By Arren Kimbel-Sannit and Julia Shumway | Arizona Capitol Times
Lawmakers and staff are preparing for multiple special legislative sessions to address COVID-19 and economic recovery.While the Capitol has been treating at least one special session as something of an inevitability for weeks, the Senate’s abrupt adjournment on May 26 has hastened that fact. The chamber finished its labors without debating a pair of COVID bills that originated in the House, effectively adding them to the agenda for a forthcoming special session.
Legislators are shifting their focus to those sessions, where they can “address economic stimulus and recovery initiatives, liability concerns, meet the health and human services needs of the state and other legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, said upon adjournment May 26.
Gov. Doug Ducey has committed to calling lawmakers back for two special sessions, one on economic issues and one to address the budget, Fann said. She said she expects at least one to be held in the next 30 days.
