The only thing standing in the way of a seven-member state Supreme Court is Gov. Doug Ducey’s signature.

On a party-line vote, the state Senate approved a measure adding two justices to the state's high court. But the move came over objections of Democrats like Steve Farley. “This is the executive making a power grab over the judiciary,” he said.

Farley argued five justices were plenty and making it seven is a purely political move by a GOP-dominated state leadership.

But Republican John Kavanagh gave the example of Vermont, with a tenth of Arizona’s population, which also has a five-justice court. “To be on the same level as Vermont we actually have to add 43 more justices," he said. "But we're only going to add two.”

Rep. J.D. Mesnard said he believes a larger state high court is appropriate. But conceded that separating politics from policy is impossible with a Republican Governor in Doug Ducey-- “There's always going to be a political consideration. And if there were a Democrat on the ninth floor, that would be a political consideration that I would take into account.”

The bill now sits on Ducey’s desk, and the Governor has acknowledged there will be a cost to expanding the court-- perhaps $1 million a year.