March 2 , 2009

I was remiss last week in not mentioning the District 3 Lincoln Day Dinner in Lake Havasu City.  Paul and I enjoyed a pleasant evening, good food, and an excellent speaker in Tom Liddy.  I understand that the live auction was very successful, even in these down times.

This past Saturday was District 2 (Kingman)'s turn.  The announced speaker was Gov. Jan Brewer, but a last minute change saw Secretary of State Ken Bennett filling in.  Mr. Bennett did yeoman's work in presenting a graphic display of where are tax dollars are spent within the Arizona budget and how we got to the drastic situation we are in today.  It's hard to describe his method, but he told us that there is already a scheduled taping of his program and they are figuring out how to get it into a format that can be shown to other groups.  I'll continue to follow up and get a copy that can be distributed to our various clubs and organizations.

Last week I made a reference to trying to chair a committee while being called away to present a bill in another committee.  Well, this Monday I had three bills being heard in three separate committees, with a full agenda in Banking & Insurance as well.  I managed to get to two for just a brief introduction of my bills, leaving others to go into more detail, and not staying for the committee vote.  B&I started promptly at 2:00 p.m. and adjourned at 6:15.  The Education Committee was still in session, so I went back to my office to await the hearing of my third bill of the day.  Its turn came at about 6:45, and I was able to leave the Capitol at 7:15 -- after starting the day with an 8:00 a.m. budget meeting.

Please understand that this is not a complaint; I'm just trying to convey what a day in the life of a legislator can be.  I'm happy to report that all three bills received a favorable vote.

Monday was the last meeting of B&I to hear House bills.  With the Senate's not hearing bills until the 2010 budget is passed, we may not meet again.  As I have previously reported, the House has heard bills in committee, but very few are coming to the floor for further action.  I suppose that leadership feels no urgency, since they will not go anywhere even if passed.  But there is growing concern that the Senate's plan will result in few, if any, bills being passed this year.  Now some would say that's probably a good thing, but each of us feels that our bills serve a worthwhile purpose and we want to see them go forward.  We that serve on the Appropriation Committees continue to review agency budgets and look for ways to curb spending.  But I cannot believe that we will have a balanced 2010 budget out any time soon.

And then, we're faced with the prospect of 2009 revenues continuing to come in short of projections.  It's a good bet that we'll be back in special session to make further adjustments to the current year.  Just another fun week at the Legislature!