legislators is
approved by the voters, it becomes effective at the
beginning of the next regular legislative session and
no other authorizing legislation is necessary. If the
recommendation is disapproved, legislative salaries
remain unchanged.
Currently, members of the Legislature earn
$24,000 each year, which is paid on a bi-weekly
basis throughout the calendar year. This amount
was approved by the voters in the 1998 general
election. Prior to that, legislators earned $15,000
per year from 1981 through 1998 and $6,000 per
year before 1981.
Per Diem and
Other Expense Allowances
Legislators who reside in Maricopa County (the
metropolitan Phoenix area) are paid $35 a day in
per diem expenses for the first 120 days of regular
and special sessions, then $10 a day thereafter.
Members who reside outside Maricopa County
receive an additional $25 a day for the first 120
days of session (for a total of $60 a day), and then
an additional $10 a day thereafter (for a total of
$20 a day). Members are required to submit
vouchers, receipts or some other verification of
their expenses in order to claim the per diem
allowance. However, they are paid the maximum
per diem allowable regardless of the amount of
actual expenses.
For legislative work during the interim between
legislative sessions, per diem payments are
determined by the Speaker of the House and the
President of the Senate for members of the
respective chambers. Legislators who are not in
leadership positions receive per diem for each day
they attend committee meetings, and, with the
prior approval of their presiding officer, for
additional days of constituent work. House
members who are not in leadership positions
generally may receive only one day of per diem a
week while House leaders are not limited in the
number of days they may receive per diem. Senators
who are not in leadership positions may receive
two days of per diem in a two-week period, and
Senators in leadership positions are allowed six
days of per diem in the same time period. The
President and Speaker are reimbursed for every
day of actual work during the interim, without limit.
Legislators receive reimbursement of 30 cents
a mile based on the actual number of miles driven
for official business, both during session and in the
interim. This reimbursement is in addition to any
per diem amounts allowed. All in-state and out-of-state
travel must be approved in advance by the
Speaker or the President, respectively. If approved,
reimbursement of travel expenses is provided for
as specified in the State Accounting Manual, which
gives reimbursement amounts for all incidental
expenses, such as taxis, airfare, food and mileage,
except that the Speaker or President may overrule
the State Accounting Manual’s hotel rate limit if
the lodging is at the site of a conference or seminar
the member is attending.
Although legislators are provided offices, staff
support and parking spaces at the capitol, they do
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not receive allowances for offices or staff in their
home districts, nor are they afforded state
automobiles, credit cards or expense accounts.
Retirement and Other
Employment Benefits
Legislators receive the same employment
benefits as Arizona state employees, except for
retirement options and long-term disability
insurance. Legislators do not receive annual or sick
leave as do full-time state employees.
Legislators may choose to purchase the same
health, dental or vision insurance offered to other
state employees by paying a share of the premium.
The state pays the remainder of the premium.
State employees and legislators receive a
standard $10,000 life insurance policy, with an
additional $10,000 payable in the case of accidental
death, and may purchase additional life insurance
in $5,000 increments, up to three times the amount
of their annual salary ($45,000 in the case of
legislators). The premium for the supplemental life
insurance varies according to the legislator’s age.
All legislators are provided with long-term
disability coverage at no charge. (This is distinct
and separate from the plan offered to other state
employees.) The plan provides legislators with two-thirds
of their salary if they are absent from work
due to an extended illness or injury, beginning after
six months of continuous total disability.
Additionally, legislators may purchase short-term
disability insurance to cover the first six months of
disability.
Legislators may elect to participate in the
Elected Officials’ Retirement Plan (EORP) or the
Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) or may
decline to participate in either retirement program.
EORP members contribute seven percent of
their income to the plan. They are eligible to receive
a normal pension at age 65 with five or more years
of service, at age 62 with ten or more years of
service or at age 60 with 25 or more years of
service. Members with ten or more years of service
may take early retirement at age 50 with a reduction
in benefits. The normal annual pension is currently
four percent of the member’s final annual salary
multiplied by the member’s years of credited
service, with a maximum annual payment of 80%
of the member’s final annual salary.
Legislators who elect coverage under ASRS are
treated like other state employees under the plan.
The member contribution rate is determined
annually (3.05% of the member’s pretax salary in
1997-98). Members become eligible for normal
retirement on the accrual of 80 “points” (the
member’s age plus years of service), at age 65 with
any amount of service or at age 62 with ten or
more years of service. Members with five or more
years of service may take early retirement at age
50 with a reduction in benefits. The normal
monthly pension is two percent of the member’s
average monthly compensation during the three
highest consecutive paid years of the last ten years
of service multiplied by the member’s years of
credited service. Retiring members can choose from
a number of benefit payment options.
Retirees under either EORP or ASRS are eligible
to receive health insurance with premium amounts
based on the members’ years of credited service
with the state and their eligibility for Medicare
coverage.
Legislators receive other benefits that are
provided to all state employees, including Social
Security and optional deferred compensation plans
and medical and dependent care reimbursement
accounts.
The Legislative Finances
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Legislative Immunity
Pursuant to the Constitution of Arizona,
members of the Legislature are immune
from arrest or civil process for 15 days
before and during the course of a session.
Members of the legislature shall be privileged
from arrest in all cases except treason, felony,
and breach of the peace, and they shall not be
subject to any civil process during the session
of the legislature, nor for fifteen days next before
the commencement of each session. (Article
IV, part 2, section 6.)
The legal doctrine of “legislative immunity” also
provides some protection to legislators, staff and
the Legislature in legal proceedings involving
legislative acts. Legislative immunity derives from
the common law theory that began to evolve
approximately 500 years ago from issues arising
between the English King and Parliament. When
the United States was founded, the United States
Constitution included a provision to create
legislative immunity for members of Congress.
Article I, section 6 provides “[f]or any speech or
debate in either house, [the members] shall not be
questioned in any other place.” The Constitution
of Arizona has a similar speech and debate clause
that provides “[n]o member of the legislature shall
be liable in any civil or criminal prosecution for
words spoken in debate.” (Article IV, part 2,
section 7.)
Thus, based on the Constitution of Arizona state
legislators are entitled to immunity from civil and
criminal liability for legislative acts. This immunity
generally protects legislators from being sued,
arrested or ordered to testify or produce documents
about legislative acts, subject to certain court
created exceptions.
Generally, legislative immunity applies to all
types of legislative actions relating to introducing,
developing and voting for legislation including:
! Voting or refusing to vote to reduce a budget,
to eliminate job positions, to redistrict, to
unseat a member or to confirm an executive
appointment.
! Speaking on the floor or in committee
regarding legislation.
! Lobbying other legislators regarding
legislation.
! Conducting a hearing and enforcing
committee or chamber rules, including
allegations of illegally issuing legislative
subpoenas, examining witnesses or
otherwise obtaining information.
Chapter Four
Legislative
Powers,
Privileges and
Responsibilities
Powers, Privileges and Responsibilities
26 Arizona Legislative Manual
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! Activities relating to developing legislation
prior to introduction.
Legislative immunity not only protects a
legislator from liability but also from having to
testify or produce documents in court proceedings
relating to legislative activity and prohibits actions
seeking declaratory judgments, injunctions and
other legal actions against legislators acting in the
scope of their official duties.
The immunity is absolute, and it is personal to
the individual legislator. It can only be claimed or
waived by the legislator. It does not end when the
legislator leaves office but continues indefinitely for
the legislative acts undertaken while in office.
There are exceptions and instances where
legislative immunity does not protect legislators,
typically relating to administrative and political
areas that are not directly related to the legislative
process.
Legislative aides and staff are also entitled to
legislative immunity for acts relating to the
legislative process such as developing and
processing legislation.
Limitations on
Legislative Power
In exercising the legislative function of state
government, the Legislature has far-reaching
powers. The Legislature has all the power that is
not granted to the executive or judicial branches
of government or that is not prohibited by the State
Constitution or federal law.
The Arizona Constitution does impose specific
limits on this power. For example, the Legislature
may not pass:
! Laws that would increase the punishment
for a crime after the crime has been
committed.
! Laws that will impair contract obligations.
! Certain types of local or special laws that
would give an individual a special privilege
or immunity.
In addition to these subject matter limitations
on the authority of the Legislature, the Arizona
Constitution prescribes procedural requirements
for legislative action. Although a legislative act may
deal with a subject within the Legislature’s authority,
the act may still be invalid if the Legislature did not
comply with the constitutional procedural
requirements in enacting the act. Examples of these
requirements are that:
! All parts of an act must be expressed in the
title of the act.
! An act may embrace only one subject.
! All appropriations other than the general
appropriations act must be made by separate
bills.
Crimes Against the
Legislature
The statutes set forth specific crimes against
the legislative process. A person who illegally alters
or removes an introduced or enrolled bill is guilty
of a class 4 felony for which the maximum term of
imprisonment is two and one-half years. A person
who prevents the Legislature from meeting is guilty
of a class 5 felony, which carries a prison term of
one and one-half years. A person who disturbs or
interrupts the Legislature’s proceedings is guilty of
a class 2 misdemeanor and may be sentenced to
jail for up to four months.
Legislative Discipline
The Arizona Constitution provides “[e]ach
house may punish its members for disorderly
behavior, and may, with the concurrence of two-thirds
of its members, expel any member.” (Article
IV, part 2, section 11.)
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The House of Representatives and the Senate
have each included a number of provisions in their
respective rules to implement this constitutional
provision. Both houses have established rules of
decorum to allow for open, but orderly, debate of
the issues before the body. For example, members
of the House are not allowed to “indulge in
personalities, use language personally offensive,
arraign motives of members, charge deliberate
misrepresentation or use language tending to hold
a member of the House or Senate up to contempt.”
Both houses of the Legislature have established
in their rules codes of ethics and requirements
pertaining to conflicts of interest and financial
disclosure. An Ethics Committee is established in
the House and Senate pursuant to statute. Each
Ethics Committee must investigate ethics
complaints against members of its respective house.
A violation of the code of ethics, conflict of
interest requirements, financial disclosure
requirements or rules of the body subjects the
offender to punishment or expulsion pursuant to
Article IV, part 2, section 11 of the Arizona
Constitution.
Reporting
Campaign Finances
The Arizona statutes prescribe extensive
requirements for election campaign contributions
and expenses for all candidates including
candidates for the Legislature. Every candidate for
the Legislature who receives campaign
contributions or makes campaign disbursements
of more than $200 is required to establish a
campaign committee. The candidate’s campaign
committee must file a number of campaign finance
reports that set forth the receipts and
disbursements of the committee. These reports
must be filed with either the Secretary of State or
the Clerk of the County Board of Supervisors
several times during an election year and by January
31 of the following year for years in which there is
no election.
The reports must include a detailed listing of
the campaign committee’s assets and the source of
revenues. The committee must also report the total
disbursements and an itemized list of
disbursements in nine categories. The reports are
certified and signed under penalty of perjury by
the committee treasurer or the candidate. If a
campaign committee fails to file a timely, complete
and accurate report, the committee and the
candidate are liable for a civil penalty of $25 for
each day of noncompliance with a maximum
penalty of $1,000.
Reporting Personal Finances
The general statutory standards for financial
disclosure by public officers apply to members of
the Legislature. Under these requirements each
member of the Legislature must file an annual
verified financial disclosure statement with the
Secretary of State by January 31 that covers the
prior calendar year.
The statement must provide a wealth of
information concerning the legislator and the
members of the legislator’s household. Some of the
information required in the statement includes:
! The name and address of each source of
income of over $1,000 during the year.
! A description of any business owned by the
legislator including identification of any large
customers.
! The name and address of any business or
trust in which the legislator has an interest
of over $1,000.
! A description of all interests the legislator
has in Arizona real estate.
! A list of all creditors to whom the legislator
owes over $1,000 and a list of all major
creditors of any business owned by the
legislator.
Powers, Privileges and Responsibilities
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A legislator who knowingly fails to file the
statement or files a false statement is guilty of a
class 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable by a
sentence of up to six months in jail. The offender
is also subject to a civil penalty of $50 for each
day of noncompliance, with a maximum penalty
of $500.
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Legislative Procedure
Chapter Five
Legislative
Procedure
Parliamentary Procedure in
the Senate and the House of
Representatives
The legislative procedure of the Senate and
House of Representatives is established by
the rules of each chamber. The rules
adopted by the Senate state that legislative
procedure shall be governed by the constitutional
provisions, the Senate Rules, Arizona statutes,
Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure, Senate
customs and usage and general parliamentary law,
in that order.
The Rules of the House of Representatives also
state the order in which authorities on legislative
procedure take precedence when the rules do not
address a specific issue of legislative procedure.
The order is the constitutional rules or stipulations,
statutory rules, adopted House Rules, judicial
decisions, adopted parliamentary authority
(Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure, Rules of
the United States House of Representatives and
Jefferson’s Manual), general parliamentary law and
custom and usage. The House Rules state that these
authorities shall be consulted in that order to
resolve any conflict or ambiguity in legislative
procedure.
The rules adopted by the Senate and the House
of Representatives can be modified by a majority
vote each session and are published for each
Legislature, or when amended. The rules are
reprinted in the Addendum to this Manual.
Senate Procedure
The Senate Rules cover a range of subjects that
include the powers of the officers of the body, the
establishment of committees, introduction of
legislation, decorum and debate, legislative
procedure, length of the session and a code of
ethical conduct.
Currently, there are 13 standing committees in
the Senate. The President of the Senate appoints a
member to serve as chairman of each committee.
The committee chairman sets the day and time for
the committee’s regular weekly hearings. Since all
members of the Senate serve on more than one
committee, the committees meet on different dates
and times to accommodate the members’
schedules. The chairman may add additional
meeting times as necessary.
Generally, there are between seven and nine
members on a Senate committee. A quorum for a
hearing on a measure in a committee consists of a
majority of the members of the committee. A
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majority of the members of the committee is
required to report a bill or any other measure
out of the committee. To pass an amendment to
a bill, a majority of the members of the committee
who are present must vote for the amendment.
The committee may introduce a bill, resolution
or memorial as a “committee” measure on a
unanimous vote of the committee. A majority of
the committee may introduce a bill, resolution
or memorial as a “majority of committee”
measure on the vote of a majority of the members
of the committee.
The President calls the Senate to order each
day of the session. This is usually done at the
same time every day unless the President has
adjourned the Senate to meet at a different time
on the next day of the session.
A majority of the senators elected constitutes
a quorum for conducting business on the Senate
floor. A member may raise the question of
establishing a presence of a quorum at any time
while the Senate is in session on the floor of the
chamber. If it is determined that a quorum does
not exist, then a majority of the senators present
may seek a “call of the Senate” requiring senators
to return to the chamber until a quorum is
present. Pending the execution of the call the
President cannot entertain any debate or other
motions, except to adjourn. The President directs
the Sergeant at Arms to request or compel the
attendance of the absent Senators for purposes
of establishing a quorum when there is a call of
the Senate.
The order of Senate business is established
in the Senate Rules as follows:
1. Prayer by the Chaplain
2. Pledge of allegiance
3. Roll call
4. Reading of the Journal
5. Business on the President’s desk
6. Petitions, memorials and remonstrances
7. Orders of the day
8. Introduction and first reading of bills
9. Second reading of bills
10. Reference of bills
11. Reports of standing committees
12. Reports of select committees
13. Committee of the Whole
14. Report of the Committee of the Whole
15. Third reading of bills
16. Other business of the Senate
A member may request that the President alter
the order of business during a floor session.
House of Representatives
Procedure
The Rules of the House of Representatives
include the powers and duties of the presiding
officer, the formation of standing committees,
introduction of legislation, decorum and debate and
legislative procedure.
There are currently 19 standing committees in
the House with chairmen appointed by the Speaker.
Under the Rules of the House of Representatives,
the chairmen of the standing committees set the
meeting day and time for the weekly committee
hearings. The chairman may cancel or set additional
meetings as is necessary with the permission of
the Speaker. A majority of the members of a
committee of the House of Representatives
constitutes a quorum for purposes of considering
a bill, resolution or memorial.
The Speaker calls the House to order on the
floor of the chamber at 11:00 a.m. each day of
session, unless the Speaker has adjourned the
House to a different hour. A majority of the
members elected to the House of Representatives
constitutes a quorum to conduct the business of
the full House. A smaller number of members may
meet, adjourn and compel the attendance of any
members who are not present. A member may
raise the question of a quorum and, if a quorum is
not present, the Speaker of the House must either
order a “call of the House,” recess or adjourn.
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The House order of business is as follows:
1. Roll call
2. Prayer
3. Pledge of allegiance
4. Approval of journal
5. Petitions, memorials and remonstrances
6. Reports of standing committees
7. Reports of select committees
8. Business on the Speaker’s desk
9. Bills and other business from the Senate
10. Motions to discharge committees
11. First reading of bills
12. Second reading of bills
13. Third reading of bills
14. Unfinished business
15. Committee of the Whole
16. Disposition of business from Committee
of the Whole
17. Orders of the day
Members may request that the Speaker change
the order of business during floor session.
Legislative Procedure
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Chapter Six
The
Legislature in
Operation
The Legislature in Operation
Sessions: Organization of
the Legislature
Every two years, 60 members of the House
of Representatives and 30 members of the
Senate are elected or reelected to a new
Arizona Legislature. Each Legislature has been
numbered consecutively since statehood in 1912,
and the new Legislature is assigned the next number
from the previous Legislature. The Legislature that
was elected in 2000 and took office in 2001, for
example, was the 45rd Legislature.
Each Legislature covers a two-year period. The
first session following the general election is known
as the first regular session, and the session
convening in the second year is known as the
second regular session. Each regular session begins
on the second Monday in January and adjourns
sine die (i.e., terminates for the year) no later than
Saturday of the week in which the 100th day from
the beginning of the regular session falls. The
President of the Senate and Speaker of the House,
by rule, may extend the session up to seven
additional days. Thereafter the session can only be
extended by a majority vote of members present
of each house.
It is not uncommon for the Legislature to
convene in between regular sessions. This is done
when the Governor calls a special session of the
Legislature. The Governor may call an unlimited
number of special sessions at any time, even
while regular sessions are in progress. In special
sessions initiated by the Governor, the
Legislature may consider only subjects and issues
that the Governor specifies. The Governor
usually discusses the potential subjects and
issues of a special session with legislative
leadership in advance of the call so that all parties
may plan accordingly. In addition to special
sessions initiated by the Governor, the Governor
must call a special session on receiving a petition
signed by at least two-thirds of the members of
each house of the Legislature, in which case the
subjects that the Legislature can consider are
unlimited. Special sessions are typically short,
sometimes lasting only one day, but there is no
official limit to their duration.
The Constitution of Arizona authorizes each
house of the Legislature to choose its own
officers, and one of the first orders of business
after a general election of legislators is to
organize the Legislature and elect the legislative
officers. Legislative caucuses begin meeting soon
after the election so new legislators can get
acquainted with other legislators and to choose
the new officers. The political party having a
majority of the members of a house usually
chooses the next presiding officer of that house
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and will nominate one of its members to be the
President of the Senate or Speaker of the House.
All caucuses will also elect their own leaders:
Majority or Minority Leaders, Majority or Minority
Whips and other officers of their caucus. At the
first meeting of the House and Senate in the first
regular session, the oldest member traditionally
presides temporarily for the election of officers.
The full Senate will officially elect its President and
the full House will elect its Speaker, typically those
members previously nominated by the majority
caucus of the respective house prior to session. At
this time the chambers also formalize other staffing
elections and appointments described elsewhere
in this manual.
The President and Speaker are the presiding
officers of their respective houses and are elected
to two-year terms in those offices coinciding with
the biennial legislature. They call their chamber to
order, preside over the business of the chamber
and are responsible for maintaining decorum in
the chamber. In addition, they are responsible for
the administration and management of the affairs
of their respective houses. The President and
Speaker may choose a President Pro Tempore and
Speaker Pro Tempore, respectively, to preside in
the temporary absence of the President or Speaker.
Shortly after both houses have organized, they
meet in joint session in the House chambers to
hear the Governor’s “State of the State” address. In
the message, the Governor outlines the major issues
facing the state and proposes solutions for the
Legislature’s consideration during that session.
Drafting
Only current members of the Legislature may
actually sponsor and introduce legislation, but
legislative proposals may be initiated from many
sources, including state agencies, local
governments, individual constituents and special
interest groups. Advocates of proposed legislation
must secure a legislative sponsor if they hope to
see their ideas enacted. Once a legislator agrees to
sponsor the measure, Legislative Council staff will
draft it in the form of a bill, resolution or memorial,
whichever is appropriate.
Legislative Council staff is legally responsible
for drafting all proposed legislation in suitable form
and terminology, regardless of the form in which it
is presented. The Legislative Council employs
permanent legal, editorial and technical staff to
provide this service for all legislators, regardless of
house or political party. The service is confidential,
and the contents of proposed legislation, including
supporting documentation, will not be divulged
without the express consent of the sponsor.
Legislation is drafted according to standards and
requirements set forth in The Arizona Legislative
Bill Drafting Manual.
To expedite the drafting and bill introduction
processes, House and Senate Rules establish
deadlines for requesting and producing drafts. State
agencies that propose legislation must have a
legislative sponsor and submit the drafting request
to Legislative Council on or before November 15
preceding the regular legislative session. Senate bills
must be submitted to Legislative Council for
drafting on or before the eighth day of the regular
session and delivered to their sponsors on or before
the 15th day of the session. House bills must be
requested on or before the 15th day of the regular
session and delivered to their sponsors on or before
the 22nd day of the session. In addition, House
Rules limit the number of bills, resolutions and
memorials that can be introduced after the first
day of the regular session to five per legislator, which
effectively forces most drafting for House members
to take place before the session begins.
The drafting process begins with the Legislative
Council drafter obtaining the facts, policy and
objectives for a legislative proposal from either the
legislator who is sponsoring the bill or from the
legislator’s authorized agent. The drafter then
converts the sponsor’s request into proper form,
style and legal terminology, and fits the proposal
into the framework of existing statutory law. The
drafter strives to produce a draft that is coherent,
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concise, understandable and free from ambiguity.
The drafter considers pertinent provisions of the
Arizona Constitution, court decisions, the Arizona
Revised Statutes, the Internal Reference Manual, the
Annual Report on Defects in the Arizona Revised
Statutes and State Constitution and other relevant
sources. The drafter makes adjustments for any
minor problems or conflicts, and discusses more
significant problems with the sponsor, including
suggesting possible alternative approaches. There
are three types of legislation: bills, resolutions and
memorials.
Members of the public frequently ask, “How much
does it cost to draft a bill?”. Unfortunately, there’s no
meaningful general answer. The question is similar
to “How much does it cost to buy a car? The answer,
of course, depends on the nature of the car: new or
used, Spartan or luxury, family sedan or formula one
racer, etc. Likewise, bills come in many different forms,
from many sources and require an infinite variety of
effort in creation, drafting and enactment. A simple
two line bill repealing a section of law may only take a
total of 30 minutes of drafting, editing, processing and
printing, whereas a 200 page recodification of water
law may be the result of years of study, negotiation,
drafting and redrafting before it’s even ready for
introduction. Arbitrary dollar amounts have
occasionally been pulled out of the air and printed
and revised over the years, but there cannot be a single
answer, and any such amount that is represented as
the cost of drafting a bill is meaningless and fallacious.
Bills
A bill is the appropriate method for proposing
the enactment of a law and is the most numerous
of legislative measures. Its proper use encompasses
every conceivable subject within the legislative
jurisdiction and is limited only by state and federal
constitutional standards. Typical bills are those that:
! Establish governmental agencies and
programs.
! Prescribe the powers and duties of state
agencies and of individual officers and
employees.
! Define crimes and classify punishments for
actions that are prohibited as public
offenses.
! Appropriate monies for state government
expenditures.
! Determine licensing and regulatory
standards for professions and occupations.
! Prescribe qualifications, terms of office and
compensation of public officers.
! Provide for the imposition, collection and
distribution of tax monies.
A bill that is introduced in the Senate is
designated “S.B. 1xxx”. A bill that is introduced in
the House is designated “H.B. 2xxx”. Bills are
numbered consecutively within each body and
retain the same number throughout the session,
even when they are sent to the opposite house for
consideration.
To become law, both houses of the Legislature
must pass a bill, which will then either be signed
into law by the Governor, take effect without the
Governor’s signature or pass the Legislature by a
supermajority vote overriding the Governor’s veto.
Resolutions
A resolution is a declaration or expression of
legislative opinion, will, intent or “resolve” in
matters within the Legislature’s legal purview. Three
types of resolutions are used in Arizona.
A simple resolution is processed only through
the house in which it is introduced and may express
an opinion, appoint a committee, express regret
on the death of a former legislator or other
prominent person, request the return of a bill from
the other house of the Legislature for a stated
purpose, recognize meritorious service or
commemorate a special event. A simple resolution
is not signed by the Governor. Simple resolutions
are designated “S.R. 1xxx” or “H.R. 2xxx”,
depending on the house of introduction.
A concurrent resolution is processed through
both houses but is not signed by the Governor. It
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may provide for the submittal of a referendum to
the voters or legislative action to amend the United
States or the Arizona Constitution. Concurrent
resolutions are designated “S.C.R. 1xxx” or “H.C.R.
2xxx”.
A joint resolution is processed through both
houses and is signed by the Governor. It is used to
provide for temporary measures having the effect
of law (e.g., a contract or any other official action)
but is not used for any purpose in amending either
the Arizona or United States Constitutions. Joint
resolutions are designated “S.J.R. 1xxx” or “H.J.R.
2xxx”.
Memorials
A memorial is a message sent to an officer or
entity outside state government and allows the
Legislature to petition, plea, beseech or pray that
the recipient acknowledge stated facts and act in a
manner consistent with the request. It implies that
the “memorialist” (the Legislature) lacks authority
to act directly on the subject. Memorials are
requests or proposals asking Congress, the
President of the United States, federal agencies and
officers or other states to do things the Arizona
Legislature has no jurisdiction to do itself.
Memorials are not signed by the Governor.
Fiscal Notes
Fiscal notes are estimates of the fiscal impact
of a bill that are prepared by the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee staff. They are prepared on
request for a legislator while the bill is before that
legislator’s house, and copies are distributed to all
members. Most fiscal notes are prepared for bills
involving changes in revenues while some are used
for bills involving administrative changes. Fiscal
notes can only be requested on bills and
amendments that have been introduced. Each fiscal
note contains basic information about the bill, a
dollar amount representing the fiscal impact, an
analysis complementing the figures and underlying
assumptions used in the analysis.
Introductions
A legislator, or in the Senate a standing
committee, may introduce a bill, resolution or
memorial. A Senator cannot introduce a bill in the
House, nor can a member of the House introduce
a bill in the Senate, but any legislator may cosponsor
a measure introduced in the other house. Any
measure may originate in either house, and all
measures passed by one house may be amended in
the other. The sponsor or sponsors sign a signature
page attached to the bill when it is introduced, and
when the bill is printed their names appear on the
first page of the bill. Legislators may introduce bills
“by request,” meaning the sponsor has agreed to
introduce the measure as a courtesy to its backers
while not necessarily endorsing it.
Legislators introduce measures by requesting
an “intro set” (the official package of materials used
for introduction of measures including copies of
the legislation and a signature page) from
Legislative Council, getting the signatures of all
cosponsors and filing the set in “the hopper”
located in the office of the Senate Secretary or
House Chief Clerk. When a measure is filed in the
hopper, it is formally designated as a bill, resolution
or memorial. The first bill introduced each session
is S.B. 1001 in the Senate and H.B. 2001 in the
House.
Members may introduce measures in the Senate
during the first 22 days of a regular session and
during the first ten days of a special session. A
measure may be introduced in the House of
Representatives during the first 29 days of a regular
session and during the first ten days of a special
session. After these deadlines, bills, resolutions and
memorials can be introduced only with the
permission of the respective Rules Committee,
except that in the House the introduction of death
resolutions may continue without the permission
of the Rules Committee.
To expedite processing, bills, resolutions and
memorials may be “prefiled” before the session
begins. Prefiled measures are considered to be
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introduced on the first day of the session. After the
certification of the election of members-elect, they
may prefile measures for introduction in the first
regular session. Members may prefile measures for
introduction in the second regular session
beginning November 15 preceding the session.
Members may prefile special session measures after
the Governor issues the call for the session, if the
measures are germane to the call.
First and Second Reading
The Arizona Constitution requires that to be
enacted a bill must be “read by sections” on the
floor of both the House and Senate on three different
days. This requirement is intended to provide time
for legislators to become informed about the details
of the bills and to allow for public reaction and
response to legislative proposals before they are
enacted. To expedite moving the bills, on the
opening day of each session the Majority Leader
may move to declare an emergency and suspend
the rules so that all bills, resolutions and memorials
may be read by number and short title only. These
formal “readings” are called first, second and third
reading, and each reading triggers a separate action
in the progression of a measure through each house.
For example, on first reading in the House, the
measure is “referred” to the Chief Clerk for printing
and assigned to appropriate committees. The
Speaker may thereafter have the bill second read
at any time before its consideration by the
Committee of the Whole. In the Senate, first reading
is essentially ceremonial, and the bill is not referred
to committee until second reading. In both the
House and Senate, third reading is a formal voting
process and is discussed more fully below.
The Arizona Constitution allows either house
to suspend the requirement of readings on three
days in the event of an emergency and on the vote
of at least two-thirds of the members. This is
typically done for special sessions considering only
a few bills that have been discussed and publicized
before the session is held.
Committee Action
As discussed earlier, the Legislature is involved
with such a large volume of matters involving
complex and technical subjects that it would be
simply overwhelmed if it tried to conduct all of its
business as a full body. Consequently, each house
assigns its members to various standing
committees to consider the details of the various
measures. The standing committees are established
by House and Senate Rules.
The presiding officer assigns bills, resolutions
and memorials to standing committees to consider
the merits of the proposals and for hearings,
testimony and debate. Under House Rules,
assignment to a committee is mandatory on first
reading. In the Senate committee assignment is not
automatic, but the President, in practice, rarely, if
ever, withholds a bill from referral to a committee.
A measure is usually referred to at least one
committee in its house of origin, and all legislation
is assigned to the Rules Committee. In the second
house a measure is usually referred to only one
committee and that chamber’s Rules Committee.
If a bill includes an appropriation of money, it will
normally go to the Appropriations Committee in
each house in addition to any other committees to
which it is assigned.
Once a measure has been referred to a
committee, the committee chairperson has broad
discretion over the measure’s fate. If a measure is
not heard in committee, it usually means that the
legislation will not progress further in the process,
although the sponsor may have other options to
pursue, such as a motion to “discharge” the
committees or amend the measure onto an active
bill somewhere else in the process.
Notice and Agendas
Standing committees usually meet on the same
day each week during all but the last few weeks of
the regular session. Depending on the calendar and
scheduling conflicts, legislative deadlines allow up
to eight meetings during the first half of the regular
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session for committees in each house to hear
legislation originating in that house. Sometimes
committees are allowed to hold additional meetings
to accommodate an extraordinary number of bill
assignments or to hear bills of special importance.
A written public notice for each regular or
special committee meeting and an agenda listing
all bills, memorials, resolutions and other matters
to be considered is required to be distributed to
each member of the committee and the Secretary
of the Senate or Chief Clerk of the House at least
five days prior to the committee meeting. The
notices and agenda are also available in several
public locations, as well as the Internet, and are
available to the public on request. No other
measure may be discussed at the meeting without
the unanimous consent of all committee members.
Listing a measure on the agenda indicates only that
it is eligible for hearing at the meeting but does not
guarantee that it will actually be heard.
Hearing
The committee convenes at the scheduled
meeting time and place for a hearing on the matters
listed on the agenda. At the beginning of the meeting
the chairperson usually announces any changes to
the printed agenda, as allowed by the adopted rules,
including:
! Whether any legislation is to be “held.” A
measure may be held for a number of
reasons, including technical problems,
apparent lack of support, not enough
meeting time to hear the bill or ongoing
negotiations among interested parties that
will affect the bill’s contents.
! Whether any bills are to be assigned to a
subcommittee, as discussed below.
! The order of hearing the bills, resolutions
and memorials that are up for consideration.
It is not always possible to hear every bill
on the agenda, so the chairperson may give
priority to some bills over others.
The normal procedure for considering each
measure begins with an objective explanation
by the committee’s research analyst or intern,
including features of the bill and other
background information. The committee staff
usually prepares and distributes a fact sheet or
bill summary and may announce whether
amendments have been proposed. If the sponsor
of the bill is present, the chairperson may invite
the sponsor to begin the testimony on the bill.
Committee chairmen are not required to
allow public testimony on any measure, but if
there is time and a need to hear explanations of
support or opposition, the chairperson almost
always allows persons who wish to testify to
come forward and present their reasons for
opposing or supporting the measure. Persons
wishing to testify must complete a request form
and deliver it to the chairperson. All persons are
eligible to testify to inform, advocate, oppose or
state any concern related to legislation being
considered by a committee.
When all public testimony has concluded, all
amendments have been considered and either
rejected or adopted and other committee
discussion and debate on a measure are over,
and if the committee chairperson is willing to
proceed with a vote, one of the members of the
committee, usually the vice-chairperson, moves
that the bill (as amended, if applicable) be
returned to the full house with a “do pass”
recommendation. At this point there may be
some parliamentary maneuvering, but eventually
the chairperson calls for a roll call vote of the
committee members. Each member has the
option of voting “aye,” “no” or (in the House
only) “present” (an abstention). A member may
initially “pass” in the case of indecision or if the
member wants first to see how other members
vote, but each member who is present must
eventually vote. There is also a procedure for
excusing oneself from voting in the case of a
conflict of interest on specific bills. The
chairperson always votes last, and then publicly
announces the results of the vote. If there is a
quorum, a majority of that quorum present for
the vote is required to advance the bill.
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After the committee hearing, the committee
secretary prepares and distributes written
minutes of the meeting and the report of all bills
considered, including a record of all roll call
votes. In addition, all amendments to the bills
that were adopted by the committee are printed
and distributed but are not yet incorporated into
the bill. Committee-adopted amendments are
kept separate from the bill until they are adopted
by the Committee of the Whole. Reports of
standing committees are read on the floor as they
are received.
Subcommittees
A committee chairperson may appoint a
subcommittee, composed of members of the full
standing committee, and refer one or more of the
committee’s bills or other measures to the
subcommittee. As with the full standing committee,
there is no mandate for a subcommittee to actually
meet and consider any bill assigned to it, but if a
subcommittee does hear a bill, the subcommittee
reports the bill back to the full committee with its
recommendations.
There are two primary reasons for referring a
measure to a subcommittee. The bill before the
full committee may require changes that are too
complicated or detailed to be conveniently
accomplished in a full committee hearing. A
smaller subcommittee allows for informal and
direct discussion and debate over the fine points
and details. Another reason for a subcommittee is
that the committee chairperson may oppose a
measure but wants to avoid criticism for not
hearing it at all. The chairperson may assign the
measure to a subcommittee with the informal
understanding that it will not be reported back to
the full committee, effectively “burying” it in the
subcommittee.
Any subcommittee may meet at any time on
the call of the subcommittee chairman, if the
meetings are announced on the floor of the House
or Senate in open session prior to the meeting. A
subcommittee, without distributing a written
agenda, may consider any matter assigned to it by