Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services

Karen Fann in 2019.

Arizona senators are pulling the plug on the 2020 legislative session, but Republican lawmakers in the House refuse to do the same.

The Senate’s move, announced Thursday morning by Senate President Karen Fann, comes more than a month since lawmakers recessed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with hopes at that time of returning to act on unfinished business once the pandemic had passed.

But the virus has proved more long-lasting than planned, and at least one state lawmaker has become infected.

"There is a strong consensus that this is the right thing to do,'' said Fann (R-Prescott) in a statement. "Recognizing that the health of Arizona citizens and our economic recovery are our highest priority, we are setting aside any legislative business that does not directly support this mission.''

But at a state Capitol ruled by GOP majorities in both chambers, what truly matters to leadership is what a majority of Republicans want to do.

In the Senate, most, but not all, GOP senators support adjourning, according to Senate leaders.

The same may not be true in the House, where Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, backed off plans to return to the Capitol on Friday afternoon. 

“Members of the House Republican Caucus believe that there is important work for us to do on behalf of the people of Arizona,” Bowers said in a statement late Thursday. “We intend to remain in session and, together with the Senate and Governor, work in support of the safe and expeditious reopening of our society, our economy, and protection of our state's small businesses and communities.”

It’s rare for one chamber to adjourn a legislative session without agreement from the other. But in a memo to senators and staff late Thursday, Fann said she’s moving forward to adjourn.

And it’s the second time Bowers has buckled when facing a revolt from his own Republican caucus.

Leaders in both chambers had agreed to end the session on May 1, only to backtrack after objections from several Republican legislators who wanted to finish action on what they said were priority issues that will now be left for dead.

These range from changes in election laws and regulation of vacation rentals to higher gasoline taxes and banning transgender females from participating in high school and college sports.

Adjourning also means the death of several tax-cut proposals, including one by Gov. Doug Ducey to eliminate income taxes on military pensions.

"We know there is much work to be done,'' but Arizona now has other priorities, Fann said. 

"We will now turn our attention to addressing the most pressing issues facing the state and our citizens including Arizona's economic recovery, stabilizing our healthcare system, liability impacts on small businesses and other COVID-19-related issues,'' she said.

The Legislature has completed the only thing it is legally required to do: adopt a budget for the coming fiscal year.

But it’s only an $11.8 billion "baseline'' spending plan to continue all agencies with adjustments for growth and population. Lawmakers did add an additional $105 million before packing up in March in direct funds for the Department of Health Services to deal with the virus as well as for aid to renters, the homeless and small business.

But fiscal questions remain, including how much the pandemic will affect state revenue. Legislative budget staffers said it could slash tax collections by as little as $600 million or as much as $1.6 billion.

At the same time, the state is likely to incur more expenses as more people qualify for programs like Medicaid.

The unemployment situation — more than 500,000 have lost jobs since the outbreak and the restrictions imposed by the governor — does not affect state spending. The cost of state-provided benefits is borne by a tax on employers; an additional $600 a week approved by Congress is funded from Washington.

Finally ending the session does have one immediate benefit for lawmakers looking for another term. Arizona law prohibits legislators from raising money from lobbyists during the legislative session. This is an election year. That prohibition goes away Friday, providing time for seeking donations before the Aug. 3 primary.

Ending the formal session also means no more daily living allowance. With the session only in recess, all 90 of them have been entitled to collect their daily allowance seven days a week even though there have been no sessions since March 23. That amounts to $35 a day for lawmakers from Maricopa County and $60 a day for out-county legislators.

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