ARIZONA LEGISLATIVE MANUALThe Arizona Legislative Manual is the product of several members of the Arizona Legislative Council staff with the helpful input and support of several other

ARIZONA

LEGISLATIVE

MANUAL

1998 EDITION

Arizona Legislative CouncilPhoenix, Arizona

Copyright 1998c

Arizona Legislative CouncilSuite 100, Legislative Services Wing

State CapitolPhoenix, Arizona 85007

www.azleg.state.az.us

EditorDavid M. ThomasDeputy Director

Arizona Legislative Council

Front Cover: Winged Victory on dome of Arizona State Capitol. All photos courtesy of research division, Arizona Department ofLibrary, Archives and Public Records, Phoenix.

The Arizona Legislative Manual is the product of several members of the Arizona Legislative Councilstaff with the helpful input and support of several other members of the Legislature and the legislativestaff. These current and former legislators and staff of the Senate and House of Representatives havetaken an active role in reviewing and providing helpful comments, suggestions and directions. Moreover,many organizational ideas and features were inspired by the published works of others, notably TheArizona Legislature by Professor Charles W. Wiggins, Ph.D. (1974); From Idea To Bill To Law by StateSenator Randall Gnant (2nd ed., 1996); Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure (1989), the “Guide To The43rd Legislature” published by Arizona News Service and handbooks and manuals generously contributedby the legislatures of many other states.

This manual reflects the common use of various terms in the legislative environment that mayoccasionally cause confusion for the uninitiated reader. The words “chamber” and “floor” are usedinterchangeably to refer to the area (or arena) in the Senate and the House of Representatives where themembership of the entire body meets for debate. “Chamber,” “body” and “house” are also used to referto either the Senate or House of Representatives as an institution (including the physical facility, themembership and the staff), and if “house” is not capitalized, that is the intended usage, but if “House” iscapitalized, it is an abbreviated reference to only the House of Representatives.

People who work in and closely with the Legislature usually refer to the measures being consideredcollectively as “bills.” This is inaccurate and incomplete because resolutions and memorials are alsointroduced and considered by the Legislature along with bills. This manual attempts to use terms such as“measures” or “legislation” for generic reference to the items under consideration by the Legislature anduse “bill,” “resolution” and “memorial” only when discussing the unique features of those individualtypes of legislation. Nevertheless, there may be occasional occurrences of the use of “bill” in a general,rather than the specific, sense, and the reader must read those uses in context to understand the accuratemeaning.

This manual reflects the fact that there is no official legislative protocol in Arizona regarding the useof “chairman,” “chairperson” and “chair” in reference to the presiding member of a legislative committee.All of these words are in contemporary and accepted use in the Arizona Legislature without any intendedor understood gender exclusivity or political correctness or incorrectness.

The Arizona State Senate and House of Representatives have equal status in the Legislature. Thismanual does not use the terms “upper house” or “lower house” because they are inaccurate and carry anincorrect connotation of superiority and inferiority. Nor is there any implied priority in listing “Senate”or “House of Representatives” first in a sentence. The only time such an order may be significant is ifthere is some chronological order in a particular legislative process. If there is any such instance, theprocedural order will be noted in the text.

Finally, this manual is not intended and should not be read to be an official statement or descriptionof the rules, procedure or policy of the Arizona Legislature. It is not an “official” legislative document.Instead, it is a narrative of what the Legislature is and what goes on in the Legislature and restates in itsown words the actual requirements and practices that are prescribed by the constitution, laws and rulesfor the Arizona Legislature.

Preface

Table of Contents

Chapter Page

One The Legislative Function ............................................................... 1The Legislature.................................................................................. 1Direct Citizen Legislation .................................................................2

Initiative .......................................................................................3Referendum .................................................................................3Amendment, Repeal or Veto of Initiated or Referred Measures4

Two The Arizona Legislature ................................................................ 5History of the Arizona Legislature ...................................................5

Territorial Arizona ...................................................................... 5The Enabling Act and Constitutional Convention of 1910 .......6Early Arizona Legislature ........................................................... 7Constitutional Principles Regarding the Legislature .................8

Size and Apportionment ...................................................................8Membership ...................................................................................... 9

Qualifications............................................................................... 9Elections ...................................................................................... 9Term Limits .................................................................................. 9Vacancies .....................................................................................9

Leadership ...................................................................................... 10President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives........................................................ 10Majority and Minority Leaders ................................................ 11Majority and Minority Whips .................................................. 11President Pro Tempore and Speaker Pro Tempore ................. 11Parliamentarian ........................................................................ 12Standing Committee Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen ............... 12

The Committee System .................................................................. 12Standing Committees ............................................................... 12Subcommittees ......................................................................... 13Joint Statutory Committees ..................................................... 13Interim Committees ................................................................. 13

Political Party Caucuses ................................................................ 14Staff ................................................................................................. 14

Secretary of the Senate ............................................................. 15Chief Clerk of the House ......................................................... 15Research Staff ............................................................................ 15Rules Committee Staff .............................................................. 16Committee Secretaries ............................................................. 16Majority and Minority Staff ..................................................... 16Members’ Assistants and Secretaries ...................................... 16Accounting Staff ....................................................................... 17

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Chapter Page

Sergeant at Arms ...................................................................... 17Pages ......................................................................................... 17Other Staff ................................................................................. 17Legislative Agency Staff ............................................................ 17

Lobbyists ........................................................................................ 17Press................................................................................................ 18

Three Legislative Finances..................................................................... 21Legislative Budget .......................................................................... 21Legislator Compensation ............................................................... 21

Salary ........................................................................................ 21Per Diem and Other Expense Allowances .............................. 22Retirement and Other Employment Benefits .......................... 23

Four Legislative Powers, Privileges and Responsibilities ..................... 25Legislative Immunity ...................................................................... 25Limitations on Legislative Power .................................................. 26Crimes Against the Legislature ..................................................... 26Legislative Discipline ..................................................................... 26Reporting Campaign Finances ...................................................... 27Reporting Personal Finances ......................................................... 27

Five Legislative Procedure .................................................................. 29Parliamentary Procedure in the Senate and theHouse of Representatives .............................................................. 29Senate Procedure ........................................................................... 29House of Representatives Procedure ............................................ 30

Six The Legislature in Operation....................................................... 33Sessions: Organization of the Legislature ..................................... 33Drafting........................................................................................... 34

Bills............................................................................................ 35Resolutions ............................................................................... 35Memorials ................................................................................. 35

Fiscal Notes .................................................................................... 36Introductions.................................................................................. 36First and Second Reading .............................................................. 36Committee Action .......................................................................... 37

Notice and Agendas ................................................................. 37Hearing ..................................................................................... 38Subcommittees ......................................................................... 39Amendments............................................................................. 39Appropriations Committees .................................................... 40Rules Committees .................................................................... 40

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Chapter Page

Caucus ............................................................................................ 40Calendars........................................................................................ 41Committee of the Whole ............................................................... 42

Floor Debate ............................................................................ 42Floor Amendments .................................................................. 43Engrossing ................................................................................ 43

Third Reading ................................................................................. 44Second House Consideration ........................................................ 44Concur, Refuse, Conference Committees ..................................... 45Final Passage and Transmission to Governor orSecretary of State ........................................................................... 46Gubernatorial Action ..................................................................... 46Effective Date ................................................................................. 47Example .......................................................................................... 49

Seven The State Budget Process ............................................................ 51

Eight Legislative Oversight ................................................................... 55Sunset Review of State Agencies and Programs ........................... 55Administrative Rules Oversight Committee ................................. 56Senate Advise and Consent onGubernatorial Appointments ........................................................ 56

Nine Impeachment ............................................................................... 57Investigation and Indictment by House of Representatives ......... 57Trial by Senate ................................................................................ 58Historical Perspective .................................................................... 59

Ten Legislative Service Agencies ........................................................ 61Legislative Council ......................................................................... 61Joint Legislative Budget Committee .............................................. 62Department of Library, Archives and Public Records .................. 62Office of the Auditor General ........................................................ 63Ombudsman-Citizens’ Aide ........................................................... 63Ombudsman for Private Property Rights ...................................... 64

Eleven Legislative Constituent Services ................................................. 65ALIS On-line ................................................................................... 65Information Desks ......................................................................... 65AZNet ............................................................................................. 65

Twelve Glossary of Legislative Terms ..................................................... 67

Addendum to Legislative Manual .................................................................. 85

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Chapter One

TheLegislativeFunction

The Legislature is a complex institutionwith traditions rooted in ColonialAmerican and European experience, but

it is also a contemporary institution in whichpoliticians with strong personalities and politicalphilosophies deal with current problems,interests and strategies in a way that easilyoverwhelms a casual observer. The Legislaturetouches the life of every person in this state. Withsuch power focused in a complex organizationfollowing esoteric processes, it is easy for theordinary citizen to become frustrated anddistrustful of government that, in the finalanalysis, exists solely to benefit the public. Thismanual is devoted to describing the ArizonaLegislature and what it does so that interestedcitizens and new lawmakers can betterunderstand how their Legislature operates andcan be more effective in participating in thelegislative process.

The American system of governmentrecognizes three broad functions properlyassigned by the public to its representatives.These functions are reflected in the separatebranches of government traditional in the UnitedStates: The legislative or lawmaking function, theexecutive or administrative function and thejudicial or adjudicatory function.

In Arizona, the people only partially

delegated the legislative power to the stategovernment. The Constitution of Arizonaprovides:

The legislative authority of the State shall bevested in a Legislature, consisting of a Senateand a House of Representatives, but the peoplereserve the power to propose laws andamendments to the Constitution and to enactor reject such laws and amendments at thepolls, independently of the Legislature; and theyalso reserve, for use at their own option, thepower to approve or reject at the polls any Act,or item, section, or part of any Act, of theLegislature. (Article IV, part 1, section 1.)

The Legislature

The Legislature is a permanent organizationestablished to enact state laws and perform other dutiesthat are appropriate to the legislative branch ofgovernment. The lawmaking function is certainly itsmost visible activity, performed annually in formalregular and special sessions. The Legislature isorganized specifically to enable it to deliberate issuesof public concern and resolve problem areas andconflicts among competing proposals and interestedparties. The system of committees and multiple stagesand forums for hearings and debate are designed toprovide the opportunity for a thorough consideration

The Legislative Function

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of proposals before they can affect the public as newlaws, as changed or amended laws or as repealed laws.

Aside from lawmaking, however, theLegislature performs several additional importantfunctions that allow state government to operatein a normal productive manner. In a pure ordirect democratic political system laws wouldbe made by the mass citizenry, but because ofpractical problems with having all citizensparticipate in making complex and time-consuming determinations, citizens elect theirrepresentative legislators to make policydecisions. To ensure that their representativesadequately reflect the views of at least a majorityof the citizens, the State Constitution requiresthe Legislature to provide for a system ofconducting elections to select major federal, stateand local officials, and to revise congressionaland legislative electoral boundaries every tenyears in the reapportionment process.

Arizona voters hold their legislatorsaccountable through biennial elections. Inaddition, although seldom considered, theArizona Constitution also allows the citizens torecall their legislators and vote them out of officebefore their elected term of office expires.Arizona legislators are thus highly accountablefor their performance in office, and one of themajor concerns in the Legislature is service toconstituents, whether it constitutes promotionor support for local causes, acting asintermediaries for citizens with governmentagencies or providing citizens with informationor guidance in dealing with the government.

The Legislature shares with the citizens thepower to propose changes to the StateConstitution, the state’s fundamental politicaldocument. Since statehood, the Legislature hasproposed a substantial number of amendmentsto the State Constitution and has been successfulin getting them ratified by the electorate in amajority of cases.

The United States Constitution delegatesresponsibility for ratifying proposed amendments

of that document to the state legislatures. Noother branch of state government is involved inamending the State or United States Constitutionsother than in a purely functionary capacity.

From the perspective of the ordinary taxpayerthe operation of state government appears to beextremely expensive, and the Legislature is giventhe daunting challenge of budgeting thoseexpenses and determining the financial prioritiesamong numerous competing worthy programsand agencies. Monitoring the collection of staterevenues, allocating them and accounting fortheir use is a full-time process and occupies amajor portion of the time and effort of theLegislature.

The Legislature engages in several activitiesto oversee and supervise the operation of stategovernment, again in an effort to ensure that thestate’s assets are properly and wisely used forthe benefit of the public and to avoid burdeningthe public with cumbersome and unnecessarygovernment intrusion. State agencies andprograms are subject to periodic audits andreviews and must prove to be justified or faceautomatic termination. Increased legislativereview and supervision over administrative rulesand programs has been a notable trend in recentyears. Additionally, the Senate has the power toconsent to or reject the appointment of certainexecutive branch officials and thus exercisessignificant influence over the personnel andgoverning philosophy of the people administeringthe laws.

The ultimate oversight of elected officials isthe power of involuntary removal from office forbreach of their responsibilities and the publictrust. The Legislature is given the exclusivepower of impeachment over elected executiveofficers and judges, and the Legislature maypolice its own elected members and expel themfrom office in the case of serious misconduct.

Direct Citizen Legislation

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While the Constitution gives the Legislaturethe power to enact laws, it also reserves to thepeople the power to initiate laws andconstitutional amendments and to approve ordisapprove laws passed by the Legislature.

Initiative

Under the initiative power, Arizona voterscan suggest changes to the State Constitution orstatutes by filing with the Secretary of State’s officea petition that sets forth the title and full text ofthe proposed measure.

Initiative petitions must be filed with theSecretary of State at least four months before thegeneral election at which the measure will bevoted on. A number of registered voters equalto at least ten percent of the total number of votescast for all candidates for the office of Governorat the preceding general election must sign apetition to propose a statutory change. For aconstitutional amendment, at least 15 percentof such electors must sign the petition for themeasure to qualify for placement on the ballot.If an initiative petition contains a sufficientnumber of valid signatures, the measure issubmitted to the voters for their approval ordisapproval at the next general election.

Persons who gather signatures on initiativepetitions must be residents of Arizona and mustbe qualified to vote in the election in which theinitiative will appear. After petition circulatorssubmit their completed signature sheets to theSecretary of State’s office, the Secretary of Stateand the county recorders undertake a verificationprocess to ensure that the sheets contain therequisite number of valid signatures.

The Secretary of State then publishes andmails to all registered voters a publicity pamphletthat contains the text of each initiated andreferred measure, arguments advocating oropposing the measures that have been submittedto the Secretary of State and an impartial analysisof the provisions of each measure prepared bythe Legislative Council.

An initiated measure becomes effective afterits approval by a majority of the voters who castvotes on the measure and on proclamation ofthe election results by the Governor.

Referendum

The referendum power allows the people tovoice their approval or disapproval of laws orparts of laws passed by the Legislature. To allowthe referendum process to occur, theConstitution provides that acts passed by theLegislature do not go into effect for 90 days afterthe close of the legislative session. Certain laws,such as those that require earlier operation topreserve the public peace, health or safety orthose that provide for the support andmaintenance of state agencies, are not subjectto the referendum power and take effectimmediately.

A number of registered voters equal to at leastfive percent of the total number of votes cast forall candidates for the office of Governor at thepreceding general election must sign areferendum petition. The requirements thatapply to referendum petition circulators are thesame as those that apply to initiative petitioncirculators. Completed petitions must be filedwith the Secretary of State no later than 90 daysafter the adjournment of the session of theLegislature that passed the measure beingreferred.

If a referendum petition has been filed withwhat appears to be an adequate number of validsignatures, the law that is the subject of thereferendum does not go into effect until after thevoters have approved the law at the next generalelection. A law that has been referred and is notapproved by the voters does not go into effectunless the Legislature or the people take actionto enact the law at a later date. The filing of areferendum petition against part of a law doesnot prevent the remainder of that law frombecoming operative.

The Legislative Function


The Legislature itself may refer statutes to thevoters for their approval or rejection. This is mostoften done when a measure is particularlycontroversial and the Legislature wants to allowthe people to vote directly on the matter, whenthe matter at issue has been the subject ofprevious voter-initiated measures or to bypass aGovernor who would veto the measure. Thesemeasures go before the voters for approval ordisapproval at the next general election. Inaddition, all constitutional changes approved bythe Legislature must be submitted to a vote ofthe people. Constitutional amendments referredby the Legislature may appear on the ballot eitherat the next general election or at a special electioncalled by the Legislature for this purpose.

As with initiated measures, referredmeasures, whether they appear on the ballot asa result of citizen petitions or are referred directlyby the Legislature, become law when approvedby a majority of those voting on the measure andon proclamation of the election results by theGovernor.

Amendment, Repeal or Veto ofInitiated or Referred Measures

If either an initiative or referendum isapproved by a majority of all persons qualifiedto vote on the measure (rather than just amajority of those actually voting on it), theGovernor’s veto power does not extend to themeasure. The power of the Legislature to amendor repeal laws also does not extend to initiativeor referendum measures approved by a majorityof all qualified voters. Accordingly, if a majorityof all qualified voters were to vote for a ballotmeasure, the Legislature theoretically could notrepeal or amend the measure immediatelyfollowing the election or at any time in the future.However, of all the initiative and referendummeasures voted upon since statehood, none hasreceived a majority vote of all qualified voters.

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Chapter Two

TheArizona

Legislature

The Arizona Legislature

History of theArizona Legislature

Every state in the nation has a distincthistory regarding its formation as a stateand as a government. Arizona’s early

settlers, in conquering the harsh and unforgivingenvironment of the state’s frontier, necessarilypossessed courage, determination and not a smallamount of independence—attributes that wouldimpact greatly on the future state’s system ofgovernment.

Territorial Arizona

The history of Arizona, as a part of the UnitedStates, began officially in 1850 when Congressformed the New Mexico Territory consisting ofthe land that is now Arizona north of the GilaRiver, along with what is now New Mexico, partsof Colorado and Nevada. Mexico ceded these andother western lands to the United States for $15million under the 1848 Treaty of GuadalupeHidalgo at the conclusion of the Mexican-American War. In 1853, the United States paidan additional $10 million to Mexico under theGadsden Purchase agreement to add to the NewMexico Territory nearly 30,000 square miles ofland south of the Gila River in Arizona, formingthe state’s current boundary with Mexico.

Although officially part of the New MexicoTerritory, the territory’s western residents inArizona felt distanced both geographically andculturally from the territorial capital of Santa Fe.Numerous bills were introduced in Congress inthe 1850’s seeking to grant Arizona territorialstatus, but to no avail. The primary oppositionto an Arizona Territory was the area’s lowpopulation; according to the 1860 census, fewerthan 2,500 non-Indians resided there.Interestingly, Confederate President JeffersonDavis designated Arizona as a Confederateterritory on February 14, 1862—50 years to theday before Arizona became a state.

Faced with evidence of Arizona’s mineralwealth, however, the opposition in Congresseventually relented and in 1863 PresidentAbraham Lincoln signed the Arizona OrganicAct creating the Territory of Arizona. Thefollowing year, in September 1864, the FirstTerritorial Legislature convened in Prescott, theterritory’s capital at the time. The capital movedfrom Prescott to Tucson and back to Prescottagain before being permanently established inPhoenix in 1889.

While the early territorial legislatures mayhave, in the words of historian John R. Murdock,“lacked the dignity of older lawmaking bodies,”


they nevertheless exhibited a progressive bentas evidenced by their generous appropriationsfor education, support for roads and railroadsand opposition to any kind of slavery in the newlycreated region. The early territorial legislaturesbusied themselves with creating counties,expending funds and dealing with unfriendlyIndians. They also performed some unusualfunctions, including the granting of divorces andthe changing of names of individuals. Speciallegislation of this nature would later be expresslyprohibited by the State Constitution.

Arizona enjoyed certain benefits as a resultof its territorial status. Congress paid all costs ofthe territorial government. The territory’scitizens were well-treated by the federalgovernment and enjoyed the civil libertiesguaranteed by the United States Constitution.

Nonetheless, the Arizona Territory wassubject to Congressional control, and as such,laws passed by the territorial legislature couldbe stricken by Congress. Territorial officials,including the Governor, were federally appointed,which meant they were often of a differentpolitical party than the majority of the territory’sresidents of the time. Congress controlledterritorial finances and could readjust territorialborders, as it did by ceding Arizona’s former Pah-Ute County to Nevada. Finally, territorialresidents could not vote for President, nor couldthe territory’s delegate vote in Congress.

The territory’s citizens began to determinedlypursue statehood and the greater degree of self-government it would allow them. This goal metwith great resistance, however, as the perceptionof Arizona among many in Washington, D.C. wasthat of a lawless, feuding, undeveloped desertpopulated by too few white settlers, too manyhostile Indians and too many Democrat residentsto suit the Republicans controlling Congress atthe time. A constitutional convention, held inSeptember 1891, resulted in a constitution thatwas approved by Arizona’s residents but ignoredby Congress, which considered it to be too

radical. It would be another 19 years beforefederal legislation was passed allowing thecitizens of Arizona to form their owngovernment.

The Enabling Act andConstitutional Convention of 1910

On June 20, 1910, President William HowardTaft signed the Enabling Act, allowing theArizona Territory (as well as the New MexicoTerritory) to hold a constitutional convention.This act did not admit Arizona as a state butrather conditioned statehood on the ability ofits citizens to adopt a constitution that wouldmeet with presidential approval.

In September 1910, territorial voters elected52 delegates—41 Democrats and 11Republicans—to attend the convention andframe the new constitution. The delegatesconvened in Phoenix at the territorial capitol onOctober 10, 1910 and formed 21 committees toconsider and draft various constitutionalprovisions.

While it is impossible to know the source ofevery provision of the Arizona Constitution, it isclear that the constitution adopted by theconvention was, in the words of historian JohnR. Murdock, “in the forefront in everyprogressive notion of the hour.” With theprogressives in control of the convention, severalmeasures that were considered liberal at the timewon approval, including those providing forinitiative, referendum and recall, secret ballots,voter registration, direct primary elections anda strong State Tax Commission and StateCorporation Commission. The new constitutionalso provided generously for public education andcontained several wage and hour protections forlaborers. Although convention delegates rejectedconstitutional provisions for prohibition andwomen’s suffrage, voters added both within threeyears of statehood.

The Constitution’s provisions were not

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established without a great deal of dissent amongdelegates, however. While delegates split overmany issues, none were so divisive as initiative,referendum and recall. The two direct legislationprovisions—initiative and referendum—weregaining a great deal of popularity throughout thewestern part of the country at the time and, whilemost Democrats supported these provisions,Republicans—including those in Washingtonwho would ultimately approve or disapproveArizona’s constitution—generally opposed them.

Conservatives feared—justifiably, as it turnedout—that statehood for Arizona would bethreatened if the convention formed too radicala constitution. The convention delegates adoptedthe Constitution of Arizona on December 9,1910, 60 days after they convened, by a vote of40 to 12. All but one Democrat signed the newdocument, and only one Republican did so.Territorial voters ratified the new Constitutionby a wide margin on February 9, 1911.

Citing objection to the provision allowingrecall of judges, President Taft vetoed theCongressional resolution approving Arizona’sConstitution. To achieve statehood, Arizonaeliminated the offending provision and wasadmitted as the nation’s 48th state on February14, 1912. Arizona voters, exerting theirindependent streak from the start, promptlyreinstated the judicial recall provision in theirConstitution within months after statehood wassecured.

With the battle for statehood won and theConstitution approved, Arizona’s citizens beganthe task of forming a new state government.

Early Arizona Legislature

Arizona’s Legislative Department is governedby Article IV of the Arizona Constitution, whichestablished the Legislature as a bicameral bodywith a Senate and a House of Representatives.The Legislature met on a biennial basis until

1950, when the Constitution was amended toprovide for annual legislative sessions.

Pursuant to the Constitution, the state’s firstLegislature had 19 senators, with five of the 14counties having two each, and 35 representativesin the House. Legislators earned seven dollars aday for their service. The membership changedin 1918 when the Constitution was amended toprovide for the creation of legislative districtswithin each county. This section wassubsequently amended a number of times andthe current system provides for one senator andtwo representatives from each of the state’s 30legislative districts.

The first State Legislature convened on March18, 1912. In the opening days of session, theSenate established 24 standing committees andthe House established 25. Session was limitedby law to 60 days, but after the initial session’sallotted time expired, the new Legislature stillhad much work to complete. Therefore, a specialsession was called immediately after theconclusion of the regular session to continue thework of establishing the new state government.

The Constitutional Convention of 1910framed a document that gave the office ofGovernor largely ceremonial duties. The newConstitution, for example, gave the Governor fewexecutive appointive powers, instead providingfor several separately elected executive officials.The Constitution further called for certainindependent commissions that were exempt fromcontrol by the Governor.

The reasoning for the initial restraint onexecutive authority dated back to territorial days.Congress’ appointment of Republican officials inthe heavily Democratic Arizona Territory createdgreat resentment toward the appointees, whichat the time included the Governor. Althoughsubsequent changes to Arizona’s Constitutioneventually expanded executive branch powers,the framers clearly and intentionally gave the



executive office little authority, preferring insteadto concentrate the bulk of powers closest to thestate’s citizens—with their Legislature.

Constitutional PrinciplesRegarding the Legislature

Separation of Powers

Article III of the Arizona Constitution(Distribution of Powers) provides for threeseparate and distinct departments ofgovernment—the legislative, which isempowered to determine policy and make laws;the executive, which carries out the laws; andthe judicial, which is charged with interpretingthe laws and adjudicating disputes under thelaws. While the United States Constitution andsome other state Constitutions have an impliedseparation of the three branches, the framers ofArizona’s Constitution expressly set forth thepowers and limitations of each branch.

The establishment of three coequal branchesis a principle known as the “separation ofpowers,” one that is fundamental to ourconstitutional form of government. Separationof powers means that one branch cannotencroach on the functions that belong to theother two branches. Further, it requires thatthose who make the law be different from thosewho execute and interpret it.

Checks and Balances

Related to separation of powers is the conceptof “checks and balances.” This means thatgovernmental authority among the threebranches is arranged so that one branch isempowered to keep in check, or to balance, thepowers of the other two branches. This systemof checks and balances prevents power frombecoming concentrated in a single branch ofgovernment 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 restrainlegislative power by vetoing a bill passed by theLegislature. The Legislature may impact onjudicial power by increasing or decreasing thenumber of Justices on the Supreme Court or byestablishing intermediate appellate courts. TheHouse of Representatives has the sole power ofimpeachment over the Governor, and impeachedofficials are tried by the Senate. The SupremeCourt may restrain legislative authority bydetermining that a law passed by the Legislatureviolates the Constitution and declaring itunconstitutional.

Size and Apportionment

Beginning with the 28th Legislature in 1967,Arizona’s Legislature has been composed of 30Senators and 60 members of the House ofRepresentatives, for a total membership of 90.The members are apportioned among 30legislative districts. The districts for the Senateare identical to the districts for the House, sothat each district elects one Senator and twoRepresentatives.

The Constitution of Arizona provides that thelegislative districts are “established by theLegislature,” which means that the Legislaturepasses a bill to establish the district lines. Thedistrict lines are described in A.R.S. section 16-1102, using United States Census Bureaudesignations for the specific areas that compriseeach district. Under federal law, the legislativedistricts are drawn to be equal in population,and are redrawn every ten years, immediatelyafter the United States census. Additionally,Arizona’s state redistricting process is subject toSection 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a federal lawthat requires “preclearance” by the United StatesDepartment of Justice of any changes to theLegislature’s district lines or to the state’s voting

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practices or procedures. The current legislativedistrict lines were subject to this review process.On completion of the next decennial census in2000, Arizona’s legislative district lines will bedue for revision to reflect the continuing changesin Arizona’s population.

Membership

Qualifications

The State Constitution requires that membersof the Senate and the House of Representativesbe at least 25 years old at the time they takeoffice. Additionally, each Representative andSenator must be a resident of the state for thethree years immediately preceding the person’selection and a resident of the county from whichthe person is elected for at least one yearimmediately before election.1 Under theConstitution, each house judges the qualificationsof its own members.

Like all public officers, members of theLegislature must be qualified electors.Accordingly, they may not be under guardianshipor otherwise legally incapacitated and must nothave been convicted of treason or a felony, unlesstheir right to vote has been restored.

In general, the State Constitution prohibitsfederal, state and local officeholders from servingin the Legislature. Specific exemptions exist forjustices of the peace, federal commissioners,notaries public and school trustees. Additionally,no legislator may be employed by the state orany county, city or town. This prohibition doesnot 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 voters who areregistered with their political party at primaryelections held during the first part of September.The names of candidates nominated at primaryelections as well as the names of independentcandidates who have formally qualified to runfor legislative office but who do not belong to apolitical party appear on the ballot for the generalelection. The general election is held on the firstTuesday after the first Monday in November.

Once elected, a legislator has the right toremain in office during good behavior. In the caseof misconduct, however, either legal or political,a legislator may be removed from office, eitherby the other members of the body in which thelegislator serves or by the voters of the legislator’sdistrict through the recall process.

Arizona has a “resign-to-run” statute thatrequires a legislator who is not in the last year ofoffice to resign from legislative service beforebecoming a candidate for any other public office.A state legislator may run for another publicoffice without resigning during the final year ofthe person’s term as a legislator.

Term Limits

In 1992, Arizona voters amended the StateConstitution to impose term limits on statelegislators. Currently, both Senators andRepresentatives may serve only four consecutiveterms in their offices. No legislator who hasserved four consecutive terms (including any partof a term) may serve in that same office againuntil the person has been out of that office for atleast one full term. Only terms beginning on orafter January 1, 1993 are counted.

Vacancies

State law provides that if a vacancy occurs inthe Legislature due to the death or resignationof a legislator or some other reason causing aninability to serve, the Board of Supervisors of thecounty in which the legislator’s district is located

1Although legislators are no longer elected “from” counties,the county residency requirement remains in the Constitution (Art.IV, part 2, sec. 2).



appoints another person to fill the office. Theappointee must meet all of the constitutionalrequirements for legislative service and mustbelong to the same political party and reside inthe same district as the person who filled theoffice immediately before the vacancy. The Boardof Supervisors must make this appointmentwithin ten days after the office becomes vacant.A person appointed to fill a vacancy holds officefor the remainder of the unexpired term.

If the legislative district of the legislatorcreating the vacancy is not entirely within onecounty, the Board of Supervisors of the county ofresidence of the vacating legislator fills thevacancy.

The procedure described above also applieswhen a vacancy occurs after the election of alegislator but before the person has actuallytaken the oath of office. However, if a vacancyoccurs due to the death, mental incapacity orvoluntary withdrawal of a legislative candidateafter the deadline has passed for persons to filecandidate petitions but before the primary orgeneral election, the precinct chairman of theprior candidate’s political party in the legislativedistrict where the candidate was runningnominates a new candidate to represent the partyin the upcoming election.

Leadership

President of the Senate andSpeaker of the House ofRepresentatives

The President of the Senate and the Speakerof the House of Representatives are the onlylegislative leadership positions mandated by statelaw. However, both the State Constitution andstatutes leave to the Legislature the method ofselecting these officers and the powers and dutiesthey possess once elected.

Traditionally, majority party members of the

Senate nominate the President and the majorityparty members of the House nominate theSpeaker at presession organizational caucuses,usually held shortly after the November generalelection. Caucus members must decide on rulesto govern the nomination process. Voting maybe open or by secret ballot. Candidates forPresident or Speaker may run individually or mayrun as part of a slate with other legislators-electwho are seeking the position of Majority Leaderor Majority Whip. While the majority caucusnominates the President and the Speaker, eachmust be elected by a majority of the entire bodyat the beginning of each legislative session.Traditionally, the person nominated by themajority caucus to serve as President or Speakeris elected by the entire chamber. However, anymember, including members of the minorityparty, can be nominated to serve as President orSpeaker when this vote takes place.

Senate and House Rules prescribe many ofthe powers of the presiding officers. Thesepowers include the right to appoint committeechairmen and vice-chairmen and to assign bothmajority and minority legislators to statutory,standing and interim committees. Additionally,the President and Speaker designate seatingassignments on the floor and allocate office andparking spaces to all members of their chamber.They must approve all debts incurred by theirrespective house. The President and Speaker alsomake decisions regarding employment andcompensation of legislative personnel and othermatters relating to the general administration ofthe institution. While it is not required, thepresiding officer may consult with othermembers of majority leadership in making thesedecisions.

As presiding officers, the President andSpeaker are responsible for referring bills to theappropriate committees, setting the agenda forfloor action, calling the body to order andmaintaining decorum during floor sessions. ThePresident or Speaker recognizes members who

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wish to speak on the floor and, subject to appealby any member, decides points of order. ThePresident and the Speaker relinquish their chairsduring meetings of the Committee of the Wholeand assume their seats on the floor. Senate andHouse Rules provide that the President and theSpeaker sign all bills, memorials and resolutionspassed by the house over which they preside.

Majority and Minority Leaders2

Majority and Minority Leaders (also referredto as “Floor Leaders” or “Party Leaders”) areelected at the presession organizationalcaucuses. Unlike the President and the Speaker,there is no need for these officers to receive avote of the full body. However, the Majority andMinority Leaders (like other partisan leaders)do not officially take office until they are swornin on the first day of the legislative session.

The Majority Leader in each house worksclosely with the presiding officer to develop andimplement the party’s main policy objectives. TheMajority Leader traditionally communicates withother members of the party regarding majoritypositions on specific issues. He or she may alsotalk with minority members to determine howtheir views may impact the outcome of a majorityprogram bill.

It is often the responsibility of the Majorityor Minority Leader to determine whetherconsensus exists among party members on agiven issue. He or she also may attempt toascertain whether a party position on a selectedbill is desirable. The person who serves as PartyLeader frequently assumes the role of partyspokesperson to the media.

The Minority Leader tries to keep membersof the minority party informed about majorityleadership decisions on the scheduling of bills

and other matters. The Minority Leader alsomakes recommendations to the presiding officerregarding the appointment of minority membersto committees and the seating and officeassignments of members of the minority party.The presiding officer is under no obligation toheed the suggestions of the Minority Leader onthese matters. Traditionally, however, the Speakeror President does give some weight to theMinority Leader’s recommendations.

In recent sessions, the minority caucus hasalso elected an Assistant Minority Leader. Thisperson schedules and chairs minority partycaucus meetings and works with the other partyleaders to make decisions regarding partyobjectives and minority staffing.

Majority and Minority Whips

Traditionally, the duty of the Whip has beento “whip up” votes to support a caucus decision.In fact, the term derives from the British foxhunting term “whipper-in,” which describes theperson responsible for keeping the foxhoundsfrom leaving the pack. The person who serves asthe party whip will likely ascertain how membersof the caucus stand on a given issue, often tallyingactual vote counts, and may try to solidifypartisan support on an issue that leadershipdeems especially important. This may includegetting members to the floor if they are neededfor a vote. The Majority Whip may also serve aschairman of the party’s caucus meetings.

President Pro Tempore andSpeaker Pro Tempore

The Senate and House Rules, respectively,provide for the appointment of a President ProTempore and Speaker Pro Tempore by thepresiding officer. As their titles suggest, the chiefduties of these officers are to preside over Senateand House proceedings and to otherwise assumethe duties of the President and the Speaker whenthey are absent from the Legislature. The Rules

2Beginning with the 43rd Legislature in 1997 the Democraticmembers of the House of Representatives designated themselves asthe “Democratic Caucus” and the leadership of that caucus as the“Democratic Leader,” “Assistant Democratic Leader” and“Democratic Whip.”



provide that if the presiding officer does notmake such an appointment, the entire body electsa member to preside during the President’s orSpeaker’s absence.

Parliamentarian

The President and the Speaker each appointa legislator as the Parliamentarian for theirrespective chamber. The person chosen asParliamentarian must be familiar with the rulesof the particular house and other proceduralrules because the presiding officer refers to thisperson when questions arise regarding processor the order of business. Final decisions onprocedural matters rest with the presiding officer,subject to appeal of the entire body. In additionto the Parliamentarian, the President or theSpeaker may choose to consult with thechamber’s Rules attorneys for advice on thesematters.

Standing Committee Chairmen andVice-Chairmen

The President and Speaker appoint allchairmen and vice-chairmen of standingcommittees. Accordingly, committee chairmenare customarily members of the majority party.

Generally, the person chosen to chair acommittee will have an interest in and anunderstanding of the areas over which thecommittee has jurisdiction. Committee chairmenalso must be familiar with legal requirementsregarding public notice and with open meetinglaws. Committee chairmen set the agenda for andpreside over standing committee meetings.

Committee chairmen wield a great deal ofpower, largely because they can decide whetheror not to hear measures that have been assignedto their committees. A chairman who choosesnot to hear a bill effectively kills the bill by failingto report it out of committee. If a committeechairman refuses to hear a bill, two-thirds of thecommittee members may sign a petition

requiring the chairman to schedule the bill onthe next agenda. In addition, the measure mayproceed to the floor over the chairman’sopposition if three-fifths of the members of theentire body sign a petition calling for the bill tobe discharged from the chairman’s committee orif the presiding officer withdraws the bill fromthat chairman’s committee and reassigns it toanother committee whose chairman will hearthe bill.

The chairman may meet with the vice-chairman to set the committee meeting agenda.The vice-chairman has the powers and duties ofa chairman when the chairman is absent. Thevice-chairman often makes the motion to begindiscussion on a bill that is before the committeeand moves bills for a committee vote after thecommittee has taken testimony on and debatedthe bills.

The Committee System

Due to the volume and diversity of issuesbefore the Legislature each session, it isimpracticable for each entire chamber to holdextensive hearings on all introduced bills. Instead,bills receive their first detailed consideration incommittees. There are several types ofcommittees, each fulfilling a different function.

Standing Committees

State law authorizes the presiding officer ofeach legislative chamber to appoint standingcommittees but provides that either chamber, byresolution or rule, may direct otherwise.Traditionally, the practice has been for thePresident and Speaker to determine the numberof committees and their subject matterjurisdictions at the beginning of each legislativesession. However, the committees must then beformally established in Senate and House Rules,which requires approval by a majority of themembers of each chamber.

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The number and titles of legislative standingcommittees vary from Legislature to Legislature.Each house generally has separate committeesto deal with matters such as agriculture, health,education, finance, transportation, governmentoperations, commerce, natural resources,taxation, insurance and the judiciary. Eachcommittee considers bills that are within itssubject matter jurisdiction and that have beenassigned to the committee by the presidingofficer.

The Rules Committee, while it is considereda standing committee, has a different functionfrom other standing committees. The charge ofthe Rules Committee is to consider theconstitutionality and proper form of bills andamendments reported from the other standingcommittees. (The function of the Rules Committeeis described in more detail in Chapter Six.)

As noted earlier, the presiding officer appointsmembers to each committee. Most membersserve on more than one committee. The generalpractice is for the majority party to have amajority of the members of each committee.

Every measure must pass through thecommittee system for scrutiny, debate andpossible amendment. Some standing committeeshave much heavier work loads than others, andthe number of measures assigned to a committeecan vary greatly from year to year, depending onthe amount and subject matter of legislation thatis introduced in each chamber.

Standing committees adopt their own rulesof procedure and, during the legislative session,meet weekly, or more often as necessary, at aregularly scheduled time and place. Meetings areopen to the public and press. Special meetingsmay be called by committee chairmen, but in thecase of House committees, this requires thepermission of the Speaker. The President or theSpeaker also must give permission for acommittee chairman to cancel a scheduledmeeting.

Subcommittees

Except for the Appropriations Committeesof each house, which have permanentsubcommittees, all legislative subcommittees areestablished on an ad hoc basis. Any committeechairman can appoint a subcommittee consistingof several members of the standing committeeto deliberate on a specific bill and report backto the full committee. A chairman may chooseto take this route to allow a smaller group oflegislators to study and prepare amendments toa complex bill that would consume aninordinately large amount of the full committee’stime. Standing committees are not required toaccept the recommendations of a subcommittee.

Joint Statutory Committees

State law establishes several permanentcommittees with members of both houses. Theseinclude the Joint Legislative Budget Committee(JLBC), the Joint Committee on Capital Review(JCCR), the Joint Legislative Audit Committee(JLAC) and the Legislative Council. Thesecommittees are comprised of members from bothhouses appointed by the President and theSpeaker. The Joint Legislative Budget Committeeand Legislative Council have sizable professionalpermanent staffs, while the other committeesreceive support from the House and Senate staff.

These statutory committees differ fromstanding committees in that they do not meet atregularly scheduled times and places, they oftenmeet during the interim when the Legislature isout of session and they usually deliberate onmatters other than bills, memorials andresolutions. For example, the Joint LegislativeBudget Committee makes recommendations tothe Legislature regarding the state budget andfiscal operations of state agencies. The JointCommittee on Capital Review hasresponsibilities involving land acquisition andcapital projects. The Legislative Council overseesthe bill drafting functions of the Legislature,



prepares analyses of ballot measures for inclusionin the statewide publicity pamphlet and operatesmany legislative facilities.

Interim Committees

As the name implies, interim committees(often referred to as “study committees”) operatebetween legislative sessions. They may be createdby legislation or by the President or Speaker, orboth. Often, persons other than members of theLegislature serve with or instead of legislatorson interim committees.

Interim committees undertake studies andinvestigate issues about which the Legislaturedesires further information. Free from thelegislative session deadlines and other pressures,interim committees have the time necessary totackle complex problems in depth. They may holdmeetings, take testimony and break into workinggroups to gather additional information. Interimcommittees usually report their findings to theLegislature and often suggest legislation to beconsidered in the next legislative session.

Political Party Caucuses

A person who is first exposed to theLegislature and the legislative process willinitially be confused by the word and institution“caucus.” It is not provided for in theConstitution or by law. It is generally overlookedin civics and government classes. Yet, the conceptof a caucus is as old as the United States. Theword means a meeting of persons belonging tothe same political party or faction, and in theArizona Legislature the House and SenateRepublican and Democrat caucuses have a longinstitutional history.

The caucuses begin organizational meetingssoon after a new Legislature is elected in thegeneral election in November of each even-numbered year. In one or more meetings eachcaucus elects a nominee for the presiding officer

of the respective body, either the Speaker of theHouse or President of the Senate. The minoritycaucus usually offers a nominee even though itis understood that the minority nominee has littlechance of election. The Speaker and Presidentare actually elected from the nominees by thefull House or Senate on the first day of the regularsession. In addition each caucus elects a leader(Majority Leader or Minority Leader) and a Whipor other officers.

The purpose of a caucus is to foster a senseof political unity and loyalty. This is accomplishedby regular meetings throughout the session andoccasionally at other times during the interimbetween sessions. Meetings of the caucuses arecommonly conducted as part of the legislativeprocess to discuss legislation that has cleared thecommittees to which it has been assigned butbefore consideration and debate by the fullchamber. The members of each caucus may alsomeet to discuss other issues such as the statebudget, general party positions on legislativeissues and, in the Senate only, the Governor’snominations to state boards and commissions.

Senate and House Rules provide that caucusmeetings are open to the public, but a caucusmay conduct a closed meeting to elect officersand for other specific purposes. Although caucusmeetings are usually open to the public,individuals other than the members of the caucusand staff are not invited to participate directly.

Staff

According to A.R.S. section 41-1102, theSenate and the House may hire as manyemployees as each chamber directs.Furthermore, the Senate Rules provide that “theappointment, terms and conditions ofemployment, compensation, discipline anddischarge of employees of the Senate shall bedetermined by the President, subject to theapproval of the Senate.” The House Rules simplystate that “employment, compensation and

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termination of personnel shall be determined bythe Speaker.” Both the Senate and House Rulesprohibit an employee from lobbying during theemployee’s term of employment and specify thatany violation is sufficient cause for the summarydischarge of the offending employee.

A.R.S. section 41-771 also provides that theSenate and House staff are employees in positionsthat are not covered by the state employee meritsystem. Such employees are often referred to as“uncovered,” “exempt” or “nonmerit system”employees, and they have no right to continuedemployment or right of appeal to the ArizonaPersonnel Board from disciplinary actions takenagainst them. As uncovered employees, Senateand House staff may be removed at any time.Some of the specific House and Senate staffpositions are described below.

Secretary of the Senate

Pursuant to custom, the Secretary of theSenate is a nonlegislator who is elected by themembers of the Senate. The Secretary acts as anofficer of the Senate and maintains all records ofany official action by the Senate, includingcomplete bill files, files on committee minutes,tapes of committee and floor testimony, the SenateJournal and various other historical documents.The Secretary assigns numbers to all Senatemeasures as they are introduced and overseesthe printing and engrossing of these measuresand amendments and conference committeereports and assists in the preparation of sessionlaws in even-numbered years.

During floor sessions, the Secretarycoordinates the flow of legislation, prepares anddistributes Senate calendars, as instructed, assistsin parliamentary decisions, coordinates amongthe House, Senate and Governor’s office allmessages, bills and information and works closelywith the Chief Clerk’s office in the House toeconomize time and effort. The Secretary is

responsible for assisting the President and themembers in ensuring that all Senate actionconforms to the Senate Rules, the statutes andthe Arizona Constitution. The Secretary has astaff that includes an assistant secretary, a journalclerk, an administrative assistant, an enrollingand engrossing supervisor, a file clerk, an indexclerk, a duplicating and supply supervisor, supplyclerks, 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 theSecretary of the Senate. Similarly, the Chief Clerkis a nonlegislator who pursuant to the HouseRules is elected by the members of the House ofRepresentatives and who acts as the chiefadministrator of the chamber. The Chief Clerkprepares the agenda for daily floor action at thedirection of the Speaker, assists the Speaker andthe members in ensuring that statutory,constitutional and House Rules are followed,signs all enrolled bills, memorials andresolutions, oversees the preparation andpublication of the House Journal and assists inthe preparation of the session laws in odd-numbered years. Other responsibilities of theChief Clerk include coordinating record keepingand maintaining all official records, supervisingthe operation of the voting and sound systems,directing the public information services,maintaining and updating information of currentand former members and assisting with newmember orientation.

The Chief Clerk assigns numbers to all Housemeasures as they are introduced and overseesthe printing and engrossing of these measures,amendments and conference committee reports.The Chief Clerk has a staff that includes anassistant chief clerk, an administrative assistant,a journal clerk, a bill and index clerk, a billtracking secretary, an archivist, a reader, aninformation supervisor, an information deskclerk, a duplica-tion supervisor, a duplicating/



supplies clerk and a mailroom/billroomsupervisor and clerk.

Research Staff

Each house has a research division comprisedof full-time personnel managed by a research staffdirector. While the Senate research staff isnonpartisan, the House research staff isconsidered to be part of the majority staff. Theresearch staff members, known as researchanalysts and assistant research analysts, performvarious functions including drafting summariesof all legislative measures, providing verbalexplanations of these measures duringcommittee hearings and caucus meetings,drafting amendments, assisting the chairpersonsof the standing committees, staffing interimcommittees and responding to constituentinquiries. Each research analyst and assistantresearch analyst is assigned to one or morestanding committees. During the legislativesession, the research staff is supplemented bycollege interns who are paid a modest stipendand receive college tuition and credit. The internsassist the research analysts and assistant researchanalysts.

A constituent service office is also a part ofthe research division in both the Senate andHouse. This office responds to constituentinquiries for information or requests for help toresolve problems. The constituent services staffwill either refer the constituent to the propersource or will attempt to help resolve theconstituent’s problem.

Rules Committee Staff

Both the Senate and House have full-time andpart-time Rules staff that consists of attorneys andother administrative staff. After a measure is heardin its assigned standing committee or committees,the Rules attorneys review it to make sure that it isconstitutional and in proper form for considerationby the entire body. The Rules attorneys check theform of the measure by reviewing the measure’sformal title and other legal constraints. The Rules

attorneys also make recommendations on how tocorrect legislation that is not constitutional or notin proper form by drafting proposed amendmentsfor consideration by the Rules Committee and theentire body. The Rules attorneys also respond toinquiries regarding parliamentary procedure andcompliance with the body’s rules.

Other nonattorney members of the Rules staffperform various administrative functionsincluding preparing Rules Committee amend-ments and preparing Rules Committee agendas.The Rules staff is also assisted by legal interns(usually law students) during the regularlegislative session who conduct legal research andprepare memoranda.

Committee Secretaries

In addition to the committee research staff, eachstanding committee is assigned a committeesecretary who is responsible for taking roll,recording committee votes, taking and preparingthe minutes of meetings of the committee, typingcommittee reports and blending all amendmentspassed in the committee meeting into a singleamendment for consideration by the entirechamber during Committee of the Whole. Whenthe Legislature is not in session, the committeesecretaries perform similar duties for the variouslegislative study committees that meet during theinterim.

Majority and Minority Staff

Each caucus has full-time partisan staff thatserve the members of that caucus. The majorityand minority staff assist the leadership of theirrespective caucus in developing a legislativeagenda, serve as advisers to all members of theircaucus, provide policy and legal analysis onspecific issues, answer members’ informationrequests, brief members on legislation, conductresearch projects, develop and draft legislationand amendments, respond to constituentinquiries and assist with press relations,communications and speeches.

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Members’ Assistants andSecretaries

Each member has an assistant/secretary whoworks in the member’s office. The assistants andsecretaries perform many duties, includingmaintaining the member’s bill files, preparingcommittee agendas if the member is achairperson of a committee, coordinating andmaintaining the member’s schedule, greeting andassisting guests, responding to telephoneinquiries, facilitating solutions to constituentproblems, managing the member’scorrespondence and performing various otherduties associated with the administration of themember’s office at the capitol. Some assistantsand secretaries are assigned to work with morethan one member.

Accounting Staff

Both the Senate and House have an accountingoffice with a controller who is in charge ofhandling the body’s fiscal affairs.

Sergeant at Arms

Each body has a Sergeant at Arms whomaintains order under the presiding officer’sdirection. The Sergeant at Arms also compels theattendance of members sent for by the body,directs the delivery of mail, supervises the pages,clears the chamber floor of persons notauthorized to be present and performs variousother administrative functions.

Pages

The Senate and House pages perform a varietyof tasks that assist the members and other staffsuch as supporting committees and caucuses andmembers during floor sessions, acting asmessengers and distributing documents.

Other Staff

Additional staff operate the publicinformation desk, duplication and supplies room,bill room and mail room. These individuals inlarge part supervise the considerable volume ofpaper that is generated by and passed througheach house during the legislative session.

Legislative Agency Staff

The Legislative Council, Joint LegislativeBudget Committee, Auditor General andDepartment of Library, Archives and PublicRecords each maintain full-time staff thatspecialize in the work of their respectiveagencies. (See Chapter Ten for further details onthese agencies.)

Lobbyists

There are approximately 4,800 lobbyistslisted on registration forms filed with theSecretary of State and nearly 1,000 registeredentities that lobbyists represent when they areengaged in lobbying activities, such as advocacygroups, professional societies, public and privatecorporations, trade and volunteer associationsand state and local governmental entities.

Lobbyists range from part-time volunteersand grass roots coordinators to attorneys andfull-time corporate executives. Lobbyists attemptto convince legislators to sponsor, support oroppose legislation, and they monitor pendinglegislation on behalf of their clients. Despiteintermittent adverse publicity concerninglobbyists, they play a positive role in thelegislative process by providing usefulinformation on legislative policy questions andgiving a voice to other individuals who aremembers of the groups that the lobbyistsrepresent and for whom direct contact with theLegislature is inconvenient or impossible.

The first step in understanding the lobbyinglaws in Arizona is to know what activity is



considered lobbying. This is important sinceindividuals who are engaged in lobbying have toregister with the Secretary of State and fileexpenditure reports. The statutory definition of“lobbying” (A.R.S. section 41-1231) includes anyattempt to influence the passage or defeat of anylegislation by directly communicating with anylegislator or any attempt to influence any formalrule making proceedings by directlycommunicating with any state officer or employeeon behalf of another person. However, the statutealso exempts certain activities from the definitionof lobbying. These exemptions includeinteragency communications between stateagency employees, communications between apublic official or employee of a public body,public lobbyist and any state employee or officer,except a legislator, or any oral communicationmade in a public meeting that is sponsored by astate entity by a person to a state officer oremployee regarding a proposed rule.

In general, a person must register with theSecretary of State before lobbying on behalf ofanother entity. This requirement applies whetherthe person is paid or a volunteer. The Secretaryof State publishes a handbook that explains thestate’s lobbying laws and includes the forms thatmust be completed by lobbyists. The objectiveof the handbook is to make it easier for everyoneto understand the lobbying laws and comply withthe statutory requirements. There are variouscategories of lobbyists, and each has differentregistration and reporting requirements.Completed registration forms are publicdocuments and available for inspection.

Arizona law provides that in certain situationsregistration with the Secretary of State is notrequired. Those exempt from registrationinclude:

! A person who appears for himself beforea legislative committee or state entity tolobby in support of or in opposition tolegislation or an official action.

! A person who, acting on his own behalf,

sends a letter to or has a conversationwith a legislator, state officer or stateemployee for the purpose of supportingor opposing any legislation or officialaction.

! A person who provides technicalinformation at the request of a lobbyistor legislator.

! An attorney who represents clients beforeany court or quasi-judicial body.

! A person who contacts a state officer oremployee solely to acquire information.

Except in some limited circumstances, alobbyist must file with the Secretary of State aquarterly report that lists expenditures made onbehalf of a principal (a person who hires alobbyist) or a public body (a governmental entitythat hires a lobbyist). The designated lobbyistfor a principal or public body must also sign anannual report on behalf of that principal or publicbody that lists all expenditures, including gifts,that were made by or on behalf of that principalor public body and that benefitted or werereceived by a legislator or other state officer oremployee, whether or not the expenditure wasmade in the course of lobbying. Expenditurereports are public documents and available forinspection.

During any calendar year a principal orlobbyist is prohibited from giving to any stateofficer or state employee, and a state officer orstate employee is prohibited from receiving froma principal or lobbyist, gifts with a total value ofmore than ten dollars or any gift that is designedto influence the official conduct of that stateofficer or state employee. Similar prohibitionsalso 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 intangiblepersonal property or any kind of tangiblepersonal or real property. The lobbying statutesspecifically exempt numerous items from thedefinition of gift such as a plaque, book or

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calendar or a campaign contribution that isreceived and reported as required by law.

Any person who knowingly violates anyprovision of the lobbying laws is guilty of a class1 misdemeanor. The Attorney General may servea person an order requiring compliance with anyprovision of the lobbying laws and may assessthe person a civil penalty of not more than onethousand dollars for failure to comply with theorder. In addition, the Secretary of State mustcompile and issue an annual report to theLegislature that contains the names of allprincipals, public bodies and lobbyists that failto report lobbying expenditures as required bylaw.

Press

The capitol press corps consists of newsreporters who represent various newspapers,news services and television and radio stations.These individuals regularly report the activitiesof state government, including proceedings bythe Legislature, actions by the Governor andexecutive branch agencies and notable decisionsby the courts. The capitol press offices arelocated on the first floor of the Senate building.In addition to the usual capitol press corps whocover the day-to-day activities of the Legislature,additional news organizations will periodicallycover controversial or notable legislative action.

The Senate and House Rules require eachchamber to maintain a press gallery. The currentpractice by the Senate and House is to reservetables for the press on the floor of each respectivechamber. However, House Rules specify that theSpeaker may assign an alternative location forthe press gallery in the House. The Sergeant atArms is responsible for ensuring that onlyrepresentatives of the press who are dulyaccredited by the President or Speaker areallowed access to the press gallery on the Senateor House floor. Press passes are nontransferableand revocable at the discretion of the President


or Speaker. The House limits the number of presspasses issued to any newspaper or news gatheringorganization to no more than four representativesof that newspaper or news gatheringorganization. In addition to the press gallery onthe floor, the Senate provides reserved pressseating in the Senate hearing rooms and majoritycaucus room. that newspaper or news gatheringorganization. In addition to the press gallery onthe floor, the Senate provides reserved pressseating in the Senate hearing rooms and majoritycaucus room.


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Chapter Three

LegislativeFinances

Legislative Budget

As with any other state agency, theLegislature is funded by separateappropriations of state money to the

Senate, House of Representatives and eachlegislative agency (Legislative Council, JointLegislative Budget Committee, Auditor Generaland Department of Library, Archives and PublicRecords).

During each even-numbered year the officersand leaders of each of the legislative houses andagencies work with the budget staff of the JointLegislative Budget Committee to determine anadequate level of funding to meet the projectedfinancial requirements for each of the next twofiscal years. (The state fiscal year is July 1 throughJune 30.) Early in the first regular session,appropriation subcommittees of the Legislaturemeet to consider the budget proposals for all ofstate government, including the legislative housesand agencies. The appropriation subcommitteesreport their determinations that are thenincluded in the state budget and generalappropriation bill, which is enacted in a specialsession in March of odd-numbered years.

The appropriations include amounts for eachhouse and agency for each of the two fiscal years

in the following biennium. The appropriation forthe second fiscal year in the biennium is subjectto revision to accommodate changing andunforseen circumstances.

Once appropriated, the money becomesavailable to the various houses and agencies ofthe Legislature from the state general fund foruse in the designated fiscal year according to anyterms and conditions prescribed by theappropriation. (The Auditor General and theDepartment of Library, Archives and PublicRecords also receive nonappropriated moniesfrom sources outside of state government forsome of the unique activities of those agencies.)The routine expenses of the Legislature includelegislator and staff salaries and travel expensesand operating costs. Extraordinary expensesmight include things like litigation costs,construction and renovation costs andreapportionment costs.

(More detail regarding the state budget processis included in Chapter Seven of this manual.)

Legislator Compensation

Salary

The procedures for setting the salary of

The Legislative Finances


legislators are found in Article V, section 12,Constitution of Arizona. The Legislatureestablishes the Commission on Salaries forElective State Officers to make periodicrecommendations regarding pay increases forstate officials, including legislators. Themembership, compensation and duties of thiscommission are established by law. Members areappointed biennially and serve until they submita report of their recommendations. Thecommission is comprised of five members fromthe private sector, two of whom are appointedby the Governor and one each appointed by theSpeaker of the House, the President of the Senateand the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court.The commission’s recommended salaries fornonlegislative elected officers are subject toapproval by the Governor and the Legislature.

With respect to legislative salaries, however,the Secretary of State certifies the commission’srecommendation and submits it to the voters atthe next regular general election. If therecommended salary increase for legislators isapproved by the voters, it becomes effective atthe beginning of the next regular legislativesession and no other authorizing legislation isnecessary. If the recommendation is disapproved,legislative salaries remain unchanged.

Currently, members of the Legislature earn$15,000 each year, which is paid on a bi-weeklybasis throughout the calendar year. This amounthas not been changed since 1980 when the salarywas raised from $6,000. Since then,recommended pay raises have been rejected bythe voters in 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994and 1996.

Per Diem andOther Expense Allowances

Legislators who reside in Maricopa County(the metropolitan Phoenix area) are paid $35 aday in per diem expenses for the first 120 daysof regular and special sessions, then $10 a daythereafter. Members who reside outside

Maricopa County receive an additional $25 a dayfor the first 120 days of session (for a total of$60 a day), and then an additional $10 a daythereafter (for a total of $20 a day). Membersare required to submit vouchers, receipts orsome other verification of their expenses in orderto claim the per diem allowance. However, theyare paid the maximum per diem allowableregardless of the amount of actual expenses.

For legislative work during the interimbetween legislative sessions, per diem paymentsare determined by the Speaker of the House andthe President of the Senate for members of therespective chambers. Legislators who are not inleadership positions receive per diem for eachday they attend committee meetings, and, withthe prior approval of their presiding officer, foradditional days of constituent work. Housemembers who are not in leadership positionsgenerally may receive only one day of per diem aweek while House leaders are not limited in thenumber of days they may receive per diem.Senators who are not in leadership positions mayreceive two days of per diem in a two-weekperiod, and Senators in leadership positions areallowed six days of per diem in the same timeperiod. The President and Speaker arereimbursed for every day of actual work duringthe interim, without limit.

Legislators receive reimbursement of 30 centsa mile based on the actual number of miles drivenfor official business, both during session and inthe interim. This reimbursement is in additionto any per diem amounts allowed. All in-stateand out-of-state travel must be approved inadvance by the Speaker or the President,respectively. If approved, reimbursement of travelexpenses is provided for as specified in the StateAccounting Manual, which gives reimbursementamounts for all incidental expenses, such as taxis,airfare, food and mileage, except that the Speakeror President may overrule the State AccountingManual’s hotel rate limit if the lodging is at thesite of a conference or seminar the member isattending.

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Although legislators are provided offices, staffsupport and parking spaces at the capitol, theydo not receive allowances for offices or staff intheir home districts, nor are they afforded stateautomobiles, credit cards or expense accounts.

Retirement and OtherEmployment Benefits

Legislators receive the same employmentbenefits as Arizona state employees, except forretirement options and long-term disabilityinsurance. Legislators do not receive annual orsick leave as do full-time state employees.

Legislators may choose to purchase the samehealth, dental or vision insurance offered toother state employees by paying a share of thepremium. The state pays the remainder of thepremium.

State employees and legislators receive astandard $10,000 life insurance policy, with anadditional $10,000 payable in the case ofaccidental death, and may purchase additionallife insurance in $5,000 increments, up to threetimes the amount of their annual salary ($45,000in the case of legislators). The premium for thesupplemental life insurance varies according tothe legislator’s age.

All legislators are provided with long-termdisability coverage at no charge. (This is distinctand separate from the plan offered to other stateemployees.) The plan provides legislators withtwo-thirds of their salary if they are absent fromwork due to an extended illness or injury,beginning after six months of continuous totaldisability. Additionally, legislators may purchaseshort-term disability insurance to cover the firstsix months of disability.

Legislators may elect to participate in theElected Officials’ Retirement Plan (EORP) or theArizona State Retirement System (ASRS) or maydecline to participate in either retirement

program.

EORP members contribute seven percent oftheir income to the plan. They are eligible toreceive a normal pension at age 65 with five ormore years of service, at age 62 with ten or moreyears of service or at age 60 with 25 or moreyears of service. Members with ten or more yearsof service may take early retirement at age 50with a reduction in benefits. The normal annualpension is currently four percent of the member’sfinal annual salary multiplied by the member’syears of credited service, with a maximum annualpayment of 80% of the member’s final annualsalary.

Legislators who elect coverage under ASRSare treated like other state employees under theplan. The member contribution rate isdetermined annually (3.05% of the member’spretax salary in 1997-98). Members becomeeligible for normal retirement on the accrual of80 “points” (the member’s age plus years ofservice), at age 65 with any amount of service orat age 62 with ten or more years of service.Members with five or more years of service maytake early retirement at age 50 with a reductionin benefits. The normal monthly pension is twopercent of the member’s average monthlycompensation during the three highestconsecutive paid years of the last ten years ofservice multiplied by the member’s years ofcredited service. Retiring members can choosefrom a number of benefit payment options.

Retirees under either EORP or ASRS areeligible to receive health insurance with premiumamounts based on the members’ years of creditedservice with the state and their eligibility forMedicare coverage.

Legislators receive other benefits that areprovided to all state employees, including SocialSecurity and optional deferred compensationplans and medical and dependent carereimbursement accounts.

The Legislative Finances


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Legislative Immunity

Pursuant to the Constitution of Arizona,members of the Legislature are immunefrom arrest or civil process for 15 days

before and during the course of a session.

Members of the legislature shall be privilegedfrom arrest in all cases except treason, felony,and breach of the peace, and they shall notbe subject to any civil process during thesession of the legislature, nor for fifteen daysnext before the commencement of eachsession. (Article IV, part 2, section 6.)

The legal doctrine of “legislative immunity”also provides some protection to legislators, staffand the Legislature in legal proceedings involvinglegislative acts. Legislative immunity derives fromthe common law theory that began to evolveapproximately 500 years ago from issues arisingbetween the English King and Parliament. Whenthe United States was founded, the United StatesConstitution included a provision to createlegislative immunity for members of Congress.Article I, section 6 provides “[f]or any speech ordebate in either house, [the members] shall notbe questioned in any other place.” TheConstitution of Arizona has a similar speech anddebate clause that provides “[n]o member of the

legislature shall be liable in any civil or criminalprosecution for words spoken in debate.” (ArticleIV, part 2, section 7.)

Thus, based on the Constitution of Arizonastate legislators are entitled to immunity fromcivil and criminal liability for legislative acts. Thisimmunity generally protects legislators frombeing sued, arrested or ordered to testify orproduce documents about legislative acts,subject to certain court created exceptions.

Generally, legislative immunity applies to alltypes of legislative actions relating to introducing,developing and voting for legislation including:

! Voting or refusing to vote to reduce abudget, to eliminate job positions, toredistrict, to unseat a member or toconfirm an executive appointment.

! Speaking on the floor or in committeeregarding legislation.

! Lobbying other legislators regardinglegislation.

! Conducting a hearing and enforcingcommittee or chamber rules, includingallegations of illegally issuing legislativesubpoenas, examining witnesses orotherwise obtaining information.

Chapter FourLegislative

Powers,Privileges and

Responsibilities

Powers, Privileges and Responsibilities


! Activities relating to developing legislationprior to introduction.

Legislative immunity not only protects alegislator from liability but also from having totestify or produce documents in courtproceedings relating to legislative activity andprohibits actions seeking declaratory judgments,injunctions and other legal actions againstlegislators acting in the scope of their officialduties.

The immunity is absolute, and it is personalto the individual legislator. It can only be claimedor waived by the legislator. It does not end whenthe legislator leaves office but continuesindefinitely for the legislative acts undertakenwhile in office.

There are exceptions and instances wherelegislative immunity does not protect legislators,typically relating to administrative and politicalareas that are not directly related to thelegislative process.

Legislative aides and staff are also entitled tolegislative immunity for acts relating to thelegislative process such as developing andprocessing legislation.

Limitations onLegislative Power

In exercising the legislative function of stategovernment, the Legislature has far-reachingpowers. The Legislature has all the power that isnot granted to the executive or judicial branchesof government or that is not prohibited by theState Constitution or federal law.

The Arizona Constitution does imposespecific limits on this power. For example, theLegislature may not pass:

! Laws that would increase the punishmentfor a crime after the crime has beencommitted.

! Laws that will impair contract obligations.

! Certain types of local or special laws thatwould give an individual a special privilegeor immunity.

In addition to these subject matter limitationson the authority of the Legislature, the ArizonaConstitution prescribes procedural requirementsfor legislative action. Although a legislative actmay deal with a subject within the Legislature’sauthority, the act may still be invalid if theLegislature did not comply with theconstitutional procedural requirements inenacting the act. Examples of these requirementsare that:

! All parts of an act must be expressed inthe title of the act.

! An act may embrace only one subject.

! All appropriations other than the generalappropriations act must be made byseparate bills.

Crimes Against theLegislature

The statutes set forth specific crimes againstthe legislative process. A person who illegallyalters or removes an introduced or enrolled billis guilty of a class 4 felony for which themaximum term of imprisonment is two and one-half years. A person who prevents the Legislaturefrom meeting is guilty of a class 5 felony, whichcarries a prison term of one and one-half years.A person who disturbs or interrupts theLegislature’s proceedings is guilty of a class 2misdemeanor and may be sentenced to jail forup to four months.

Legislative Discipline

The Arizona Constitution provides “[e]achhouse may punish its members for disorderlybehavior, and may, with the concurrence of two-

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thirds of its members, expel any member.” (ArticleIV, part 2, section 11.)

The House of Representatives and the Senatehave each included a number of provisions intheir respective rules to implement thisconstitutional provision. Both houses haveestablished rules of decorum to allow for open,but orderly, debate of the issues before the body.For example, members of the House are notallowed to “indulge in personalities, use languagepersonally offensive, arraign motives of members,charge deliberate misrepresentation or uselanguage tending to hold a member of the Houseor Senate up to contempt.”

Both houses of the Legislature haveestablished in their rules codes of ethics andrequirements pertaining to conflicts of interestand financial disclosure. An Ethics Committeeis established in the House and Senate pursuantto statute. Each Ethics Committee mustinvestigate ethics complaints against membersof its respective house.

A violation of the code of ethics, conflict ofinterest requirements, financial disclosurerequirements or rules of the body subjects theoffender to punishment or expulsion pursuantto Article IV, part 2, section 11 of the ArizonaConstitution.

ReportingCampaign Finances

The Arizona statutes prescribe extensiverequirements for election campaigncontributions and expenses for all candidatesincluding candidates for the Legislature. Everycandidate for the Legislature who receivescampaign contributions or makes campaigndisbursements of more than $200 is required toestablish a campaign committee. The candidate’scampaign committee must file a number ofcampaign finance reports that set forth the

receipts and disbursements of the committee.These reports must be filed with either theSecretary of State or the Clerk of the CountyBoard of Supervisors several times during anelection year and by January 31 of the followingyear for years in which there is no election.

The reports must include a detailed listing ofthe campaign committee’s assets and the sourceof revenues. The committee must also report thetotal disbursements and an itemized list ofdisbursements in nine categories. The reports arecertified and signed under penalty of perjury bythe committee treasurer or the candidate. If acampaign committee fails to file a timely,complete and accurate report, the committee andthe candidate are liable for a civil penalty of $25for each day of noncompliance with a maximumpenalty of $1,000.

Reporting Personal Finances

The general statutory standards for financialdisclosure by public officers apply to membersof the Legislature. Under these requirementseach member of the Legislature must file anannual verified financial disclosure statementwith the Secretary of State by January 31 thatcovers the prior calendar year.

The statement must provide a wealth ofinformation concerning the legislator and themembers of the legislator’s household. Some ofthe information required in the statementincludes:

! The name and address of each source ofincome of over $1,000 during the year.

! A description of any business owned bythe legislator including identification ofany large customers.

! The name and address of any business ortrust in which the legislator has an interestof over $1,000.

! A description of all interests the legislatorhas in Arizona real estate.

Powers, Privileges and Responsibilities


! A list of all creditors to whom the legislatorowes over $1,000 and a list of all majorcreditors of any business owned by thelegislator.

A legislator who knowingly fails to file thestatement or files a false statement is guilty of aclass 1 misdemeanor, which is punishable by asentence of up to six months in jail. The offenderis also subject to a civil penalty of $50 for eachday of noncompliance, with a maximum penaltyof $500.

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Legislative Procedure

Chapter Five

LegislativeProcedure

Parliamentary Procedure inthe Senate and the House ofRepresentatives

The legislative procedure of the Senate andHouse of Representatives is establishedby the rules of each chamber. The rules

adopted by the Senate state that legislativeprocedure shall be governed by the constitutionalprovisions, the Senate Rules, Arizona statutes,Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure, Senatecustoms and usage and general parliamentarylaw, in that order.

The Rules of the House of Representativesalso state the order in which authorities onlegislative procedure take precedence when therules do not address a specific issue of legislativeprocedure. The order is the constitutional rulesor stipulations, statutory rules, adopted HouseRules, judicial decisions, adopted parliamentaryauthority (Mason’s Manual of LegislativeProcedure, Rules of the United States House ofRepresentatives and Jefferson’s Manual), generalparliamentary law and custom and usage. TheHouse Rules state that these authorities shall beconsulted in that order to resolve any conflict orambiguity in legislative procedure.

The rules adopted by the Senate and theHouse of Representatives can be modified by amajority vote each session and are published foreach Legislature, or when amended. The rulesare reprinted in the Addendum to this Manual.

Senate Procedure

The Senate Rules cover a range of subjectsthat include the powers of the officers of the body,the establishment of committees, introductionof legislation, decorum and debate, legislativeprocedure, length of the session and a code ofethical conduct.

Currently, there are 13 standing committeesin the Senate. The President of the Senateappoints a member to serve as chairman of eachcommittee. The committee chairman sets the dayand time for the committee’s regular weeklyhearings. Since all members of the Senate serveon more than one committee, the committeesmeet on different dates and times toaccommodate the members’ schedules. Thechairman may add additional meeting times asnecessary.

Generally, there are between seven and ninemembers on a Senate committee. A quorum fora hearing on a measure in a committee consists


of a majority of the members of the committee.A majority of the members of the committee isrequired to report a bill or any other measureout of the committee. To pass an amendment toa bill, a majority of the members of the committeewho are present must vote for the amendment.The committee may introduce a bill, resolutionor memorial as a “committee” measure on aunanimous vote of the committee. A majority ofthe committee may introduce a bill, resolutionor memorial as a “majority of committee”measure on the vote of a majority of the membersof the committee.

The President calls the Senate to order eachday of the session. This is usually done at thesame time every day unless the President hasadjourned the Senate to meet at a different timeon the next day of the session.

A majority of the senators elected constitutesa quorum for conducting business on the Senatefloor. A member may raise the question ofestablishing a presence of a quorum at any timewhile the Senate is in session on the floor of thechamber. If it is determined that a quorum doesnot exist, then a majority of the senators presentmay seek a “call of the Senate” requiring senatorsto return to the chamber until a quorum ispresent. Pending the execution of the call thePresident cannot entertain any debate or othermotions, except to adjourn. The President directsthe Sergeant at Arms to request or compel theattendance of the absent Senators for purposesof establishing a quorum when there is a call ofthe Senate.

The order of Senate business is establishedin 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 andremonstrances

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 Presidentalter the order of business during a floor session.

House of RepresentativesProcedure

The Rules of the House of Representativesinclude the powers and duties of the presidingofficer, the formation of standing committees,introduction of legislation, decorum and debateand legislative procedure.

There are currently 19 standing committeesin the House with chairmen appointed by theSpeaker. Under the Rules of the House ofRepresentatives, the chairmen of the standingcommittees set the meeting day and time for theweekly committee hearings. The chairman maycancel or set additional meetings as is necessarywith the permission of the Speaker. A majorityof the members of a committee of the House ofRepresentatives constitutes a quorum forpurposes of considering a bill, resolution ormemorial.

The Speaker calls the House to order on thefloor of the chamber at 11:00 a.m. each day ofsession, unless the Speaker has adjourned theHouse to a different hour. A majority of themembers elected to the House of Representativesconstitutes a quorum to conduct the business ofthe full House. A smaller number of membersmay meet, adjourn and compel the attendance

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of any members who are not present. A membermay raise the question of a quorum and, if aquorum is not present, the Speaker of the Housemust either order a “call of the House,” recessor adjourn.

The House order of business is as follows:

1. Roll call

2. Prayer

3. Pledge of allegiance

4. Approval of journal

5. Petitions, memorials andremonstrances

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 fromCommittee of the Whole

17. Orders of the day

Members may request that the Speakerchange the order of business during floor session.

Legislative Procedure


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Chapter Six

TheLegislature in

Operation

The Legislature in Operation

Sessions: Organization ofthe Legislature

Every two years, 60 members of the Houseof Representatives and 30 members of theSenate are elected or reelected to a new

Arizona Legislature. Each Legislature has beennumbered consecutively since statehood in 1912,and the new Legislature is assigned the nextnumber from the previous Legislature. TheLegislature that was elected in 1996 and tookoffice in 1997, for example, was the 43rdLegislature.

Each Legislature covers a two-year period.The first session following the general electionis known as the first regular session, and thesession convening in the second year is knownas the second regular session. Each regularsession begins on the second Monday in Januaryand adjourns sine die (i.e., terminates for the year)no later than Saturday of the week in which the100th day from the beginning of the regularsession falls. The President of the Senate andSpeaker of the House, by rule, may extend thesession up to seven additional days. Thereafterthe session can only be extended by a majorityvote of members present of each house.

It is not uncommon for the Legislature to

convene in between regular sessions. This is donewhen the Governor calls a special session of theLegislature. The Governor may call an unlimitednumber of special sessions at any time, even whileregular sessions are in progress. In specialsessions initiated by the Governor, the Legislaturemay consider only subjects and issues that theGovernor specifies. The Governor usuallydiscusses the potential subjects and issues of aspecial session with legislative leadership inadvance of the call so that all parties may planaccordingly. In addition to special sessionsinitiated by the Governor, the Governor mustcall a special session on receiving a petitionsigned by at least two-thirds of the members ofeach house of the Legislature, in which case thesubjects that the Legislature can consider areunlimited. Special sessions are typically short,sometimes lasting only one day, but there is noofficial limit to their duration.

The Constitution of Arizona authorizes eachhouse of the Legislature to choose its ownofficers, and one of the first orders of businessafter a general election of legislators is toorganize the Legislature and elect the legislativeofficers. Legislative caucuses begin meeting soonafter the election so new legislators can getacquainted with other legislators and to choosethe new officers. The political party having amajority of the members of a house usually


chooses the next presiding officer of that houseand will nominate one of its members to be thePresident of the Senate or Speaker of the House.All caucuses will also elect their own leaders:Majority or Minority Leaders, Majority orMinority Whips and other officers of their caucus.When the Legislature formally convenes in thefirst regular session, the full Senate will officiallyelect its President and the full House will electits Speaker, typically those members previouslynominated by the majority caucus of therespective house prior to session. At this timethe chambers also formalize other staffingelections and appointments described elsewherein this manual.

The President and Speaker are the presidingofficers of their respective houses and are electedto two-year terms in those offices coinciding withthe biennial legislature. They call their chamberto order, preside over the business of thechamber and are responsible for maintainingdecorum in the chamber. In addition, they areresponsible for the administration andmanagement of the affairs of their respectivehouses. The President and Speaker may choosea President Pro Tempore and Speaker ProTempore, respectively, to preside in thetemporary absence of the President or Speaker.

Shortly after both houses have organized, theymeet in joint session in the House chambers tohear the Governor’s “State of the State” address.In the message, the Governor outlines the majorissues facing the state and proposes solutions forthe Legislature’s consideration during thatsession.

Drafting

Only current members of the Legislature mayactually sponsor and introduce legislation, butlegislative proposals may be initiated from manysources, including state agencies, localgovernments, individual constituents and special

interest groups. Advocates of proposed legislationmust secure a legislative sponsor if they hope tosee their ideas enacted. Once a legislator agreesto sponsor the measure, Legislative Council staffwill draft it in the form of a bill, resolution ormemorial, whichever is appropriate.

Legislative Council staff is legally responsiblefor drafting all proposed legislation in suitableform and terminology, regardless of the form inwhich it is presented. The Legislative Councilemploys permanent legal, editorial and technicalstaff to provide this service for all legislators,regardless of house or political party. The serviceis confidential, and the contents of proposedlegislation, including supporting documentation,will not be divulged without the express consentof the sponsor.

To expedite the drafting and bill introductionprocesses, House and Senate Rules establishdeadlines for requesting and producing drafts.State agencies that propose legislation must havea legislative sponsor and submit the draftingrequest to Legislative Council on or beforeNovember 15 preceding the regular legislativesession. Senate bills must be submitted toLegislative Council for drafting on or before theeighth day of the regular session and deliveredto their sponsors on or before the 15th day ofthe session. House bills must be requested on orbefore the 15th day of the regular session anddelivered to their sponsors on or before the 22ndday of the session. In addition, House Rules limitthe number of bills, resolutions and memorialsthat can be introduced after the first day of theregular session to five per legislator, whicheffectively forces most drafting for Housemembers to take place before the session begins.

The drafting process begins with theLegislative Council drafter obtaining the facts,policy and objectives for a legislative proposalfrom either the legislator who is sponsoring thebill or from the legislator’s authorized agent. Thedrafter then converts the sponsor’s request into

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proper form, style and legal terminology, and fitsthe proposal into the framework of existingstatutory law. The drafter strives to produce adraft that is coherent, concise, understandableand free from ambiguity. The drafter considerspertinent provisions of the Arizona Constitution,court decisions, the Arizona Revised Statutes, theInternal Reference Manual, the Annual Report onDefects in the Arizona Revised Statutes and StateConstitution and other relevant sources. Thedrafter makes adjustments for any minorproblems or conflicts, and discusses moresignificant problems with the sponsor, includingsuggesting possible alternative approaches. Thereare three types of legislation: bills, resolutionsand memorials.

Bills

A bill is the appropriate method for proposingthe enactment of a law and is the most numerousof legislative measures. Its proper useencompasses every conceivable subject withinthe legislative jurisdiction and is limited only bystate and federal constitutional standards. Typicalbills are those that:

! Establish governmental agencies andprograms.

! Prescribe the powers and duties of stateagencies and of individual officers andemployees.

! Define crimes and classify punishments foractions that are prohibited as publicoffenses.

! Appropriate monies for state governmentexpenditures.

! Determine licensing and regulatorystandards for professions and occupations.

! Prescribe qualifications, terms of officeand compensation of public officers.

! Provide for the imposition, collection anddistribution of tax monies.

A bill that is introduced in the Senate isdesignated “S.B. 1xxx”. A bill that is introducedin the House is designated “H.B. 2xxx”. Bills are

numbered consecutively within each body andretain the same number throughout the session,even when they are sent to the opposite housefor consideration.

To become law, both houses of the Legislaturemust pass a bill, which will then either be signedinto law by the Governor, take effect without theGovernor’s signature or pass the Legislature bya supermajority vote overriding the Governor’sveto.

Resolutions

A resolution is a declaration or expression oflegislative opinion, will, intent or “resolve” inmatters within the Legislature’s legal purview.Three types of resolutions are used in Arizona.

A simple resolution is processed only throughthe house in which it is introduced and mayexpress an opinion, appoint a committee,express regret on the death of a former legislatoror other prominent person, request the returnof a bill from the other house of the Legislaturefor a stated purpose, recognize meritoriousservice or commemorate a special event. Asimple resolution is not signed by the Governor.Simple resolutions are designated “S.R. 1xxx” or“H.R. 2xxx”, depending on the house ofintroduction.

A concurrent resolution is processed throughboth houses but is not signed by the Governor.It may provide for the submittal of a referendumto the voters or legislative action to amend theUnited States or the Arizona Constitution.Concurrent resolutions are designated “S.C.R.1xxx” or “H.C.R. 2xxx”.

A joint resolution is processed through bothhouses and is signed by the Governor. It is usedto provide for temporary measures having theeffect of law (e.g., a contract or any other officialaction) but is not used for any purpose inamending either the Arizona or United StatesConstitutions. Joint resolutions are designated


“S.J.R. 1xxx” or “H.J.R. 2xxx”.

Memorials

A memorial is a message sent to an officer orentity outside state government and allows theLegislature to petition, plea, beseech or pray thatthe recipient acknowledge stated facts and actin a manner consistent with the request. Itimplies that the “memorialist” (the Legislature)lacks authority to act directly on the subject.Memorials are requests or proposals askingCongress, the President of the United States,federal agencies and officers or other states todo things the Arizona Legislature has nojurisdiction to do itself. Memorials are not signedby the Governor.

Fiscal Notes

Fiscal notes are estimates of the fiscal impactof a bill that are prepared by the Joint LegislativeBudget Committee staff. They are prepared onrequest for a legislator while the bill is beforethat legislator’s house, and copies are distributedto all members. Most fiscal notes are preparedfor bills involving changes in revenues while someare used for bills involving administrative changes.Fiscal notes can only be requested on bills andamendments that have been introduced. Eachfiscal note contains basic information about thebill, a dollar amount representing the fiscalimpact, an analysis complementing the figuresand underlying assumptions used in the analysis.

Introductions

A legislator, or in the Senate a standingcommittee, may introduce a bill, resolution ormemorial. A Senator cannot introduce a bill inthe House, nor can a member of the Houseintroduce a bill in the Senate, but any legislatormay cosponsor a measure introduced in the otherhouse. Any measure may originate in eitherhouse, and all measures passed by one house maybe amended in the other. The sponsor or

sponsors sign a signature page attached to thebill when it is introduced, and when the bill isprinted their names appear on the first page ofthe bill. Legislators may introduce bills “byrequest,” meaning the sponsor has agreed tointroduce the measure as a courtesy to its backerswhile not necessarily endorsing it.

Legislators introduce measures by requestingan “intro set” (the official package of materialsused for introduction of measures includingcopies of the legislation and a signature page)from Legislative Council, getting the signaturesof all cosponsors and filing the set in “the hopper”located in the office of the Senate Secretary orHouse Chief Clerk. When a measure is filed inthe hopper, it is formally designated as a bill,resolution or memorial. The first bill introducedeach session is S.B. 1001 in the Senate and H.B.2001 in the House.

Members may introduce measures in theSenate during the first 22 days of a regular sessionand during the first ten days of a special session.A measure may be introduced in the House ofRepresentatives during the first 29 days of aregular session and during the first ten days of aspecial session. After these deadlines, bills,resolutions and memorials can be introducedonly with the permission of the respective RulesCommittee, except that in the House theintroduction of death resolutions may continuewithout the permission of the Rules Committee.

To expedite processing, bills, resolutions andmemorials may be “prefiled” before the sessionbegins. Prefiled measures are considered to beintroduced on the first day of the session. Afterthe certification of the election of members-elect,they may prefile measures for introduction in thefirst regular session. Members may prefilemeasures for introduction in the second regularsession beginning November 15 preceding thesession. Members may prefile special sessionmeasures after the Governor issues the call forthe session, if the measures are germane to thecall.

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First and Second Reading

The Arizona Constitution requires that to beenacted a bill must be “read by sections” on thefloor of both the House and Senate on threedifferent days. This requirement is intended toprovide time for legislators to become informedabout the details of the bills and to allow forpublic reaction and response to legislativeproposals before they are enacted. To expeditemoving the bills, on the opening day of eachsession the Majority Leader may move to declarean emergency and suspend the rules so that allbills, resolutions and memorials may be read bynumber and short title only. These formal“readings” are called first, second and thirdreading, and each reading triggers a separateaction in the progression of a measure througheach house. For example, on first reading in theHouse, the measure is “referred” to the ChiefClerk for printing and assigned to appropriatecommittees. The Speaker may thereafter have thebill second read at any time before itsconsideration by the Committee of the Whole.In the Senate, first reading is essentiallyceremonial, and the bill is not referred tocommittee until second reading. In both theHouse and Senate, third reading is a formal votingprocess and is discussed more fully below.

The Arizona Constitution allows either houseto suspend the requirement of readings on threedays in the event of an emergency and on thevote of at least two-thirds of the members. Thisis typically done for special sessions consideringonly a few bills that have been discussed andpublicized before the session is held.

Committee Action

As discussed earlier, the Legislature isinvolved with such a large volume of mattersinvolving complex and technical subjects that itwould be simply overwhelmed if it tried to

conduct all of its business as a full body.Consequently, each house assigns its membersto various standing committees to consider thedetails of the various measures. The standingcommittees are established by House and SenateRules.

The presiding officer assigns bills, resolutionsand memorials to standing committees toconsider the merits of the proposals and forhearings, testimony and debate. Under HouseRules, assignment to a committee is mandatoryon first reading. In the Senate committeeassignment is not automatic, but the President,in practice, rarely, if ever, withholds a bill fromreferral to a committee. A measure is usuallyreferred to at least one committee in its house oforigin, and all legislation is assigned to the RulesCommittee. In the second house a measure isusually referred to only one committee and thatchamber’s Rules Committee. If a bill includes anappropriation of money, it will normally go tothe Appropriations Committee in each house inaddition to any other committees to which it isassigned.

Once a measure has been referred to acommittee, the committee chairperson has broaddiscretion over the measure’s fate. If a measureis not heard in committee, it usually means thatthe legislation will not progress further in theprocess, although the sponsor may have otheroptions to pursue, such as a motion to “discharge”the committees or amend the measure onto anactive bill somewhere else in the process.

Notice and Agendas

Standing committees usually meet on thesame day each week during all but the last fewweeks of the regular session. Depending on thecalendar and scheduling conflicts, legislativedeadlines allow up to eight meetings during thefirst half of the regular session for committees ineach house to hear legislation originating in thathouse. Sometimes committees are allowed tohold additional meetings to accommodate an


extraordinary number of bill assignments or tohear bills of special importance.

A written public notice for each regular orspecial committee meeting and an agenda listingall bills, memorials, resolutions and other mattersto be considered is required to be distributed toeach member of the committee and the Secretaryof the Senate or Chief Clerk of the House at leastfive days prior to the committee meeting. Thenotices and agenda are also available in severalpublic locations, as well as the Internet, and areavailable to the public on request. No othermeasure may be discussed at the meetingwithout the unanimous consent of all committeemembers. Listing a measure on the agendaindicates only that it is eligible for hearing at themeeting but does not guarantee that it willactually be heard.

Hearing

The committee convenes at the scheduledmeeting time and place for a hearing on thematters listed on the agenda. At the beginning ofthe meeting the chairperson usually announcesany changes to the printed agenda, as allowedby the adopted rules, including:

! Whether any legislation is to be “held.” Ameasure may be held for a number ofreasons, including technical problems,apparent lack of support, not enoughmeeting time to hear the bill or ongoingnegotiations among interested parties thatwill affect the bill’s contents.

! Whether any bills are to be assigned to asubcommittee, as discussed below.

! The order of hearing the bills, resolutionsand memorials that are up forconsideration. It is not always possible tohear every bill on the agenda, so thechairperson may give priority to somebills over others.

The normal procedure for considering eachmeasure begins with an objective explanation bythe committee’s research analyst or intern,

including features of the bill and otherbackground information. The committee staffusually prepares and distributes a fact sheet orbill summary and may announce whetheramendments have been proposed. If the sponsorof the bill is present, the chairperson may invitethe sponsor to begin the testimony on the bill.

Committee chairmen are not required toallow public testimony on any measure, but ifthere is time and a need to hear explanations ofsupport or opposition, the chairperson almostalways allows persons who wish to testify to comeforward and present their reasons for opposingor supporting the measure. Persons wishing totestify must complete a request form and deliverit to the chairperson. All persons are eligible totestify to inform, advocate, oppose or state anyconcern related to legislation being consideredby a committee.

When all public testimony has concluded, allamendments have been considered and eitherrejected or adopted and other committeediscussion and debate on a measure are over,and if the committee chairperson is willing toproceed with a vote, one of the members of thecommittee, usually the vice-chairperson, movesthat the bill (as amended, if applicable) bereturned to the full house with a “do pass”recommendation. At this point there may besome parliamentary maneuvering, but eventuallythe chairperson calls for a roll call vote of thecommittee members. Each member has theoption 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 memberwants first to see how other members vote, buteach member who is present must eventuallyvote. There is also a procedure for excusingoneself from voting in the case of a conflict ofinterest on specific bills. The chairperson alwaysvotes last, and then publicly announces theresults of the vote. If there is a quorum, amajority of that quorum present for the vote isrequired to advance the bill.

After the committee hearing, the committeesecretary prepares and distributes written

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minutes of the meeting and the report of all billsconsidered, including a record of all roll callvotes. In addition, all amendments to the billsthat were adopted by the committee are printedand distributed but are not yet incorporated intothe bill. Committee-adopted amendments arekept separate from the bill until they are adoptedby the Committee of the Whole. Reports ofstanding committees, including any minorityreports, are read on the floor as they are received.

Subcommittees

A committee chairperson may appoint asubcommittee, composed of members of the fullstanding committee, and refer one or more ofthe committee’s bills or other measures to thesubcommittee. As with the full standingcommittee, there is no mandate for asubcommittee to actually meet and consider anybill assigned to it, but if a subcommittee doeshear a bill, the subcommittee reports the billback to the full committee with itsrecommendations.

There are two primary reasons for referringa measure to a subcommittee. The bill beforethe full committee may require changes that aretoo complicated or detailed to be convenientlyaccomplished in a full committee hearing. Asmaller subcommittee allows for informal anddirect discussion and debate over the fine pointsand details. Another reason for a subcommitteeis that the committee chairperson may oppose ameasure but wants to avoid criticism for nothearing it at all. The chairperson may assign themeasure to a subcommittee with the informalunderstanding that it will not be reported backto the full committee, effectively “burying” it inthe subcommittee.

Any subcommittee may meet at any time onthe call of the subcommittee chairman, if themeetings are announced on the floor of the Houseor Senate in open session prior to the meeting.A subcommittee, without distributing a writtenagenda, may consider any matter assigned to it

by the chairman of the standing committee.

Amendments

It is rare for any bill or other measure to passthrough the legislative process in its originalform. The original form of a bill reflects only theintent and understanding of the sponsor, thedrafter and anyone else who happened to beinvolved in producing the bill as it wasintroduced. However, once introduced into thepublic domain, a measure becomes subject tointense scrutiny. If legislation proceeds at all, itis almost always modified or amended to satisfythe desires and concerns of other legislators, theGovernor, members of the general public andspecial interest groups. Introducing a billautomatically subjects it to the amendmentprocess.

Amendments are the additions, deletions ormodifications to bills or other measures proposedby a legislator or committee. Amendments maybe proposed and adopted in a standingcommittee, the Committee of the Whole or aconference committee. Legislators generallyamend bills because they are in favor of much ofthe bill’s content, but they disapprove of a portionor portions of the bill or believe importantlanguage has been or should be omitted. Anamendment may strengthen or weaken a bill oronly correct technical flaws. A “strikeeverything” amendment may even entirelychange the bill (these types of amendments areparticularly unique and are discussed in detailbelow).

Amendments are drafted to refer to theappropriate page and line of the original orengrossed bill or of another amendment if theamendment is proposed as an amendment toanother proposed amendment. The amendmentcontains instructions for inserting or deletingwords or blocks of text in the original documentand, except in the case of a “strike everything”amendment, must be read together with theoriginal measure to understand what the


amendment does.

Standing committees may adopt rulesaddressing the submission of amendments tocommittee members, and the chairman maydisallow an amendment that does not complywith the rule, may without objection accept theamendment or may postpone action on themeasure until adequate notice has been given.

A “strike everything after the enacting clause”amendment (also referred to as a “strikeeverything” amendment or simply a “striker”)proposes to delete the entire text of the existingbill and substitute new language, essentiallymaking it a completely different bill, possibly onan entirely different subject. These amendmentsare sometimes used to allow legislators tocircumvent the deadlines on introduction of newlegislation, deal with an issue that arises afterthe deadline or revive a bill that has previouslybeen defeated. Because of the drastic effect of astrike everything amendment, legislative rulesimpose extended posting and noticerequirements beyond those for otheramendments. Moreover, protocol requires alegislator offering a striker to first get thepermission of the original bill’s sponsor.Legislators may not propose strike everythingamendments in either the Rules Committee orCommittee of the Whole of either house or in aconference committee.

Appropriations Committees

The Appropriations Committees in both theHouse and the Senate consider all bills thatcontain an appropriation of public money. Therespective committees determine whethersufficient funds are available to cover theappropriations described in the bill. Most billsconsidered by the Appropriations Committeesalso contain proposed laws so they are alsoconsidered by other standing committees, asassigned by the Speaker or President. Some billsconsisting entirely of appropriations requests arereferred solely to the Appropriations Committee.

The Appropriations Committees must keepan accounting of projected revenues that will beavailable for appropriation each fiscal year andthe amount of appropriation requests containedin the various bills. Because the requestedamounts always exceed the available funds, theAppropriations Committee, and especially thechairperson, must be willing to cut the amountsrequested and incur the disappointment anddispleasure of those receiving nothing or less thanthey expected. On the other hand, having controlof the state purse naturally affords thesecommittee members and chairpersons greatpower and influence among their peers.

The Appropriations Committees considerstate budget bills such as the state generalappropriations (“feed”) bill, the capital outlay billand omnibus reconciliation bills (ORBs) asdescribed in Chapter Seven of this manual.

Rules Committees

Each measure is assigned to the RulesCommittee of the house through which it isprogressing, in addition to any standing committeesto which it is assigned (including the AppropriationsCommittees). The Rules Committees assess theconstitutionality of the proposed legislation, ensurethat bills are in proper form and decide whetherproposed amendments are germane. With theassistance of the Rules attorneys, the committeesreview the proposed legislation’s consistency withthe United States and Arizona Constitutions andArizona and federal law and check for othertechnical inconsistencies and problems.

The written agenda for the Rules Committeeis the calendar of the Committee of the Whole.The Rules Committees may propose amendmentsbased on technical or corrective considerations.Unless they are withdrawn or discharged, all billsmust pass the Rules Committee before they areheard on the floor.

Caucus

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Caucuses provide the political parties in eachhouse with a forum for discussing and, if possible,achieving party consensus on legislation andvarious other issues such as the state budget and,in the Senate only, the Governor’s nominationsto state agencies, boards and commissions. Sinceit is impossible for legislators to attend allstanding committee meetings, they may knowlittle or nothing of many bills until they arebrought to caucus. Meetings of the caucuses areconducted as part of the legislative process toreview legislation that has cleared the assignedcommittees but before consideration and formaldebate by the full chamber.

The caucus whip normally presides at thecaucus meeting, and legislative staff and sponsorsexplain the measures and answer questions. Thelegislation is not formally debated or voted on incaucus, but the reaction of caucus members mayreveal the level of support or opposition thesponsor may find on the floor. It is at this timewhen members of the caucus discuss possiblefloor amendments that may be offered duringCommittee of the Whole. Bills are usuallydiscussed simultaneously at majority andminority caucus meetings so they can proceedto the floor expeditiously.

All bills that make it to caucus either goforward in the legislative process (i.e., “get outof caucus”) or are tabled for further research ordiscussion at a later date. However, every billmust be “caucused” (i.e., discussed by the caucus)before it can be considered by the entire chamberduring Committee of the Whole. Although boththe majority and minority caucuses review bills,only the majority caucus, through its legislativeleaders, has the power to impede a bill’s progressor kill it altogether.

Generally, each caucus meets at least once aweek during the regular legislative session, butduring the latter part of the session, with morepending legislation, the caucuses meet morefrequently. Although the meeting times may varythroughout the session depending on the number

of bills ready for caucus discussion and otherscheduling demands, the caucuses of each partytypically meet at the same time. The time andplace of the meetings are usually announced fromthe floor of each house on the day the caucuseswill meet.

Both Senate and House Rules require that,with certain exceptions, all meetings of politicalparty caucuses be open to the public. However,individuals other than legislators and staff arenot invited to participate directly. A caucus mayconduct a closed meeting to elect its own officersand officers of that chamber and to discusslimited matters permitted in executive session,such as personnel and legal considerations. TheHouse and Senate Rules also require each caucusto establish procedures for convening authorizedexecutive sessions.

Calendars

Senate and House Rules refer to the followingcategories of calendars of business reported fromstanding committees:

! A calendar consisting of all bills and othermeasures that have been reported fromthe committees. In the House this is calledthe “House Calendar.” In the Senate it iscalled the “Calendar of the Committee ofthe Whole.” These calendars are simply alist of bills and other measures that areready for further action by the fullchamber. In the Senate, bills, resolutionsand memorials must remain on theCalendar of the Committee of the Wholefor at least five days before they can beplaced on the active calendar unless theSenate authorizes the President to placethem on the active calendar earlier. In theHouse there is no five-day rule.

! An Active Calendar of the Committee ofthe Whole (so called in both houses)consisting of bills the Speaker or President



selects for consideration by the respectiveCommittee of the Whole. The Speaker andPresident may, but are not required to,select any bill for the Active Calendar andmay use this prerogative to delay orprevent the further progress of a bill theyoppose or expedite a bill they support.

! A Consent Calendar (called a “UnanimousConsent Calendar” in the Senate)consisting of unamended bills reported outof all assigned committees. Unless amember objects to a measure on theConsent Calendar, these bills are“accepted” and bypass the Committee ofthe Whole and proceed directly to thirdreading. In the House, a member has threeworking days to protest a bill being soaccepted. In the Senate the time period is48 hours, excluding nonworking days, toprotest. Any member may protest for anyreason, and a protest automaticallyremoves the bill from the consent calendarand places it on the Calendar of theCommittee of the Whole for floor debate.

! Third reading calendar and Senatecalendars that will be more fully discussedunder Third Reading, below.

Committee of the Whole

Committee of the Whole (short forCommittee of the Whole House or Committeeof the Whole Senate, usually referred to simplyas “COW”) is made up of the entire membershipof the House or the Senate. This is the stage inthe legislative process when the full chamber hasthe opportunity to debate and amend bills. Thepurpose of the Committee of the Whole is toallow all members of the entire body morecomplete and informal discussion of measuresthan could be had under the ordinary rules ofprocedure. Committee of the Whole is open tothe public, but no public testimony is taken.

Bills are referred to the Committee of theWhole in the House or the Senate only after they

have been favorably reported out of all standingcommittees to which they have been assignedand have been heard in the majority and minoritycaucuses.

To convene Committee of the Whole, afterroutine business on the daily calendar has beencompleted, a motion is made that the chamberresolve itself into Committee of the Whole forconsideration of bills on the Active Calendar.After approval of this motion, the Speaker orPresident appoints a member of the chamber toact as chairman of the committee and to presideover the committee deliberations. Thechairmanship of COW generally rotates amongthe members of the chamber. However, somemembers who are particularly adept atparliamentary procedure and are able to movethe debate and proceedings along efficiently andeffectively may act as COW chairperson severaltimes during a legislative session, while othersmay prefer not to preside and are never appointedas chairperson.

A majority of the members of a chamberconstitutes a quorum to conduct business inCOW. To open COW deliberations, the chairmanasks that the title of the bill be read by the ChiefClerk in the House or the Secretary in the Senate.This function is generally performed by the readerand is usually considered to be the second readingin the House. In the Senate, however, the billhas been second read previously on referral tothe standing committees.

Floor Debate

After the title of the bill has been read, thechairman calls on the sponsor of the bill or thechairman of a committee from which the bill wasfavorably reported to make the appropriatemotion, which opens the bill to debate andamendment. The measure’s sponsor or theappropriate committee chairman usually beginsdebate. Any member may speak after first beingrecognized by the chairman. A legislatorindicates a desire to speak by standing up or

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signaling with a microphone.

Although both the House and Senate Rulescontain provisions relating to proper decorumto be used during debate, COW deliberations arefairly informal and legislators are generally freeto say whatever they wish and to speak as longand as often as they wish if they are recognizedby the chairman.

If there are amendments to the bill that werefavorably reported out of standing committees,these amendments must also be approved duringCOW. It is important to note that although acommittee amendment has already beenapproved by the standing committee in whichthe bill was heard before it reached COW, thatamendment is not yet considered to beincorporated into or a part of the bill until it isconsidered separately and adopted by the COW.

Amendments are considered in a similarmanner as the bill itself. After the sponsor orappropriate committee chairperson has openedthe bill to debate by presenting the appropriatemotion, the committee chairperson is then calledon to explain the amendment and open debateon that amendment. Amendments are adoptedor rejected by voice vote.

After a bill has been fully debated and anyonewishing to speak has been given an opportunityto do so, the chairman will call for a voice votein recommending that the bill be passed. A voicevote is taken with members present respondingeither “aye” or “nay.” The chairman listens todetermine what response has received themajority of votes. If any legislator wants tochallenge or confirm the chairman’sdetermination, or if the chairman is in doubt, astanding vote may be taken. During COW, rollcall votes are used only to formally confirm thata bill has failed to receive a do passrecommenation.

Floor Amendments

Amendments that are first proposed during theproceedings of the Committee of the Whole andthat have not previously been reported fromstanding committees are called “flooramendments.” COW provides members with anopportunity to amend bills that were not assignedto the committees of which they are members.Opponents of a measure often use the opportunityto present floor amendments to weaken a bill, tooffer alternatives to portions of the bill or to “senda message” regarding areas of dissatisfaction witha bill.

A floor amendment may amend the printedbill or may be an amendment to an amendment.“Strike everything” amendments, however, maynot be considered in COW. Floor amendmentsare adopted or rejected in the same manner ascommittee amendments; each amendment isconsidered separately and is debated andaccepted or rejected by voice vote. If one or moreamendments are adopted in COW, the sponsorof the bill will move that the bill do pass “asamended.” A final voice vote is then called onthe bill as amended.

Bills on the Active Calendar of the Committeeof the Whole may be “cleared,” meaning that avote has been taken on the bill, or “retained.” Abill that is retained is skipped over and returnedto the House Calendar or the Calendar of theCommittee of the Whole, perhaps to be heard inCOW on another day or never again. After allbills on the Active Calendar have been eithercleared or retained, the Committee of the Wholereport is approved, again by voice vote. TheCommittee of the Whole report includes all billsand their adopted amendments that have beenfavorably reported out of COW.

Once a bill has been favorably reported outof the Committee of the Whole it is placed, inthe Senate, on the Senate Calendar. In the House,this calendar is called the Third Reading Calendar.These calendars indicate that the listed bills areeligible to be considered for third reading.



Engrossing

A bill that has been reported out ofCommittee of the Whole is forwarded toLegislative Council for engrossing. This meansthat all amendments that were adopted in COWare now incorporated into the bill. The engrossedbill is reprinted, on green paper for a Houseengrossed bill or on goldenrod paper for a Senateengrossed bill. From this point forward, a billand its adopted amendments are considered asa whole and any further actions on the bill willrefer to the engrossed bill. A bill is alwaysengrossed before third reading (or final passage).

Occasionally an issue that requires attentionor correction is discovered after a bill has alreadybeen “COWed.” Normally, a bill once COWedcannot be further amended in that body. Noamendments are allowed in third reading.However, the Senate and House Rules allow eachbody to address these matters by “sitting as in”Committee of the Whole (“sit COW”). Theprocess basically returns the bill to an ActiveCalendar for amendment. Since sit COW breaksthe routine order of business, it is allowed byleadership only in extraordinary circumstancesand for limited corrective purposes.

Third Reading

Once a bill has been engrossed, the Presidentor Speaker usually places the measure on thecalendar for third reading. In both the House andSenate, third reading is a formal voting process.

Like Committee of the Whole, the thirdreading of bills is also one of the regular ordersof business of the House and Senate. When thisportion of the daily calendar is reached, thePresident or Speaker requests that each bill beread for a third and final time.

Once the reader has read the title of a bill,voting on the measure occurs by means ofelectronic roll call votes. No debate is allowed

and no amendments may be proposed duringthird reading. Members are allowed, however,to “explain” their votes and occasionally use thatopportunity to persuade wavering members totheir side. Unlike in Committee of the Wholewhere a measure is approved by voice vote,indicating that the majority of those votingapproves, for a measure to pass on third readingit must receive the support of a majority all ofthe members of the chamber. Therefore, in theSenate, a bill must receive at least 16 votes topass, while in the House 31 votes are required.This means that members absent during a rollcall vote effectively vote against the measure.

While the Arizona Constitution requires thatmost bills receive the support of a majority ofthe members of a chamber in order to pass, “Prop108” and “emergency” bills require the supportof a “supermajority” (two-thirds of the membersof a chamber) to pass. A Prop 108 bill raises staterevenues by increasing taxes or fees. Emergencybills are those that must take effect before thegeneral effective date to protect the public peace,health or safety. Both Prop 108 and emergencybills are effective immediately on signature bythe Governor.

After a measure has been passed on thirdreading, the Speaker or President will sign it anddirect the Secretary or Chief Clerk to transmit itto the other chamber (except for simpleresolutions and simple memorials that aredirected to the Secretary of State’s office insteadof the other chamber).

Second House Consideration

When a bill is passed by the chamber in whichit originated, it is then sent to the second housewhere it is required to go through the entireprocess all over again. The bill will be referredby the Speaker or President to standing

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committees, including the Rules Committee, forhearings and amendment, it will be discussed inthe majority and minority caucuses and it willbe debated and possibly amended in theCommittee of the Whole and move on to thirdreading. That is, of course, if everything movesalong smoothly for the bill. During any of thesestages in second house consideration, as was alsothe case when the bill was being considered inits house of origin, the bill may be amended, beheld or fail to pass.

If a bill passes out of the second house withoutbeing amended, and is therefore exactly the sameversion that passed out of its originating house,the bill is returned to the originating house andis then transmitted to the Governor.

Concur, Refuse,Conference Committees

It is not uncommon for a bill to be amendedin the second house of consideration, thuscausing the version of the bill that passes out ofthe second house to be different from the versionthat passed out of its house of origin. Sometimesamendments made in the second house arerelatively insignificant while at other timesdramatic changes are made. For a bill to passthe Legislature and be transmitted to theGovernor, however, the House and Senate mustfirst agree on the exact same version of a bill.

When legislation is returned from the secondhouse in a different form, two actions may beemployed to reconcile the House and Senateversions. The chamber of origin may concur withand accept the amendments made by the secondhouse or the chamber of origin may refuse toconcur and request that a conference committeebe appointed. In the case of concurrence, thebill is delivered to the caucuses for discussionand then proceeds to final passage. In the caseof refusal to concur, the Speaker or Presidentappoints members of a conference committeeand notifies the other presiding officer to appoint

conference committee members from thatchamber.

Conference committees are made up of anequal number of members from both the Houseand the Senate. A conference committee is not ajoint committee but a joint meeting of twocommittees. The required quorum is a majorityof each of the two committees, and each of thecommittees votes separately. Particularly duringthe waning hours of a session, conferencecommittees may become informal proceedings,but their meetings are open to the public andpublic testimony may be allowed. There are twotypes of conference committees:

� A simple conference committee must limitits actions to only those areas wheredifferences exist between the House andSenate versions of a bill and may onlyremove language from those versions orchoose one or the other version.

� A free conference committee mayconsider entirely new provisions inaddition to the provisions in the Houseand Senate versions, but it may not adopta “strike everything” amendment, and theadopted amendments must beconstitutional and germane to the bill.

If no agreement is reached reconciling theHouse and Senate versions of a bill, the Presidentand Speaker may discharge the conference andaccept an earlier version of the bill or else thebill fails in conference and moves no further inthe process. If an agreement is reached, theconferees issue a conference committee reportthat is drafted in a manner similar to anamendment, referencing an engrossed version ofthe bill. Occasionally, some members of aconference committee may oppose theconference agreement and issue a minorityreport.



When the conference committee report issigned, it, together with any minority reports, isdelivered to the Speaker and President who referthe bill with the reports to the different caucuses.After caucus discussion, the conference reportis considered and adopted or rejected by thesecond house (the house that did not originatethe bill) and then by the house of origin. Oncethe identical conference report is adopted by bothhouses, the conference amendments areengrossed into the bill and a “conferenceengrossed” version of the bill is printed containingall of the adopted amendments, and the bill isplaced on the calendars of both houses for finalpassage. If either house rejects the conferencereport, the leadership must decide whether todirect the conference committees to reconveneand try again or abandon the effort and allowthe bill to die.

Final Passage andTransmission to Governor orSecretary of State

If the house of origin concurs in theamendments to a measure adopted by the secondhouse, it proceeds to final passage in the houseof origin.

If the measure has been to conferencecommittee and both houses have adopted theconference committee report, the measure isready for final passage in both houses. In thisprocess, the house of origin conducts a roll callvote on the final version of the bill, resolution ormemorial and, if it passes, transmits the measureto the second house for a similar roll call vote. Ifapproved by the second house on final passage,the second house returns the bill to the house oforigin.

When all of the votes have been taken on ameasure and the President and Speaker havesigned it and all other administrative actions arecompleted, the measure (now known as the

“enrolled” bill, resolution or memorial) istransmitted either to the Governor or theSecretary of State. Bills and joint resolutions aresent to the Governor and require the Governor’ssignature or acquiescence to become law.

Simple and concurrent resolutions andmemorials do not require the Governor’sapproval but are sent instead to the Secretary ofState who files them as a matter of public recordor otherwise handles them according to theirinstructions. Memorials may instruct theSecretary of State to forward them to officials inthe federal government or in another state.Concurrent resolutions may have to besubmitted to the voters at a coming election.

Gubernatorial Action

Once a bill (or joint resolution) reaches thedesk of the Governor, the Governor must act onthe bill in one of the following ways: sign thebill, transmit the bill to the Secretary of Statewithout his or her signature or veto the bill.

The Governor has five days (not includingSundays) while the Legislature is in session andten days once the Legislature adjourns to act ona bill. A bill is enacted into law if the Governoreither signs the bill within the five or ten daytime frame or allows the deadline to pass withouttaking action on the measure. Once a bill isenacted into law by either of these means, it isfiled with the Secretary of State where it receivesa number, known as a chapter number, that isgiven in chronological order based on when theenactment was filed. Legislation that has beenenacted into law is known as an act and isreferred to by its chapter number.

Of course the Governor also has the optionof vetoing a bill. A vetoed bill is dead unless theLegislature is still in session and is able to garner

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enough votes in favor of the bill to override theGovernor’s veto. Two-thirds of the members inboth houses of the Legislature must vote in favorof the bill to override a veto by the Governor. Ifthe measure contains an emergency clause or isa Prop 108 bill, the approval of three-fourths ofeach house is needed.

The Constitution of Arizona also provides theGovernor with the line-item veto. The line-itemveto allows the Governor to veto specific itemsin appropriations bills. The Legislature may alsooverride a line-item veto.

If the Governor vetoes a bill or an item in anappropriations bill, a message is sent to bothchambers outlining the reasons for this action.

All of the bills, resolutions and memorials thatare enacted, and all veto messages, are compiledand published in the Session Laws.

Effective Date

Most legislative enactments become effective90 days after the close of the legislative session.The purpose of the 90-day interim period is toallow opponents of enacted legislation time tocirculate referendum petitions to prevent thelegislation from taking effect until the voters havethe opportunity to approve or reject it at the nextelection. If no valid petition is filed with theSecretary of State within 90 days, the measuretakes effect on the 91st day (known as the generaleffective date) or on some later date specified inthe bill.

There are exceptions to this 90-day delay.Enactments for which the general effective datedoes not apply are: emergency laws, laws thatprovide for the “support and maintenance” ofstate agencies and institutions and laws thatincrease state revenue by raising taxes and fees,otherwise known and referred to as “Prop 108"bills. The Arizona Constitution provides thatthese three kinds of laws become effectiveimmediately when the Governor signs them.



The Legislature in Operation 49

Exa m ple of the Pr ogr ess of a Bill Thr ou gh the Legisla tu r eL E G I S L AT I V E H I S T O R Y R EPO R TFor ty-thir d Legisla tu r e - Fir st R egu la r S ession

S B 1321S PO N S O R S : D AY P G R ACE P M AR S H P1

T ITLE: H ea lth insu r a nce; por ta b ility; a ccou nta b ility

S EN ATE FI R S T R EAD : 02/03/97S EC O N D R EAD : 02/04/97

C O M M ITTEE S : AS S I G N ED C O M M ITTEE S ACT I O N02/04/97 H EALT H 02/18/97 (9-0-0-0) D PA2 3

02/04/97 R U LE S 02/24/97 PFCA4

M AJO R I TY CAU C U S : 02/27/97 YM I N O R I TY CAU C U S : 02/25/97 Y

C O W ACT I O N : 03/03/97 ACT I O N : D PAAM EN D M EN T SH ea lth a mendm ent a doptedR u les a mendm ent a dopted

S I T C O W ACT I O N : 03/10/97 ACT I O N : D PAAM EN D M EN T SS pitzer floor a mendm ent a dopted

TH I R D R EAD : D ATE AYES N AYS N V EXC EM ER AM EN D R FE R E S U L T03/10 29 0 1 0 Y

TR AN S M IT TO H O U S E: 03/10/97

H O U S E FI R S T R EAD : 03/20/97

C O M M ITTEE S : AS S I G N ED C O M M ITTEE S ACT I O N03/20/97 BI 03/25/97 (10-0-0-1-0) D PA5

03/20/97 R U LE S 04/08/97 (12-0-0-1-0) AM EN DC & P

S EC O N D R EAD : 03/21/97

M AJO R ITY CAU C U S : 04/09/97 YM I N O R I TY CAU C U S : 04/09/97 Y

C O W ACT I O N : 04/11/97 ACT I O N : D PAAM EN D M EN T SBI passed a s a mendedM a r sh floor a mendm ent to b ill pa ssedR u les a mendm ent pa ssed

TH I R D R EAD : D ATE AYES N AYS N V EXC EM ER AM EN D R FE R E S U L T04/16 54 4 2 0 Y PAS S ED

1. Pr im e sponsor2. The com m ittee vote w a s 9 a yes, 0 na y s, 0 not voting and 0 excu sed3. The com m ittee recom m endation w a s tha t S B 1321 “Do Pa ss w ith Am endm ents”4. The S enate R u les Com m ittee fou nd the b ill w a s in “Pr oper For m , Constitu tiona l, w ith Am endm ents”5. Bank ing and Insu r a nce Com m ittee

50 Arizona Legislative Manual

TR AN S M IT TO S EN ATE: 04/16/97

M AJO R ITY CAU C U S : 04/17/97 YM I N O R I TY CAU C U S : 04/17/97 Y

C onference com m ittee recom m ended

C O N FER EN CE C O M M ITTEE:S EN ATE: APPO I N TED 04/17/97FR EE

M EM BER S : D AY, G R ACE, R I C H AR D S O N E

C O N FER EN CE C O M M ITTEE:H O U S E: APPO I N TED 04/17/97FR EE

M EM BER S : K YLE, M AR S H , N EW M ANR EC O M M EN D ATI O N : Tha t the S ena te a ccept the H ou se a mendm ents a nd the b ill b e fu r ther

a mended.C O R R ECTED R EPO R T: Y

H O U S E AD O PT: 04/19/97S EN ATE AD O PT: 04/19/97

S EN ATE FI N AL R EAD : D ATE AYES N AYS N V EXC EM ER R FE R E S U L T04/19 27 2 1 0

TR AN S M IT TO H O U S E: 04/19/97

H O U S E FI N AL R EAD : D ATE AYES N AYS N V EXC EM ER R FE R E S U L T04/19 55 5 0 0 PAS S ED

TR AN S M IT TO S EN ATE: 04/19/97

TR AN S M ITTED TO : G O V ER N O R 04/19/97ACT I O N : S I G N ED 04/29/97C H APTER : 251

1981 1991 1997

Number of folders opened for drafting: 1,186 1,602 1,588Number of bills, resolutions and memorials introduced: 941 1,030 1,114Number of bills, resolutions and memorials passed by the Legislature: 347 359 320Number of bills vetoed by the Governor: 15 12 7Length of regular sessions in the year: 104 days 160 days 99 daysNumber of special sessions in the year: 7 4 1

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The State Budget Process

Chapter Seven

TheState

Budget Process

Preparing the state’s annual spending planis ayear-round process that determines thesize and scope of government in Arizona.

Two state agencies share the responsibility fordeveloping the annual budget. They are the Officeof Strategic Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) inthe executive branch and the Joint LegislativeBudget Committee (JLBC) in the legislativebranch.

On or before June 1 of each year, OSPB issuesinstructions to the state budget units (agencies)to guide them in preparing their budget requestsfor the fiscal year (July 1 through June 30)following the calendar year in which the budgetsare prepared. Currently, the budget units areclassified as major budget units (the 11 largestagencies comprising about 90 percent of thebudget) and small budget units (about 100). Themajor budget units submit budgets each fiscalyear, and the small budget units submit theirrequests for the next two fiscal years. Beginningin 1998, all budget units and the state budgetprocess will be on a two-year cycle.

The budget units must submit their requeststo the Governor by September 1, or within anextension of 30 days thereafter if approved bythe director of OSPB. OSPB sends a copy of eachagency’s budget request to the staff of the JLBC,

which begins to develop its own budgetproposals. Analysts from each office work closelywith the budget unit financial officers todetermine the programs and funding for eachagency function.

Between September 1 and the opening day ofthe legislative session, the executive andlegislative staffs review the budget submissionsand prepare the executive budgetrecommendations and the proposed legislativebudget recommendations, respectively. Thesedocuments contain operating and capital outlayexpenditure plans, estimated revenues andfederal funds proposals.

Annually, no later than five days after theregular legislative session convenes, theGovernor must submit a budget to theLegislature. The budget must contain a completeplan of proposed expenditures and all moniesand revenues estimated to be available. Alsorequired is an explanation of the basis of theestimates and recommendations, includingproposed legislation, if any, that the Governordeems necessary to provide revenues to meet theproposed expenditures. JLBC must then preparean analysis of the Governor’s budget as soon aspossible, with recommendations for revisions inexpenditures.


Legislative review and deliberation of the twobudget options begin shortly after the regularsession convenes. Public hearings occur beforeboth the Senate and House AppropriationCommittees. The committees may adopt theexecutive budget or the JLBC staff budget, or theymay elect to adopt a budget containing elementsof both budgets or entirely new elements.

The Appropriations Committees of eachhouse have responsibility for developing theirown budget recommendations. Both committeesare divided into subcommittees that cover thebroad functional areas of state government. Theapproximately 115 state agencies are dividedamong three subcommittees in a manner thatattempts to equalize work loads. The budget isdeveloped through a process that includes publichearings, subcommittee deliberations and caucusdeliberations. During the first week of thesession, the JLBC staff briefs the AppropriationsCommittees on the JLBC budgetrecommendation. The staff also compares andcontrasts its recommendation to the Governor’srecommendations. The next step is forsubcommittees to “adopt” their budgetrecommendations for each agency. Thesubcommittee provides recommendations withregard to funding levels, the number ofauthorized full-time equivalent (FTE) positions,footnotes containing directions and limitationson how the money should be spent, statutoryrevisions and appropriations report guidance. Oncompletion of the subcommittee work, fullcommittee work and caucus deliberations, thefull House and Senate will consider the generalappropriations bill with the goal of having thelegislation to the Governor before the end ofMarch.

During the legislative session, public hearingsare conducted, and before July 1 the budget isadopted by the Legislature through the passageof a general appropriations act, a capital outlaybill and various omnibus reconciliation bills(ORBs). In recent years, the budget bills have

been considered during a special session of theLegislature to provide time for their enactmentbefore the beginning of the new fiscal year onJuly 1. The capital outlay bill is for the purchaseand construction of land and buildings. Thereconciliation bills are used for statutoryadjustments that must be implemented to carryout the adopted budget. A bill to pay past claimsagainst the state, known as the “named claimantsbill,” and numerous supplemental appropriationsbills are also considered during each regularsession of the Legislature. Once adopted, the billsare presented to the Governor for approval.

In addition to the normal options of signingor vetoing the bills or allowing them to becomelaw without his signature, the Governor may“line-item veto” individual items ofappropriations. The Legislature may attempt tooverride a line-item veto in the same manner asa normal veto override attempt.

Originally enacted in 1993, a budgetaryprocess called “program authorization review”(PAR) requires each state agency to develop plansand performance measures to support its budgetrequests. The agency responsible for a programsubject to PAR initiates the process by conductinga self-assessment of the program. This assessmentanswers specific questions in six categories:background information, program funding,strategic planning, performance measurement,performance results and other issues posed bythe Legislature, the executive branch or theagency. Agencies are required to submit theirwritten self-assessments to the OSPB and JLBCby April 1 of the preceding year. In the secondphase, the OSPB and JLBC staffs jointly reviewthe agency self-assessments and gather additionalinformation, as appropriate, to validate agencyresponses. Together the two staffs prepare a draftreport of their findings for each of the programsunder review. In late August and early September,agencies are afforded an opportunity to reviewand comment on the draft reports. The OSPB andJLBC staffs then determine whether revisions arenecessary based on the additional information

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provided by the agencies. In mid-September, eachagency again reviews the final product andprepares a formal response for inclusion in thepublished reports. By law, the OSPB and JLBCstaffs are required to publish a final joint reportfor each PAR on October 15. The staffs alsoprepare a composite PAR document that isprovided to each legislator, the Governor andthe affected agencies. In the third phase of thePAR process, joint program authorization reviewcommittees hold at least one public hearing torecommend whether to retain, eliminate ormodify (REM) funding and related statutoryreferences for the programs. The programauthorization review committees oversee thepreparation of any proposed legislation toimplement their recommendations. OSPB andJLBC staffs have the option of providing theirREM recommendations to the committees beforetheir hearings.

The Joint Committee on Capital Review wasestablished by the Legislature in 1986 andconsists of 14 members, including the chairmenof the Senate and House of RepresentativesAppropriations Committees, the Majority andMinority Leaders of the Senate and the House,four members of the Senate AppropriationsCommittee appointed by the President and fourmembers of the House AppropriationsCommittee appointed by the Speaker of theHouse. The primary powers and duties of theJoint Committee on Capital Review relate toascertaining facts and making recommendationsto the Legislature regarding state expendituresfor land, buildings and improvements. Thisportion of the state budget is known as “capitaloutlay.” The Committee has the following powersand duties:

! Develop and approve a uniform formulafor computing annual building renewalfunding needs and a uniform format forthe collection of data for the formula.

! Approve building systems for thepurposes of computing and funding

building renewal and for preparing capitalimprovement plans.

! Review the state capital improvement planand make recommendations to theLegislature concerning funding for landacquisition, capital projects and buildingrenewal.

! Review the expenditure of all moniesappropriated for land acquisition, capitalprojects and building renewal.

! Before the release of monies forconstruction of a new capital project thathas an estimated total cost of more than$250,000, review the scope, purpose andestimated cost of the project.

The state operating budget is prepared andenacted using what is called the cash basis ofaccounting. Budgetary cash basis of accountingrecognizes expenditures when they are estimatedto be paid and revenues when they are estimatedto be received by the State Treasurer. Budgetarycontrol is maintained through legislativeappropriation and an executive branch“allotment process.” The allotment processallocates appropriations into quarterlyallotments according to the appropriation level.The state also maintains an encumbranceaccounting system to further enhance budgetarycontrol. With the exception of capital outlayitems, encumbrances outstanding at the end ofthe fiscal year can be paid during a four-weekadministrative period known as the 13th month.Capital outlay appropriations and theirencumbrances continue until the project iscompleted or abandoned. Unspentappropriations revert to the state general fundafter the 13th month unless they are specificallyexempted from lapsing, in which case they areretained in the agency fund until they are used,as determined by the Legislature.

The State Budget Process


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Legislative Oversight

Chapter Eight

LegislativeOversight

Sunset Review of StateAgencies and Programs

Sunset review is the process by which theLegislature reviews the purpose andfunctions of state agencies and programs

on a scheduled basis to determine whether theagency or program should be retained andcontinued or revised, consolidated orterminated. Most state agencies and someprograms have assigned sunset termination dateson which the agency or program terminatesautomatically, unless the Legislature takes actionto continue it.

The sunset review process is initiated by theJoint Legislative Audit Committee when it reviewsthe list of agencies that are scheduled fortermination and determines which agenciesshould be subject to sunset review. Thecommittee must initiate this process at least 19months before the agency’s scheduledtermination date and must complete a draftsunset review report at least 11 months beforethat date. The agency under review is given anopportunity to review the draft and to submitwritten comments and rebuttals.

To assist in its review the Joint Legislative

Audit Committee may direct the Auditor Generalto conduct a performance audit to determine:

! Whether the agency is managing or usingits resources in an economical and efficientmanner.

! The reasons for inefficiencies oruneconomical practices.

! Whether the desired results are beingachieved.

! Whether the objectives established by theLegislature are being met.

The committee must submit a preliminaryreport to the Governor, the Legislature’s standing“committee of reference” and the agency byOctober 1 of the year before the agency’sscheduled termination date. The committee ofreference conducts public hearings regarding thepreliminary report and prepares the final sunsetreview report for the Governor, legislativeleadership and the Auditor General. Thecommittee of reference is responsible forpreparing any legislation that is necessary toimplement its recommendations.

Sunset review should not be confused withthe sunrise process, which is an evaluation of thedesirability of new regulations for a health-


related profession.

Administrative RulesOversight Committee

In 1995, the Legislature established a formalmethod for reviewing the actions ofadministrative agencies by establishing theAdministrative Rules Oversight Committee. Thecommittee may review any proposed or adoptedrule, summary rule or substantive policystatement to determine if it conforms withstatute and legislative intent. The committee alsoprovides citizens with a forum to bringcomplaints concerning rules that are alleged tobe duplicative or onerous.

The committee consists of ten legislators andone other person who is appointed by theGovernor. The committee may hold a hearingon any rule or complaint and may comment tothe agency, the Governor’s Regulatory ReviewCouncil, the Attorney General and theLegislature.

Senate Advise andConsent on GubernatorialAppointments

Among the checks and balances that theLegislature possesses is the power of the Senateto confirm, or reject, gubernatorial appointmentsto certain executive branch offices. There arehundreds of government offices in the executivebranch that are filled by appointment by theGovernor. These offices include departmentheads and members of boards, commissions andstudy committees, and many are required by lawto be approved by a majority vote of the Senatebefore the appointment officially becomeseffective.

When Senate confirmation is required, theGovernor nominates an individual to fill the office

and forwards the individual’s nomination papersto the President of the Senate. The Presidenttransmits these papers to an appropriate standingcommittee whose subject area is related to theagency involved in the appointment. Thecommittee chairman has discretion whether tohold a hearing to consider the nomination, but ifthe chairman refuses to hold the hearing, thePresident may remove the nomination from thecommittee and bring it directly to the floor. Thenormal process, however, is for the standingcommittee to hold a hearing to interview thenominee and receive testimony from otherinterested individuals who may support oroppose the nomination. The committee thenvotes by roll call and issues its reportrecommending whether the Senate should“advise and consent” to the nomination.

After the committee recommendation isissued to the full Senate, the nominee’s name goesonto a list of nominations awaiting confirmationwhere, absent unanimous consent, it must remainfor at least seven calendar days. Unlike bills, anomination does not go to the Committee of theWhole. When it is brought to the floor, thenomination is placed on the last item in the orderof business for a vote on the question, “Will theSenate advise and consent to this nomination?”It is voted on by voice vote unless a roll call voteis requested. If a nomination is approved, theSenate Secretary delivers a resolution of consent,certified by the President of the Senate, to theSecretary of State, who notifies the Governor. Ifa nomination is rejected, the Senate Secretarynotifies the Governor directly. A rejectednominee cannot serve in the office, and theGovernor must nominate another person.

If the Senate does not take action on anomination or if a nomination is made when theLegislature is not in session, the nominee assumesthe duties of the office subject to confirmationduring the next legislative session. However, anominee cannot serve longer than one year afternomination without Senate consent.

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Impeachment

Chapter Nine

Impeachment

Impeachment is a rarely used legislativeprocess for removing a public officer orjudge from office. It is one of the Legislature’s

checks and balances against the other branchesof government. Impeachment derives from 14thcentury England when the royal ministersbecame accountable to Parliament rather thanto the King. The framers of the United StatesConstitution, recognizing the potential formisdeeds and oppression by powerfulgovernment officers, gave Congress the powerof impeachment. The states have relied on thishistorical perspective to adopt their ownversions of the impeachment power. All stateconstitutions, except Oregon’s, provide forimpeachment of elected officials.

Arizona’s Constitution, like most states,provides for a two-step process for removing anofficial by impeachment. Under this process, anofficial is “impeached” by the House ofRepresentatives, i.e., charged with “high crimes,misdemeanors and malfeasance in office,” andthen tried, and either convicted or acquitted, bythe Senate.

Impeachment is a political, rather than acriminal, proceeding. The purpose ofimpeachment is not to punish the wrongdoer butto protect the public by removing from office

those who have abused their power or breachedthe public trust. If an officer resigns afterimpeachment proceedings have begun againsthim, the impeachment becomes moot and theproceedings end.

Investigation andIndictment by House ofRepresentatives

Technically, “impeachment” refers only to theinvestigation and indictment phase of the processof removing an official from office. Article VIII,part 2, section 1, Constitution of Arizona,provides that “[t]he House of Representativesshall have the sole power of impeachment. Theconcurrence of a majority of all the membersshall be necessary to an impeachment…”Additionally, section 38-312, A.R.S., provides:

Impeachment shall be instituted in the houseof representatives by resolution, and shall beconducted by managers elected by the houseof representatives, who shall prepare articlesof impeachment, present them at the bar ofthe senate and prosecute them….

Extensive preliminary work is always


conducted before the House issues a resolutionand votes on impeachment. If there areallegations against an official that are so seriousthat removal from office may be imperative, theHouse will conduct an investigation into thecharges. The investigation may be done by anindependent investigator hired by the House orby a House committee, or by both an investigatorand committee, having all the powers of the fullLegislature to compel attendance of witnessesand production of evidence by subpoena. If aspecial committee conducts hearings to gatherevidence in the matter, it may adopt special rulesof procedure.

If the investigation finds that there is probablecause to believe that the official has committedhigh crimes, misdemeanors or malfeasance inoffice, the House will proceed to consider aresolution of impeachment. As required by theArizona Constitution, the resolution must beadopted by a majority of all members of theHouse (at least 31 votes). At the same time, theHouse will elect several of its members to a“board of managers” to prepare the articles ofimpeachment or formal written allegation of thecauses for an impeachment. The articles ofimpeachment may be submitted for approval bythe full House, but this approval is not requiredby law. The managers may hire legal counsel andother staff to prepare and support theprosecution in the Senate.

Trial by Senate

An officer who has been impeached by theHouse of Representatives must be tried by theSenate. The board of managers from the Housepresents the articles of impeachment to theSenate, and the Senate then has ten days toorganize itself into a Court of Impeachment. Acopy of the articles of impeachment are alsoserved on the accused officer to formally notifyand inform the officer of the charges.

The Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme

Court presides over the Senate sitting as a Courtof Impeachment. The Chief Justice serves onlyas the Presiding Officer to conduct the hearing,however, and does not vote. If the Chief Justiceis disqualified for any reason, the Senate mustelect another Justice of the Supreme Court topreside. During the ten-day organization periodthe Chief Justice and Senate leadership meet toprepare for the trial. They must appoint a clerk,who may be the Secretary of the Senate, amarshal, who is the Sergeant at Arms, and anassistant marshal. The Court of Impeachmentmay also employ clerical, legal and otherassistants as required. The court also draftsprocedural rules to govern the order of the trial.

On the first day of the hearing, the accusedofficer is required to appear and enter a plea orobject to the sufficiency of the articles:

! If the officer pleads guilty or refuses toenter a plea, the court may enter judgmentagainst the officer.

! If the officer fails to appear, the court mayreschedule the hearing or proceed withoutthe accused.

! If the officer submits written objectionsto the sufficiency of the articles, the courtmay sustain or reject the objections and,if rejected, the officer must answer thearticles of impeachment.

! If the officer pleads not guilty, the courtproceeds to try the impeachment.

If the impeachment proceeds to trial, thehearing is conducted according to the rules ofprocedure adopted for the Court ofImpeachment. The procedure has generalsimilarity to a court trial with lawyersrepresenting the accused and the House’s boardof managers, preliminary motions, openingarguments, presentation of evidence, witnesseswho are examined and cross-examined andclosing arguments. The court may use thesubpoena power of the Legislature to compelwitnesses to appear or to produce evidence.Immunity from prosecution may be afforded

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witnesses who are compelled to give testimonyor produce evidence that is privileged under theUnited States or Arizona Constitution. If a witnessneglects or refuses to obey a legislative subpoenaor to testify, the court may hold the person incontempt of the Legislature. After the testimonyand examination of witnesses are complete, thelawyers present their closing arguments.

The Senators serve as judges in the Court ofImpeachment. They may participate by askingquestions of the witnesses and the PresidingOfficer and making procedural motions. At theend of the closing arguments, the Senators mustvote on each article of impeachment before thecourt. A two-thirds vote of all members of theSenate (at least 20 votes) is required to sustainan article of impeachment and convict the officer.A person who is convicted by a Court ofImpeachment is removed from office. TheConstitution also provides that the person mayfurther be disqualified (again on a two-thirdsvote) from ever again holding office under theConstitution and laws of the state. If the personis acquitted on each article of impeachment, thejudgment of acquittal allows the person to remainin office.

Historical Perspective

Impeachment is rarely used. There have beenonly three impeachment proceedings in Arizonathrough 1997. In 1933 two members of theArizona Corporation Commission wereimpeached. One resigned before the proceedingsbegan, and the other was acquitted on all countsin the articles of impeachment. Again in 1964,two members of the Arizona CorporationCommission were impeached. The Senate votedto acquit both men of all charges that had notalready been dismissed.

In 1988 the House of Representativesimpeached Governor Evan Mecham on threecharges: (1) obstruction of justice, (2) falsesworn statements relating to official filings made

Impeachment

while in office and (3) misuse of funds. After afive-week trial, the Senate dismissed countnumber 2, convicted him on counts 1 and 3 andremoved him from office. However, in a separatevote the Senate failed to disqualify Evan Mechamfrom subsequently holding public office.


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Legislative Service Agencies

Chapter Ten

LegislativeService

Agencies

Legislative Council

The Legislative Council is a statutorycommittee of the Legislature chaired inalternate years by the President of the

Senate and the Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives and includes six additionalmembers from each chamber. The Council staffprovide a variety of nonpartisan bill drafting,research, computer, clerical and otheradministrative services to all of the members ofboth houses of the Legislature.

Under the direction of an Executive Directorappointed by the Council, the professional staffof the Council:

! Prepare all bills, memorials andresolutions and numerous amendmentsfor consideration during each legislativesession.

! Review every law passed by theLegislature, make technical correctionsand draft explanatory notes whereappropriate before delivering the officialversion of the laws for publication.

! Perform legal and other policy-relatedresearch at the request of legislators.

! Publish annual editions of the followingreports: Arizona Legislative Bill Drafting

Manual , the Arizona Revised StatutesInternal Reference Manual, the AnnualReport on Defects in the Arizona RevisedStatutes and State Constitution and theDigest of Laws.

! Perform the enrolling and engrossing ofbills, memorials and resolutions.

! Provide computer support for the Houseof Representatives, the Senate andadditional legislative service agencies.

! Maintain an Internet site for theLegislature. The site provides informationregarding the content and status of bills,legislative committees and districtboundary maps.

! Provide professional, technical and clericalassistance to various committees and officesof the Legislature, including theConstitutional CommemorationCommittee (established to promote publicunderstanding of the United StatesConstitution and the Bill of Rights througheducational programming and celebrationactivities) and the Administrative RulesOversight Committee (established toreview adopted rules, summary rules orsubstantive policy statements forconformity with statute and legislativeintent and to receive complaints from the


public and recommend legislation toalleviate the effects of duplicative oronerous rules or substantive policystatements).

Joint Legislative BudgetCommittee

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee(JLBC) is another statutory committee of theLegislature. It is chaired in alternate years by thechairmen of the House and SenateAppropriations Committees and in addition,includes the Majority Leaders of each chamber,the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee,the chairman of the House Ways and MeansCommittee and five additional members of eachchamber’s Appropriations Committee.

The primary powers and duties of the JLBCrelate to ascertaining facts and makingrecommendations to the Legislature regardingall facets of the state budget, state revenues andexpenditures, future fiscal needs and theorganization and functions of state government.

Under the direction of a Director appointedby the JLBC, the professional staff of the JLBCprovide the following nonpartisan services to theLegislature:

! Analysis and recommendations for theannual state budget, which are presentedin January of each year.

! Technical, analytical and preparatorysupport in the development ofappropriations bills considered by theLegislature.

! Periodic economic and state revenueforecasts.

! Periodic analysis of economic activity,state budget conditions and therelationship of one to the other.

! Preparation of fiscal notes on the billsconsidered by the Legislature that have afiscal impact on the state or any of its

political subdivisions.

! An annual Appropriations Report, which ispublished shortly after the budget iscompleted and provides detail on thebudget along with an explanation oflegislative intent.

! Management and fiscal research reportsrelated to state programs and state agencyoperations.

! Support to the Joint Committee on CapitalReview (JCCR) with respect to all capitaloutlay issues including land acquisition,new construction and building renewalprojects.

! Support to the Joint Legislative TaxCommittee.

Department of Library,Archives and Public Records

The activities of the Department of Library,Archives and Public Records are overseen by aBoard consisting of the President of the Senate,the Speaker of the House and one additionalmember of each chamber.

The professional staff of the Department ofLibrary, Archives and Public Records, under thedirection of a Director appointed by the Board,collect, preserve and provide access toinformation for the people of Arizona, throughlibraries, archives, public records, museums andlibrary development services, including:

! Identifying, acquiring, caring for,arranging, describing and makingavailable the permanently valuable publicrecords of Arizona.

! Loaning recorded books and magazines,and the equipment on which to play them,to Arizonans who are blind, visuallyimpaired or physically challenged andcannot use printed materials in theconventional forms.

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Legislative Service Agencies

! Coordinating statewide planning anddevelopment of library services.

! Operating the State Capitol Museum, inthe original 1900 Capitol building, whichpresents exhibits and programs ongovernment in the Arizona Territory andearly statehood days, and the Arizona Hallof Fame Museum, which presents exhibitshonoring Arizona men and women wholived or settled in Arizona.

! Establishing standards, procedures andtechniques for effective management of thepublic records of Arizona state and localgovernment.

! Operating the Research Library in theCapitol building and the State Law Libraryin the Arizona state courts building.

The Department directs and coordinates theactivities of:

! The Historical Advisory Commission,which encourages research, writing andteaching of Arizona history and aids in thepreservation of cultural resources.

! The State Board on Geographic andHistoric Names, which evaluatesproposals for changes in or additions tothe names of geographic features andplaces of historical significance in Arizona.It designates the most appropriate andacceptable names and the spelling of thesenames for use in maps and officialgovernment documents.

! The State Historical Records AdvisoryBoard under the National ArchivesProgram for Grants to the States, whichmakes proposals to and advises theNational Historical Publication andRecords Commission on state historicalrecords priorities.

Office of the Auditor General

The Office of the Auditor General provides

an independent audit function to help ensureresponsible and professional legislative oversightand public accountability for funds administeredby the state and certain local governments. TheAuditor General is appointed for a five-year termby the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, subjectto approval by a majority vote of both houses ofthe Legislature.

The Auditor General performs financial andperformance audits of state agencies and somelocal governments. The primary responsibilitiesof the Office include:

! Ascertaining whether public entities aremaking proper and judicious use of publicresources, including public money,personnel, property, equipment and officespace.

! Ascertaining whether public entities arecomplying with applicable laws, rules andgovernmental accounting and financialreporting standards.

! Defining standards and establishingprocedures for accounting and budgetingas required by the Legislature.

! Providing technical assistance to state andlocal governmental entities.

Ombudsman-Citizens’ Aide

The mission of the Arizona Ombudsman-Citizens’ Aide is to improve the effectiveness,efficiency and responsiveness of state governmentby receiving public complaints, investigating theadministrative acts of state agencies and, whenwarranted, recommending fair and appropriateremedies.

The professional staff of the Ombudsman-Citizens’ Aide Office:

! Help citizens interact more effectivelywith government by arming them withinformation about their rights and agencypolicies and procedures and by opening


channels of communication betweencitizens and administrators.

! Redress individual grievances byinvestigating complaints and working withcitizens and agencies to resolve legitimateproblems and disputes.

! Prevent recurrence of similar complaintsby identifying and correcting patterns ofundesirable administrative practices.

! Exonerate state administrators whencriticism is unwarranted.

! Respond to requests for assistance fromstate legislators by investigating especiallycomplex constituent complaints.

Ombudsman for PrivateProperty Rights

The mission of the Office of the Ombudsmanfor Private Property Rights is to represent theinterests of private property owners inproceedings involving governmental action. Theprofessional staff of the Ombudsman’s office:

! Research, study and analyze issues thatrelate to actual or proposed governmentalaction that would result in thegovernment’s taking of private propertyfor which the United States or StateConstitution requires the payment ofcompensation to the private propertyowner.

! Prepare and present briefs and argumentsand intervene or appear on behalf ofprivate property owners in any judicial,legislative or administrative hearing orproceeding.

! Receive complaints and inquiries fromprivate property owners regardingconstitutional takings and advise privateproperty owners on issues involving orrelating to constitutional takings.

! Conduct investigations and inquiries and

assemble and present evidence to theArizona Navigable Stream AdjudicationCommission regarding the navigability ornonnavigability of watercourses.

! Represent the interests of record titleowners of residential, noncommercial,small business and agricultural propertiesbefore the Arizona Navigable StreamAdjudication Commission, any stateagency, the Legislature and any courtregarding any issues related to state claimsto the beds of watercourses.

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Constituent Services

Chapter Eleven

LegislativeConstituent

Services

ALIS On-line

ALIS (Arizona Legislative InformationServices) On-line is the Legislature’sInternet information service, designed to

promote increased public access to, andawareness of, the legislative process in Arizona.

ALIS provides easy access to bills, floorcalendars, committee agendas, posting sheets,Arizona Revised Statutes, the ArizonaConstitution, legislative district maps, memberprofiles and a variety of other information thatonce required a visit to the capitol. Constituentsbenefit from the convenience of 24 hour access.Please visit the site at http://www.azleg.state.az.us.

Information Desks

The House and Senate each maintain a publicinformation desk in the main lobby of theirrespective buildings. The desks are staffedthroughout the year, and the types of informationavailable at the desks include:

! Agendas including location and time ofrecent and upcoming committee meetings.

! A summary of actions taken during a

current legislative session.

! Copies of bills and amendments adoptedduring a current legislative session.

! Directions to the offices of members ofthe Legislature and other legislativeoffices.

More detailed information concerning theofficial activity of a current or prior legislativesession is available from the Chief Clerk’s Office,located on the first floor of the House ofRepresentatives, and the Senate Secretary’sOffice, located on the second floor of the Senate.These offices maintain complete sets of SessionLaws (containing a copy of each enactment passedby the Legislature) and Journals (that contain theofficial summary of all actions taken in thechamber during each legislative session) and theofficial minutes of each standing committee ofthe chamber.

AZNet

The Legislature operates an interactivetelecommunication site at the state capitolknown as AZNET. The AZNET site is part of thestatewide NAUNet telecommunication systemoperated by Northern Arizona University.


Through the NAUNet network, legislativecommittee meetings can be conducted at theAZNET site and linked to up to 21 remote siteslocated across Arizona, with interactive video,audio and data capability, so that committeemembers and persons present at the remote sitescan fully participate in the meeting taking placeat the AZNET site. Committee chairmenschedule meetings for the AZNET site based onnetwork availability and regional or statewideinterest in the subject matter.

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Chapter Twelve

Glossary ofLegislative

Terms

AAct: A bill that has been enacted into law. Each act

is published as a separate chapter in thesession laws.

Adjournment: To terminate the day’s proceedings ofeither a committee or the full house. (1)Regular adjournment sets the date for thenext meeting. (2) Adjournment sine die,literally adjournment “without a day,” marksthe end of the legislative session andterminates all unfinished business becauseit does not set a time for reconvening.

Administrative Procedure Act: The statutes thatgovern the adoption of administrative rulesand administrative adjudicatory proceedingsby executive branch agencies. See A.R.S. Title41, chapter 6 (§§ 41-1001 et seq.).

Administrative Rule: An agency directive, standard,regulation or statement of generalapplicability that implements, interprets orprescribes law or policy or describes theprocedure or practice requirements of anagency.

Adoption: Formal approval or acceptance of motions,amendments or other legislative measures.

Advise and Consent: The process, under the Americansystem of checks and balances, by which

the Senate reviews and approves or rejectsgubernatorial appointments to certainexecutive offices.

Agenda: The official work plan for a committeemeeting including a list of specific items ofbusiness to be considered.

ALIS: Acronym for Arizona Legislative InformationSystem, the Legislature’s computer system.

Amend: To alter formally. (1) A bill may propose toamend a statute by changing, deleting oradding statutory text. (2) A measure may beamended by striking or inserting text, orboth.

Amendment: (1) Any formal modification, deletionor addition that alters the form or substanceof statutory text, a legislative measure or amotion. (2) A legislative document ormotion that proposes the modification of alegislative measure.

Apportionment: The division of the state of Arizonainto 30 legislative and six congressionaldistricts with distinct geographic boundaries.Each legislative district containsapproximately 1/30 and each congressionaldistrict contains approximately 1/6 of thestate’s 1990 population. SeeReapportionment.

Glossary of Legislative Terms


Appropriation: A formal legislative allocation ofmoney to a state agency, budget unit orprogram and the authorization to spend themoney for designated lawful purposes.

Arizona Revised Statutes; A.R.S.: The codified lawsof the State of Arizona. The statutes arepublished and annotated by privatecompanies but use the arrangement andnumbering system assigned by theLegislature.

AZNet: The teleconference system that allowslegislators and the public to electronicallyattend some legislative committees andother proceedings from remote locationsaround the state.

BBicameral: A Legislature composed of two

chambers or two legislative bodies.Arizona’s bicameral Legislature is madeup of the House of Representatives andthe Senate. All states have bicamerallegislatures except Nebraska, which hasonly one chamber (unicameral).

Biennial: Occurring every two years. The Arizonastate budget is on a biennial cycle. (Note:“biannual” means occurring every sixmonths.)

Biennium: A two-year period.

Bill: A proposed law that has been introduced ineither house of the Legislature. A bill createsnew law or amends or repeals existing law.Senate bills are numbered consecutively anddesignated “S.B. 1xxx”. House bills arenumbered consecutively and designated“H.B. 2xxx”.

Bill Drafting Manual: The manual published byLegislative Council that explains the official,uniform system and rules for preparation ofall legislative measures.

Bill Folder: The Legislative Council file folder thatcontains the legislator’s documentation fora bill, resolution or memorial. The contentsof a folder are confidential. Each request isassigned a bill folder number that is theofficial designation of the proposed measurebefore it is introduced and given a billnumber.

Bill Status: The progress of a bill (or other measure)at any given time in the legislative process.The current status can be determined byreferring to the computer system (ALIS) thatalso provides an update on all otherlegislative action.

Bill Summary: The fact sheet prepared by Senateand House staff for bills, resolutions andmemorials as they are considered bystanding committees.

Bipartisan: Interparty cooperation on a matter thatis essentially political. See Nonpartisan,Partisan.

Blend: When the Legislature amends the same statutemore than once, the Executive Director ofLegislative Council is authorized to compileand blend compatible amendments of thestatute to avoid publishing more than oneversion of the statute.

Boilerplate: Standard bill drafting language commonto various subjects and designed to maintainthe legal consistency and uniformity of thelanguage of the Arizona Revised Statutes.

Bond: (1) A certificate of indebtedness issued bythe government in return for money it hasborrowed. A promise to pay a specified sumof money at a fixed time in the future andcarrying a specified rate of interest. Bondsmay be general obligation bonds or revenuebonds. (2) A financial commitment to thestate by a state officer or employee to ensurethat the person will be honest and faithfulin performing official duties (formally calleda “surety” bond).

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Budget: A formal plan of government expenditurefor a fiscal year or biennium including themeans of financing the expenditures.

Budget Unit: A state department, commission orother agency of state government that spendsor disburses state revenue or incursobligations against the state.

By Request: A phrase used when a sponsorintroduces legislation as a favor or at therequest of a constituent or another privateparty or organization but does notnecessarily endorse the measure. The words“By Request” appear after a sponsor’s nameon the front of the legislation.

CCalendar: The list or docket of legislation awaiting

action.

Calendar Day: Any day listed on the Gregoriancalendar. See Legislative Day.

Capital Budget: A plan of expenditures for landacquisition and construction, repair,engineering and design of facilities andmajor equipment.

Capital Outlay Bill: An appropriation bill thatauthorizes expenditures of state money forthe capital construction needs of the state.

Caucus: n., (1) A group of people who sharesomething in common; legislators of thesame political party. (2) A meeting oflegislators of the same political party toconsider legislation, policies and actions. v.,To hold or meet in a caucus.

Chair; Chairman; Chairperson: The person whopresides over a committee.

Chamber: See Floor.

Chapter: An act. The Secretary of State assigns eachact a chapter number in the session laws ofa legislative session.

Chief Clerk: The chief administrative officer of theHouse of Representatives who is responsiblefor keeping records of the proceedings ofthe House, preparing and distributingcalendars and other official agenda of theHouse and transmitting legislation andofficial correspondence from the House tothe Senate and the Governor.

Christmas Tree Bill: Legislative slang for a bill,generally considered late in the session, thataccumulates numerous amendments, likeChristmas tree ornaments, that are attachedto attract votes.

Coalition: An alliance of factions for some specificpurpose.

Code: (1) A compilation of laws on a particularsubject (e.g., the criminal code). (2) Thepublished Arizona Revised Statutes. (3) Thecompilation of administrative rules, knownas the “administrative code.”

Code Revision: The process of preparing newlyenacted laws for publication in ArizonaRevised Statutes. Legislative Council isresponsible for proofreading the new laws,correcting minor technical problems (e.g.,misspelled words) and blending multipleamendments of the same statute. See A.R.S.§§ 41-1304.01, 41-1304.02, 41-1304.03.

Committee: A body of legislators appointed to handlecertain business and report back to theparent body. See Standing Committee,Conference Committee, Interim Committee,Statutory Committee, Joint Committee,Committee of the Whole.

Committee Amendment: An amendmentrecommended to the full house by a majorityof a standing committee to which themeasure was referred for consideration.Committee amendments must be adoptedby the full house to become a part of themeasure.



Committee of the Whole (COW) : The fullmembership of the Senate or the House ofRepresentatives sitting as a committee todebate legislation and adopt amendments tolegislation.

Common Law: The law derived from usages andcustoms of antiquity and recognized andenforced by courts, as distinguished fromthe law created by the enactment oflegislatures.

Companion Bills: Bills that supplement each otherbut that, for legal, technical, tactical orpolitical reasons, cannot be combined.

Concurrent Memorial: See Memorial.

Concurrent Resolution: See Resolution.

Conference Committee: A committee with membersappointed from each house to resolvedifferences in a measure as passed by eachhouse and prepare a version of the measureacceptable to both houses. See FreeConference Committee, Simple ConferenceCommittee.

Concurrence: The action by which one house acceptsthe amendments made to a measure by theother house.

Confirmation: The process by which the Senateadvises and consents to executiveappointments made by the Governor. SeeA.R.S. § 38-211.

Conflict of Interest: A situation in which a publicofficial takes or withholds official action orexerts official influence that couldsubstantially benefit or harm the official’spersonal financial interest.

Consensus: A broad agreement that, while notnecessarily all-encompassing, embracesenough elements to obtain support from amajority.

Consent Calendar; Unanimous Consent Calendar: Alist of measures that have been reported

without amendment by all standingcommittees to which they have beenassigned. It is used to allow rapid floorconsideration of noncontroversial measures.Measures on the consent calendar are notassigned to Committee of the Whole butinstead proceed directly to third reading.Any member may protest a measure on aconsent calendar during a designated noticeperiod, in which event the measure isremoved and routed to Committee of theWhole.

Constituent: A citizen residing in the district of alegislator.

Constitution: The written document agreed upon bythe people of the United States (the UnitedStates Constitution) or Arizona (the StateConstitution) as the fundamental andabsolute rule for action and decision for thegovernment.

Cosponsor: A sponsor of a measure other than theprime sponsor. Cosponsors’ names appearon the face of the printed measure with theprime sponsor’s name.

COW: Legislative slang for Committee of the Whole.

DDebate: Formal discussion and argument of a

matter before a house or committee of theLegislature.

Dilatory: Deliberate use of parliamentary procedureto delay.

District: (1) A geographical area designated forrepresentation by one Senator and twoRepresentatives. See Apportionment,Reapportionment. (2) A unit of localgovernment, usually having an electedgoverning board and the power to imposetaxes, such as a school district.

Division: To repeat a voice vote, this time by standingor by raising hands. If the outcome of a voice

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vote is uncertain, any member may requesta division to verify the vote. A division doesnot record the vote of individual legislatorsbut only the number of votes for and againstthe motion.

Do Pass: An affirmative recommendation made bya committee in forwarding a measure to thefloor or for further consideration. If thecommittee proposes an amendment to themeasure, the recommendation is that it “dopass as amended.”

Draft: n., A written version of a legislative measurethat has not yet been formally offered forconsideration by the Legislature. v., Toprepare a measure for consideration by theLegislature, including discussing, writing,revising, editing, word processing andprinting activities.

EEffective Date: The date on which an act takes effect,

normally the 91st day after the Legislatureadjourns sine die (see General Effective Date)unless otherwise stated in the act (seeEmergency, Prop 108).

Emergency: A finding that an act must take effectbefore the 91st day after the Legislatureadjourns sine die in order to preserve thepublic peace, health or safety. If an emergencymeasure is enacted by a majority vote ofeach house, it becomes law on the date it issigned by the Governor or, if the Governorvetoes the measure, on the date the veto isoverridden by a ¾ majority vote of eachhouse.

Enabling Act: The Act of Congress that authorizedthe process for Arizona to become a state.

Enabling Legislation : A bill authorizing agovernmental entity, officer or employee todo something.

Enacting Clause: The clause “Be it enacted by theLegislature of the State of Arizona” that is

required by the State Constitution to headall bills to formally express the legislativesanction.

Engross: The preparation of an exact and official copyof a measure as passed by a house of theLegislature, including all adoptedamendments, before transmitting themeasure to the other house.

Engrossed Bill: An official copy of a bill as passedby either house of the Legislature containingall amendments adopted by that house. Billsthat are engrossed by the House ofRepresentatives are printed on green paper.Bills that are engrossed by the Senate areprinted on goldenrod paper. Resolutionsand memorials that are engrossed are referredto as engrossed resolutions and engrossedmemorials.

Enrolled Bill: The official copy of a bill as finallypassed in identical form by both houses ofthe Legislature and transmitted to theGovernor. It is the final engrossed bill.Resolutions and memorials that are enrolledare similarly referred to as enrolledresolutions and enrolled memorials.

Executive Session: A meeting of a committee that isclosed to the public and the press forpurposes of considering any of a limitednumber of sensitive topics authorized bylaw. See A.R.S. § 38-431.03.

FFeed Bill : Legislative slang for the general

appropriations bill.

Final Passage: The roll call vote taken on a measureon the floor of each house after allamendments and committee reports havebeen adopted and incorporated into themeasure. This is the last vote on the measurebefore it is sent to the Governor.

First Reading: The initial formal recitation on the



chamber floor of a bill, resolution ormemorial by number and sections by thereader in either house. It is the first of threereadings required by the Constitution ofArizona. In the House a measure is assignedto one or more committees at first reading.

Fiscal Note: A statement itemizing estimated costsor revenue implications of proposedlegislation, prepared at the request of alegislator by the Joint Legislative BudgetCommittee.

Fiscal Year: Any 12-month accounting periodwithout regard to its relationship to acalendar year. The Arizona state fiscal year isJuly 1 through June 30.

Floor: The interior chamber of either house of theLegislature where the full membershipconvenes.

Floor Action: Consideration and debate by the fullHouse or Senate.

Floor Amendment: An amendment, other than acommittee amendment, offered by a legislatorduring floor debate during Committee of theWhole.

Free Conference Committee: A conference committeethat may propose in its report on a measureany new amendments that are germane tothe measure. See Conference Committee,Simple Conference Committee.

GGallery: (1) The balcony area in the chambers of

the Senate and House from which the publicmay observe legislative proceedings on thefloor. (2) The area on the floors of the Houseand Senate designated for the presence ofaccredited members of the press corps,generally known as the “press gallery.”

General Appropriations Bill: The bill that makesappropriations for the estimated foreseeable

expenses of state government for the fiscalyears in a biennium. See Feed Bill, ORB,Supplemental Appropriation.

General Effective Date: The 91st day after theLegislature adjourns sine die. See Article IV,part 1, § 1(3), Constitution of Arizona.

General Election: An election to choose officers ofthe federal, state or local governments. Thegeneral election for federal, state and countyofficers is held on the first Tuesday followingthe first Monday in November in successiveeven-numbered years.

General Fund: The fund in which most staterevenues are deposited and that is availablefor any legally authorized purpose and isused to fund appropriations for the ordinaryoperations of state government.

General Obligation Bond: A certificate of governmentindebtedness that is backed by the “full faithand credit” of the issuing government. SeeRevenue Bond.

Germane: Pertaining to the subject matter of themeasure. A bill may address only onesubject, and all changes made by the bill tothe law and all changes made by amendmentsto the bill must be “germane” to that subject.See Article IV, part 2, §§ 13, 20, Constitutionof Arizona.

Gerrymander: Designing a legislative orcongressional district for the purpose ofobtaining partisan or factional advantages.See Apportionment, Reapportion.

Grandfather Clause: See Saving Clause.

HHearing: A formal public session of a committee at

which business is conducted or testimonyis received.

Hopper: The box or other depository in which bills,

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resolutions and memorials are filed forintroduction.

IImpeachment: The formal process of bringing

charges of high crimes, misdemeanors ormalfeasance against a public official of thestate by the House of Representatives. Afterthe House has impeached, the official is triedby the Senate and removed from office ifconvicted.

Initiative: The right of private citizens to proposeand enact laws. The proposition is placedon an election ballot through a petitionsigned by a specified number of voters. SeeArticle IV, part 1, § 1(2), Constitution ofArizona.

Interim: The period of time between two regularsessions of the Legislature.

Interim Committee: A committee, usually temporary,established to study an issue, make findingsand prepare a report during the periodbetween legislative sessions.

Introduction: The presentation of a bill, resolutionor memorial to the Secretary of the Senate orthe Chief Clerk of the House ofRepresentatives (see Hopper); formallyaccomplished when the measure is first readon the floor of the Senate or House.

Introductory Set; Intro Set: The official packagecontaining copies of a bill, resolution ormemorial that has been prepared forintroduction and a form that legislators cansign as prime sponsors or cosponsors ofthe measure.

Item Veto: See Line-Item Veto.

JJoint Committee: A committee composed of members

of both houses of the Legislature, sometimes

including nonlegislative members as well,usually for the purpose of studying andmaking recommendations regarding a singleissue before the Legislature. Note:Committees may occasionally meet jointly,i.e., two standing committees may meettogether to consider matters of mutualinterest. These meetings do not constitute ajoint committee.

Joint Resolution: See Resolution.

Journal: The official record maintained by eachhouse and reporting essential items of dailybusiness but not a verbatim record. Thejournals of each house are published aftereach regular session.

LLaw: A binding rule of a community that is enforced

by controlling authorities. Statute law isenacted by the Legislature. Common law isset by precedent in court and byinterpretation of the Constitution and statutelaw.

Leadership: The elected officers of each house andeach caucus.

Legislative Day: A day on which the houses of theLegislature each convene to conduct officialbusiness.

Legislative Immunity: A limited constitutionalprivilege for legislators from civil processand arrest during and immediately precedingthe legislative session.

Legislative Intent: A goal of the Legislature in enactinglegislation. Intent may be stated in enactedlegislation or may be ascribed from theprovisions of the law and circumstancescontemporaneous with its enactment. Intentdoes not have the force of law but may beused to interpret statutory provisions.

Legislative Rules: The guidelines by which the



Senate, the House of Representatives or acommittee governs its activities.

Legislature: The lawmaking body of the State ofArizona, composed of 60 Representativesand 30 Senators from 30 districts elected totwo-year terms. Each Legislature has aduration of two years, encompassing tworegular sessions and any special sessionsduring that period. Each Legislature isnumbered consecutively.

Line-item Veto: The power of the Governor to vetospecified items from an appropriation whilesigning the remainder of the bill into law.

Lobbyist: A person who is employed or whocontracts, with or without compensation,to communicate with public officials onbehalf of another person or an interest groupfor the purpose of influencing legislative oradministrative action. See A.R.S. § 41-1231.

Loophole: An unintended use or application of a law,usually to afford an unintended benefit atthe expense of the public.

MMajority; Majority Party: The political party (or

coalition) to which a majority of themembers of a house of the Legislaturebelongs. A party may be the majority partyin one house and the minority party in theother house.

Majority Leader: The person selected by themembers of the majority political party (orcoalition) in a house to be theirspokesperson.

Majority Whip: See Whip.

Mason’s Manual: The publication Mason’s Manualof Legislative Procedure, which is aprocedural and parliamentary manual that

supplements the Constitution, statutes andHouse and Senate Rules.

Measure: A piece of legislation (i.e., bill, resolution,memorial or an amendment to a bill,resolution or memorial) that is before theLegislature for consideration.

Memorial: A legislative measure containing a requestor proposal that a named recipient (such asCongress or the President of the UnitedStates) acknowledge stated facts (containedin clauses introduced by the word “whereas”)and take action in a manner consistent withthe request. A memorial is not used tocommemorate the dead. A memorial maybe “simple” (considered by only one house)or “concurrent” (considered by bothhouses).

Message From the Senate or House: Officialcommunication from the opposite houseand read into the official record.

Minority; Minority Party: A political party to whichfewer than one-half of the members of ahouse of the Legislature belong.

Minority Leader: The person selected by themembers of a minority political party in ahouse to be their spokesperson.

Minority Report: A committee report officially statingthe position of members who are in theminority on an issue in question (notnecessarily in the minority political party).

Minutes: A written record summarizing theproceedings of a committee.

Motion: A request by a legislator for one of a widevariety of parliamentary actions that formallydirects debate on the floor. It is the way, forexample, that a legislator introduces ameasure for debate on the floor.

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Ninth Floor: Legislative slang referring to theGovernor or the Governor’s office, which islocated on the ninth floor of the West Wingof the State Capitol.

Nonpartisan: Interparty cooperation on matterswithout consideration of party politics ornot ascribing to any of the political parties.See Bipartisan, Partisan.

“Now” Title: A revised reference title of a measureafter a strike everything amendment has beenadopted to reflect the new provisions of themeasure and distinguish the current versionof the measure from its original version.

OOmnibus Bill: A bill addressing many items or topics

under a single subject.

Open Meeting: A meeting or session of a public bodyat which the public may attend. All meetingsand sessions of public bodies are requiredby law to be open except for a limitednumber of specific cases. See ExecutiveSession, A.R.S. Title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1.

Operating Budget: A plan of expenditures other thancapital expenditures. Frequently referred toas “maintenance and operation” or “M & O.”See Capital Budget.

ORB : Legislative slang for an “omnibusreconciliation bill.” An ORB is a bill that isintended to reduce the cost of stategovernment by providing for increasedefficiencies in administration or programmanagement rather than direct reductions inappropriations to the agency or program.

Order of Business : The scheduled events andproceedings followed by the Senate andHouse of Representatives each legislative day,as prescribed by the Senate and House Rules.

Oversight: A continuing or periodic review by the

Legislature of the way other branches ofgovernment administer the law.

PPage: A person who works on the chamber floors,

in committees and elsewhere on thelegislative premises to distribute materials,carry messages and generally facilitate thelegislative work flow.

Parliamentarian: A legislator, designated by thePresident or Speaker, who is skilled inparliamentary rules, practice or debate.

Partisan: Taking the part of or strongly supportingthe position or policy of one political partyover another. See Bipartisan, Nonpartisan.

Partisan Staff: Legislative employees who serveunder majority or minority leadership toprovide research and administrative supportto members of their party.

Per Diem: A daily allowance of money to cover costsof housing, meals and related expenses whiletemporarily residing or traveling on officialbusiness away from a person’s actualresidence. Legislators are paid per diemduring legislative sessions and whenattending a legislative meeting at other times.

Performance Audit: An oversight review of an agencyor program by the Auditor General oranother designated entity to evaluate theresults, efficiencies, achievements and otherperformance indicators of the agency orprogram.

Personal Privilege: Senate and House rules that allowa legislator to explain a personal matter butnot discuss or debate an issue during theexplanation. It is used, for example, when alegislator wants to introduce a guest oracknowledge someone.

Personal Services: A classification of budgetexpenditure that includes salary, overtimeand benefits for personnel.



Piggyback: (1) Attaching a legislative proposal to aanother piece of popular legislation in aneffort to get it passed by a house. (2)Incorporating provisions of federal law as abasis on which state law and procedure areconstructed.

Point of Order: An objection raised by a legislatorthat the rules of procedure are being violated.

Policy Analyst: See Research Analyst.

Pork Barrel: Legislative slang for appropriationsbased on political patronage such as fundingfor local projects.

Post Audit: A review of expenditures after the fact toensure compliance with applicable laws andrules.

Postpone Indefinitely: A procedural action to preventfurther action on a legislative measure,without requiring a direct or recorded voteon the merits of the measure.

Prefiling: A procedure allowing a legislator to offera measure for introduction before thelegislative session begins.

President: The presiding officer of the Senate, electedby its members.

Prime Sponsor: The lead legislator of a group oflegislative sponsors of a measure. The primesponsor’s name appears first on the face ofthe printed measure. See Cosponsor.

Primary Election: A preliminary election in whichthe registered voters of a political partynominate that party’s candidates for office.

Privilege of The Floor: Permission granted to anonmember of the body to be in that portionof the legislative chamber during session thatis reserved for members and staff personnel.

Pro Tempore; Pro Tem: For the time being; temporary.Usually referring to a person who serves asa presiding officer in the absence of theelected presiding officer.

Proposition: A proposed enactment of law that isplaced on the ballot for approval or rejectionby the voters as a result of the initiative orreferendum process of direct legislation.

Proposition 108; Prop 108: The constitutionalrequirement (named after the 1992 generalelection ballot proposition that enacted it)that bills that provide for a net increase instate revenues through a new or increasedtax or fee or through reduced exemptionsor deductions must be approved by a voteof at least 2/3 of the members of each houseof the Legislature or, if vetoed by theGovernor, the subsequent vote of at least ¾of the members of each house. If so enacted,the bill takes effect immediately rather thanon the general effective date.

QQuestion; Previous Question: A parliamentary motion

to conclude debate and vote on the issue.

Quorum: The number of members of a house orcommittee required by law or rule to bepresent before that body can conduct officialbusiness.

RReapportionment; Redistricting: Realigning legislative

and congressional districts after the UnitedStates decennial census for the purpose ofequalizing the population among thedistricts.

Recess: A temporary halting of legislative business.Unlike adjournment, a recess does not enda legislative day and does not interfere withunfinished business.

Reconsideration: A parliamentary process by whicha motion or question that has been acted onmay be brought back before the body again.The motion for reconsideration is subjectto the requirements and details prescribed

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by the rules of the House and the Senate,respectively.

Reference Title: A short title of each bill, resolutionand memorial that is placed in the upperright-hand corner of the first page. It gives abrief idea of the nature of the measure andaids in indexing, but it is not a part of thesubstantive law of the measure. See “Now”Title, Title.

Referendum: (1) The right of citizens to preventenacted legislation from taking effect untilthe voters either approve or reject thelegislation at an election. The referendum isplaced on an election ballot through apetition signed by a specified number ofvoters. See Article IV, part 1, § 1(3),Constitution of Arizona. (2) The choice bythe Legislature to submit a proposed law tothe voters for approval rather than enactinga bill outright.

Referral: Sending or referring a bill or anothermatter to a committee or committees forconsideration and report.

Regular Session: The annual session of theLegislature convening on the secondMonday in January and continuing throughadjournment sine die. Each electedLegislature has two regular sessions: theregular session following the generalelection (convening in odd-numbered years)is designated the “First Regular Session,” andthe regular session convening in even-numbered years is designated the “SecondRegular Session.”

Relief of Named Claimants Bill: A bill appropriatingmoney to reimburse identified persons andbusinesses who have monetary claimsagainst the state.

Repeal: To rescind or revoke a law by legislativeaction.

Report: The presentation by a committee on ameasure or another matter that was referred

to the committee for action.

Research Analyst: The professional research staffperson who is employed by the Legislature,is assigned to a standing committee andprovides research support and analysis tothe committee.

Resolution: A legislative measure containing adeclaration or expression of opinion, will,intent or “resolve” in matters within theLegislature’s legal purview. A resolution isalso used to commemorate the death ofprominent public figures. A resolution maybe “simple” (considered by only one house),“concurrent” (considered by both houses)or “joint” (considered by both houses andsigned by the Governor).

Revenue Bond: A certificate of governmentindebtedness on which the principal andinterest are to be paid solely from moneygenerated by the project they finance or fromsome dedicated “stream” of governmentrevenue. See General Obligation Bond.

Roll Call: The method of recording attendance at afloor session. Roll calls on the floors of eachhouse are normally conducted electronically.

Roll Call Vote: The method of formally countingand recording the votes of individuallegislators on a motion. Roll call votes onthe floors of each house are normallyconducted electronically.

Rules: See Administrative Rules, Legislative Rules.

Rules Attorney: A staff attorney employed to advisethe House or Senate Rules Committee andother members of the body regardingconstitutional and format issues ofintroduced bills, resolutions and memorialsas well as questions regarding House orSenate Rules.

Rules Committee: A standing committee in eachhouse assigned specifically to consider eachbill, resolution and memorial forconstitutional and format issues before the



measure is considered on the floor by thewhole house.

SSaving Clause: A provision in a bill to preserve rights

and duties that have already matured andproceedings that have already begun beforethe new legislation takes effect. It is also usedto make special allowance for persons orgroups that were involved in a regulatedactivity before the enactment of newlegislation. Sometimes called a “grandfather”clause.

Second Reading: The second of the three formalreadings of a measure introduced in eachhouse required by the Constitution ofArizona. In the Senate the measure isassigned to one or more committees atsecond reading.

Secretary of the Senate: The chief administrativeofficer of the Senate who is responsible forkeeping records of the proceedings of theSenate, preparing and distributing calendarsand other official agenda of the Senate andtransmitting legislation and officialcorrespondence from the Senate to the Houseof Representatives, the Secretary of State andthe Governor.

Seniority: Length of service in the House ofRepresentatives, the Senate or the Legislaturecollectively. It has little official significancebut is an informal means of recognizing priorlegislative experience by affording personalprerogatives and other deferences.

Sergeant at Arms: A nonlegislator selected in eachhouse to maintain order in the chamberunder the direction of the President orSpeaker.

Session: A meeting of the Legislature or the periodbetween convening and adjournment sinedie during which the Legislature conductsmeetings to enact laws. See Regular Session,Special Session.

Session Laws: (1) All enactments of a legislativesession. (2) Uncodified laws of anexplanatory or temporary nature.

Severability: The legal principle that if a court findsa provision of an act or law to be invalid,the invalid provision will be severed out sothat it does not affect the other provisionsof the act that can continue to be given effectwithout the invalid provision. Severabilityclauses occasionally appear in bills toremind courts of this principle.

Short Title: See Reference Title.

Simple Conference Committee: A conferencecommittee that may only address in its reportthe points of disagreement between the Senateand House and cannot include any newmatter in the report. See ConferenceCommittee, Free Conference Committee.

Simple Memorial: See Memorial.

Simple Resolution: See Resolution.

Sine Die: See Adjournment.

Sit COW: Legislative slang for “sitting as in committeeof the whole.”

Sitting as in Committee of The Whole: A proceedingby which a house may conduct business asif it were in Committee of the Whole.Typically used to adopt minor technicalcorrections to bills that have already passedout of Committee of the Whole.

Speaker: The presiding officer of the House ofRepresentatives, elected by its members.

Special Law: A law of local or limited application.The State Constitution prohibits special laws(1) on several topics and (2) when a law ofgeneral application can be enacted. See ArticleIV, part 2, § 19, Constitution of Arizona.

Special Session: A meeting of the Legislature calledby the Governor. A special session may becalled on the Governor’s initiative, in which

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case the Legislature may consider onlysubjects and issues that the Governorspecifies. The Governor must also call aspecial session on receiving a petition of atleast 2/3 of the members of each house of theLegislature, in which case the subjects thatthe Legislature can consider are not limited.There is no limit on the duration of a specialsession.

Sponsor: The legislator, legislators or standingcommittee that authors or agrees tointroduce a measure. The sponsor’s name isprinted on the front page of the measure.

Standing Committee: A permanent committee that isestablished by the rules of each house of theLegislature to which legislative measures areassigned for consideration.

Statute: A law enacted by the Legislature and codifiedin the Arizona Revised Statutes.

Statutory Committee: A permanent committee of theLegislature that is established by a statute.

Strike Everything Amendment: An amendment to abill that begins “Strike everything after theenacting clause and insert:”. A strikeeverything amendment proposes a newversion of the bill, sometimes changing thenature of the bill completely, by replacingthe provisions previously introduced oradopted.

Striker: See Strike Everything Amendment.

Subcommittee: A subordinate committee composedof members of the full committee appointedby the chair of the full committee. Asubcommittee considers a narrower rangeof topics than the full committee, usuallyonly one bill, and makes recommendationsto the full committee.

Substitution of Bills: A shortcut to enactment in whichtwo identical bills are considered by bothhouses. Then in Committee of the Wholeof one of the houses the bill that has passed

the other house is substituted for the identicalbill under consideration on the floor and,assuming it passes, thereby avoids havingto go through the committees and caucusesof the second house that had alreadyconsidered the original identical bill.

Sunrise: The statutory legislative process ofevaluating the desirability of new orincreased regulation of a health-relatedprofession. See A.R.S. Title 32, chapter 31.

Sunset: The automatic termination of an agency orprogram on a specific date, requiringreevaluation and reauthorization by theLegislature for the agency or program tocontinue.

Supermajority: A roll call vote of the Legislature thatrequires more than a simple majority forpassage, typically 2/3 or ¾ of the members.

Supplemental Appropriation: An act appropriatingmonies in addition to those alreadyappropriated for the fiscal year by the generalappropriations bill to cover deficiencies orunexpected needs.

TTechnical Amendment: An amendment of law that

has no substantive effect but is intended onlyto correct some technical flaw, such as badgrammar, an incorrect cross-reference or anobsolete provision or to combine multipleversions of a statute.

Teleconference: A meeting or hearing taking place attwo or more locations linked bytelecommunication facilities and equipment.Teleconference may be by audiotransmission or by both audio and videotransmission.

Third Reading: The third formal reading of a measureon the floor of the House or Senate, takenafter all committee work on the measure iscompleted and all adopted amendments have



been engrossed. On third reading the entirechamber votes on the measure by roll call.Amendments and debate are not allowed onthird reading, although members are allowedto persuasively explain their votes. If passedon third reading, the measure is transmittedto the other house for further action.

Title: (1) The formal listing of the contents anddescription of the subject of a bill, resolutionor memorial. The title is a constitutionalrequirement of every measure and hassignificant legal effect. See Reference Title. (2)The primary subunit of Arizona RevisedStatutes.

UUnanimous Consent Calendar: See Consent Calendar.

VVehicle; Vehicle Bill: Legislative slang for a bill,

memorial or resolution that is introducedin a form that is acknowledged, informally,to be incomplete. Vehicle bills are frequentlyused when legislative deadlines compel theintroduction of legislation before thesponsor has fully developed all of themeasure’s details or when interested partiesare continuing to negotiate and discuss theconcepts and details of the legislation at thetime it must be introduced. The vehicle thenbecomes a “placeholder” into which the finalprovisions will be amended.

Veto: An official act of the Governor disapproving abill passed by the Legislature and nullifyingthe bill unless the Legislature subsequentlyoverrides the veto.

Vice-chair; Vice Chairman; Vice-chairperson: Acommittee member chosen by the Speakeror President to preside over the committeein the chair’s absence.

Voice Vote: An oral vote on a motion decided by theapparent number of voices calling “aye”compared to those calling “no” or “nay.” SeeDivision, Roll Call Vote.

WWhip: An assistant to the majority or minority

leader. Duties may include marshaling partymembers in support of party strategy,managing floor action for a political caucusand presiding over meetings of the caucus.The term derives from the British fox huntingterm “whipper-in” that describes the personresponsible for keeping the foxhounds fromleaving the pack.

YYield: In debate, the relinquishing of the floor to

another member to speak or ask a question.

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Documents

ARIZONA LEGISLATIVE MANUALThe Arizona Legislative Manual is the product of several members of the Arizona Legislative Council staff with the helpful input and support of several other