After 166 Days, The Curtain Comes Down on Arizona’s 55th Legislature
The 2nd Regular Session of Arizona’s 55th Legislature concluded at 12:26 a.m. on Saturday, 6/25.
As is typical of the end of a Legislative session, a flurry of activity on a number of bills took place as each member tried to get their last few bills through the process before time ran out. A number of education-related bills were caught up in that process. We will round those up on Monday after the dust settles.
ESA Expansion Headed to the Governor’s Desk
One bill whose fate was closely minded was HB2853 Arizona empowerment scholarship accounts; appropriation (Toma). The bill was passed by the Senate Friday evening on a party line vote, meaning it heads to Gov. Ducey for signature. The key provision of the bill is a universal expansion of the ESA program to all students K-12, which would become effective on the general effective date, 90 days after the end of the session. There is no reason to believe the governor will not sign the bill.
Check Back Monday
After a marathon Legislative week, the ASBA GR team is going to take the weekend to recoup, but will be back on Monday with a recap of the last few bills and updated summaries. The governor will have ten days (not including Sundays) to act on all bills sent to him after the adjournment of the Legislature. Also stay tuned for the annual ASBA session-wrap webinar, which will be scheduled shortly after the bill-signing deadline. We will recap the budget and key bills passed this session.