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2021 Arizona legislative session

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2021 Arizona legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 11, 2021

Session end:    June 30, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Karen Fann (R)

House Speaker
Russell Bowers (R)
Majority Leader
Senate: Rick Gray (R)
House: Ben Toma (R)
Minority Leader
Senate: Rebecca Rios (D)
House: Reginald Bolding (D)

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions


In 2021, the Arizona State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 11, 2021, and adjourn on June 30, 2021.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 16-14 majority in the Senate and a 31-29 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, Arizona was one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

Redistricting is the process by which states draw new Congressional and state legislative districts following the U.S. Census. Officials sent data from the 2020 U.S. Census to states in early 2021 to begin the process of redistricting. As of the 2020 census, Arizona was one of four states where an independent commission was responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a majority in the Arizona state House and state Senate.
  • Arizona was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas.
  • Arizona's governor was Republican Doug Ducey.

    • Leadership in 2021

    Arizona State Senate

    Arizona House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    Arizona was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2021 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Arizona was also one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Arizona State Legislature in the 2021 legislative session.

    Arizona State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 14
         Republican Party 16
    Total 30

    Arizona House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 29
         Republican Party 31
    Total 60

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in Arizona after the 2020 census

    Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in Arizona after the 2020 census, click here.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Arizona state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session, there were 48 standing committees in Arizona's state government, including 16 joint legislative committees, 15 state Senate committees, and 17 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees

    Senate committees

    House committees

    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Arizona Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article 21 of the Arizona Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Arizona

    The Arizona Constitution provides for three methods of amending the Arizona Constitution—a citizen-initiated process, a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Arizona requires a simple majority to approve constitutional amendments. Arizona requires a 60% vote to pass ballot measures to approve taxes.

    Initiative

    See also: Initiated constitutional amendment

    Article 21, citizens have the power to initiate constitutional amendments in Arizona. An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

    In Arizona, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 15 percent of votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Petitions can be circulated for up to 24 months. Signatures must be submitted four months prior to the election at which the measure is to appear. A simple majority is required for voter approval. Arizona requires a 60% vote to pass ballot measures to approve taxes.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    According to Article XVI, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Arizona State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 31 votes in the Arizona House of Representatives and 16 votes in the Arizona State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Section 2 of Article XXI of the Arizona Constitution, the state legislature can only call for a convention if it is approved by the electorate in a statewide vote. Any amendments, revisions, or proposals of the Constitution require a simple majority vote by the electorate.



    Historical context: A total of 168 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Arizona from 1985 to 2020.

    • From 1985 to 2020, the number of measures on statewide ballots ranged from two to 19.
    • From 1985 to 2020, an average of nine measures appeared on the ballot in Arizona during even-numbered election years. The median number of measures was 8.5.
    • From 1985 to 2020, 53 percent (89 of 168) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots during even-numbered years were approved, and 47 percent (79 of 168) were defeated.
    Ballot measures in Arizona, 1985-2020
    Type Total number Approved Percent approved Defeated Percent defeated Average Median Minimum Maximum
    All measures 168 89 53.0% 79 47.0% 9.3 8.5 2 19
    Initiated statues and amendments 62 33 53.2% 24 46.8% 3.4 2.5 0 10


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Arizona.

    Arizona Party Control: 1992-2025
    No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-two years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D
    Senate R R R R R R R R R S S R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    Historical Senate control

    Since Arizona achieved statehood in 1912 to 1966, the state Senate was controlled by Democrats after nearly every election. However, starting in 1966 Republicans began winning narrow majorities in the chamber, ceding control back to Democrats in just three elections: 1974, 1976, and 1990. The table below shows the partisan history of the Arizona Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Arizona State Senate election results: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 12 11 12 14 15* 13 12 13 12 9 13 13 13 13 14
    Republicans 18 19 18 16 15* 17 18 17 18 21 17 17 17 17 16
    * The 15-15 split led to a power-sharing agreement between the parties.

    From 1992 to 2020, Republicans held control of the chamber after all elections except one, but elections were competitive as they rarely controlled more than 18 of the chamber's 30 seats. Throughout the period, Republicans usually controlled between 16 and 20 seats, while Democrats controlled between 11 and 14 seats. Democrats won 15 seats in 2000, forcing a power-sharing agreement between the parties where a Republican served as Senate president while Democrats controlled key committees.[1]

    Like the Arizona House, the party margins in the Senate were mostly consistent and nonreactive to national trends in the early 21st century. Despite national Democratic gains in 2006 and 2008, Arizona Democrats did not win more than 13 seats in either election and even lost a seat in 2008. The 2010 election was an exception as Senate Republicans won a 21-seat majority, their largest ever in the chamber. However, Democrats won 13 seats in 2012 and retained them in 2014, 2016, and 2018. In 2020, Democrats gained one more seat for a total of 14.

    Historical House control

    Since Arizona achieved statehood in 1912 to 2020, the state House was controlled by each party for long periods of time. From 1912 to 1966, Democrats controlled the chamber, often winning majorities that controlled more than 50 of the chamber's 60 seats. However, in 1966 the Democrats lost the majority and, as of 2020, had not won it back. The table below shows the partisan history of the Arizona House following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Arizona House of Representatives election results: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 25 22 22 20 24 21 22 27 25 20 24 22 25 29 29
    Republicans 35 38 38 40 36 39 38 33 35 40 36 38 35 31 31

    From 1992 to 2020, Republicans won majorities, with Democrats usually holding enough seats to control at least one-third of the chamber and be within striking range of a majority in the next election cycle. Throughout the period, each party fluctuated in a range of nine seats, with Republicans holding between 31 and 40 and Democrats holding between 20 and 29. Republicans won the 40 seats required for a two-thirds supermajority just twice, and Democrats never won enough seats to take control of the chamber.

    A major theme of partisan majorities in the Arizona House from 1992 to 2020 was consistency, even in the face of national trends. Despite a national push toward the Democratic Party in 2006 and 2008, Arizona Democrats did not occupy more than 27 seats. On the other hand, in 2010—a year when Republicans did well nationally—Arizona Republicans reached the 40-seat mark, giving them control of two-thirds of the chamber. However, their gains receded in the following election and they did not eclipse the 40-seat mark.

    See also

    Elections Arizona State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Governing.com, "Randall Gnat: Mushroom Power," January 2001
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