Feb. 6, 2006
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0206az-nasty-session06-ON.html
Not this year.
Instead, the election-year 2006 session that began last month has been contentious from the outset, with front-loaded acrimony over controversial topics like improving programs for students learning the English language and illegal immigration.
Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano and majority Republicans have
gone head to head over how to comply with a federal court order on
the English Language Learning issue and over Napolitano's use of her
veto power on that issue and others.
Democratic lawmakers complain that Republicans are playing hardball
by deep-sixing even more of the minority's bills than usual.
Republicans accuse Napolitano of making an unconstitutional power
grab through a line-item veto of a provision in a pay raise bill.
"It's an armed camp," said Sen. Robert Cannell, a Yuma Democrat now
in his sixth year in the Legislature. "It's the most political
session I've seen."
Republican Gov. Jane Hull's final year in office saw her and the
Legislature frequently at odds, recalled Republican Sen. Dean Martin
of Phoenix.
"There was not a lot of love but that was nothing compared to what
we're seeing now," he said. "Normally it is not this antagonistic
this early."
Cannell said Republicans made "a really bad decision" early on to
include a private school tuition grant tax credit in the English
Language Learning legislation but Napolitano's use of her line-item
veto authority exacerbated the situation.
Martin said Napolitano appeared to go out of her way to antagonize
lawmakers with vetoes and other tactics to make no-cost campaign
points in the press but he acknowledged that Republicans have
hardball tactics of their own.
"This is by design, just as we pass up an immigration bill she's
going to veto," said Martin.
Whatever the outcome on the ELL issue, things may not cool down at
the Legislature because the budget will be divisive as Napolitano
and the 90 individual legislators all voice their own priorities for
spending the state's $1 billion budget surplus,
"There's 91 different positions," said Barry Aarons, a lobbyist who
served as Republican Gov. Fife Symington's chief liaison to the
Legislature.
On the bright side, lawmakers have a motive to end their session
sooner rather than later, Aarons said. "They all want to go home and
campaign."
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