Democrats A No-Show, Deny House A Budget Vote, Senate Working Through Night

Senate worked until 2:30 a.m. to pass the 11 budget bills

June 23, 2021 Staff Reporter
Democrats in the Arizona House failed to show up on Tuesday, preventing a vote on the budget.

On Tuesday, Arizona House Democrats failed to show up for work, denying the Republicans a quorum and an opportunity to pass a budget.

House Republicans, under the leadership of embattled Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers, were forced to adjourn until Thursday.

Prior to adjourning for the day, Bowers blasted Democrats.

“It may really be tough,” said Bowers, “but could we contemplate growing up and shouldering the responsibility together, and think of together more than individual and pass a budget?”

For weeks, some Republicans had expected the Democrats to prevent the budget’s passage by denying the Republicans a quorum. However, Democrats say it was the last minute amendments added by Republicans that prompted them to cause the delay.

The Senate, under the leadership of Senate President Karen Fann, continued working through the night to pass multiple budget bills. At approximately 8:30 p.m., the Senate passed the primary budget bill and worked until 2:30 a.m. to pass all of the 11 budget bills including the tax cut.

Rep. Jake Hoffman accused the House Democrats of abandoning “their jobs in an attempt to cause a government shutdown and prevent the House from doing the business of the people of Arizona.”

“House Democrats are denying low-income and middle class Arizonans critically important financial relief as we recover from the devastation of COVID,” said Hoffman. “Democrats’ attempt to shutdown the state of Arizona a disgusting new tactic designed to hurt the people of our state for their own partisan gain.”

Hoffman called for the absent members to have their “pay cut off immediately. Period.”


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