Mohave Today

Republican lawmakers in Arizona are preparing to flex their legislative muscle by submitting their own budget proposal by the end of the year.

Arguing the their power has been weakened over the years, GOP leaders from both the House and Senate have let it be known they plan to be direct and to the point in letting Gov. Doug Ducey know how the Legislature thinks he should make use of the hundreds of millions soon to be available to the state.

An estimated $170 in ongoing funds and $475 million in one-time appropriations is available.

“My hope is that by the end of the year we actually have a budget put together, that it will be in the governor’s hands and he’ll actually know what our House and Senate legislative body is looking at so we can be a little more cooperative,” Senate Majority Leader Rick Gray of Sun City told the Arizona Capital Times.

Those in the know insist the plan is a return to the old days when the Legislature more readily wielded its appropriations power and more forcefully fought for the spending priorities they believed in. Back then, appropriations subcommittees regularly held strategy sessions and hearings throughout the process.

In more recent times, those in the governor’s mansion have essentially had their way when it comes to the appropriations process.

Over the last six decades, the governor has been legally obligated to present a budget, though over the last 20 years, lawmakers have come to almost exclusively rely on the executive budget to frame debate.

The Arizona Capital Times reports that Democrat lawmakers say that haven't been involved in the budget planning much.

“It has been the typical way that we’ve seen the Legislature operate since forever, that the majority party is going behind closed doors and creating a budget they want,” Rep. Reginald Bolding of Laveen said. “If there’s an opportunity to pick at the margins, they’ll reach out to Democrats. But there’s been no type of collaboration.”