By Carmen Forman | Arizona Capitol Times
Lawmakers were taken by surprise when Gov. Doug Ducey kicked off the legislative session with an announcement that the state had regained ownership of some state buildings sold during a tough financial situation in 2010.
Some state lawmakers don’t want to be surprised again.
Rep. Anthony Kern introduced a bill to require legislative review of any plans to refinance state debt involving the deals lawmakers, under Gov. Jan Brewer, made to sell off, but lease back a slew of state buildings — including the House, Senate and Executive Tower.
Arizona lawmakers were unaware Ducey’s office worked behind the scenes with the Arizona Department of Administration to refinance the debt the state took on when agreeing to the 2010 “lease-back” agreements.
