Arizona House speaker no longer Mr. Nice Guy
Republicans are king of the hill at the Arizona House of Representatives with a 35-25 edge over Democrats. And it looks like they’ve had enough of those pesky folks from the other side. Facing rank-and-file pushback, House Speaker J.D. Mesnard is no longer Mr. Nice Guy. Now, the minority party must work a lot harder to get its bills considered.
Democrats must now secure the support of half of the GOP caucus to bring their legislative proposals to a vote, according to a story by Arizona Republic reporter Mary Jo Pitzl.
Mesnard’s cordial atmosphere allowing Democratic-sponsored bills was a positive departure from previous leaders. It’s too bad Mesnard, a Chandler Republican, feels the need to go back to a purely meanspirited, partisan governing style.
Legislative proposals aren’t automatically good or bad based on the sponsors’ political affiliations. Being king of the hill has perks, such as blocking bills of the opposing party. But is that the best approach to civic discourse? Is that the best we can do to improve our state?
Partisan politics is nothing new, but it’s disheartening to see the continued pettiness that often stifles serious discussion about public policy.
Among the Democratic-sponsored bills approved in the House include House Bill 2082, requiring school districts and charter schools at least 50 minutes of unstructured recess, and HB 2321, which prohibits homeowners associations from using cumulative voting.
In the Senate, which has a 17-13 split, the types of Democratic bills moving this year include SB 1421, designed to prevent unqualified public notaries from providing legal advice. It’s targeting the so-called notarios fraud among Spanish-speaking folks, who often confuse them with lawyers.
Democratic Sen. Martin Quezada has unsuccessfully tried to get this legislation approved in the past. God forbid such bills were to become law, right?
The continued partisanship discourages Arizonans from staying with a political party. It explains in a way the increased number of registered independents, now 1.24 million of the state’s 3.6 million registered voters. There are 1.25 million registered Republicans and 1.1 million Democrats, according to the secretary of state.
Instead of partisan pettiness, our lawmakers should be debating how to improve the state’s economy, how to create jobs and how to deal with 400,000 Arizonans who stand to lose health insurance under the dismantling of “Obamacare.”
Elvia Díaz is an editorial columnist for The Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or elvia.diaz@arizona republic.com. Follow her on Twitter, @elviadiaz1.