Gov. Doug Ducey
By Camryn Sanchez and Jakob Thorington || Arizona Capitol Times
Gov. Doug Ducey said that even though he promised to call a special session, he’s not sure if he has support for it. Lawmakers say that’s not the case.
“I will just be clear that the governor knows there are votes for both of those things,” Sen. Tyler Pace, R-Mesa, said, referring to a special session to address the K-12 aggregate expenditure limit (AEL) and the extension of the Proposition 400 Maricopa County transportation tax.
But Ducey’s spokesperson CJ Karamargin said on Dec. 12, “We are talking with lawmakers. That’s all I can say.”
Ducey told KTAR’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Dec. 14 that, “it’s on [House and Senate] leadership to tell us we have the votes. And what we’re getting right now is a lot of ‘yes if’ and ‘yes and. … What we want to hear is 31 and 16 yeses. That’s how you get to a special session. So, that’s on the Legislature.”
Ducey acknowledged that he promised the Democrats in the Legislature that he would hold a special session to address the aggregate expenditure limit for public schools in exchange for their support on a bipartisan budget. He has a matter of weeks left in his term to call that special session.
Ducey said that he’s considering holding a session that addresses other topics, too, and several legislators have their own particular requests.
House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, on Dec. 14 confirmed several of the items Republicans want to address, including critical race theory and Proposition 400. He said he hopes to override the aggregate expenditure limit if a special session is called and is tired of election conspiracies being floated by other Republicans.
