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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
EXCEPTIONAL SESSION
MERITS THANKS
The recent Legislative session was exceptional in several ways:
· Support for higher education was evident from the onset
· Support for the College of Medicine in Phoenix - including
funding for an increase in students, the start-up of Pharmacy
and Telemedicine and planning for the proposed expansion to 150
students - was widespread
· Support for funding for higher education enrollment increases
was accepted
· Support for reasonable salary increases for state employees
was a given
· Resolution of legislative concerns was done by communication,
not legislation, with university representatives and
· Differences in budgeting philosophy were resolved in
bipartisan, good-faith discussions to the greatest extent possible.
An altered party split in both Houses provided the backdrop against
which these attitudes were played out.
The result was an exciting year for higher education, with most
of the universities' important issues and needs funded at requested
levels.
This success was due to continued strong support from Governor
Napolitano, exceptional leadership from Senate President Tim Bee
and bipartisan support and good-faith cooperation from Senate
Majority Leader Marsha Arzberger. The steadfast support for the
College of Medicine in Phoenix by Senators Carolyn Allen and Tom
O'Halleran ensured the funding for the medical school would be
appropriated at the necessary level.
Some members of the Republican caucus (primarily in the House,
with a few members in the Senate) balked at the final product
- believing it lacked enough tax cuts - and the collaborative
process used to achieve agreement on the budget.
Those who took a strong stand supporting higher education - as
well as other growth issues - as a means to achieve a vision for
a stronger Arizona deserve our gratitude and a thank you, even
if just a brief note. The legislators named here earned your thanks.
In some circles, their efforts will be criticized. In some instances,
they'll be challenged in their next election.
At a minimum, please share your appreciation with the Governor,
Senate and House leadership and your legislators who supported
this visionary budget. Appreciation is also due the Senate and
House Higher Education Chairs who demonstrated strong support
for the universities throughout the session.
The following information is provided to assist you in calling
or e-mailing the legislators named here. Please call our office
if you have any questions at 602-212-1717.
Governor Janet Napolitano 602-542-4331 or 1-800-0883 governor.state.az.us
All legislators can
be reached from Tucson at 1-800-352-8404
Leadership
Senate President Tim Bee, [R] District 30 602-926-5683 tbee@azleg.gov
Senate Minority Leader Marsha Arzberger, [D] District 25 (602-926-4321)
marzberger@azleg.gov
Senate Majority Leader Thayer Verschoor, [R] District 22 (602-926-4136)
tverschoor@azleg.gov
Senate Majority Whip John Huppenthal, [R] District 20 (602-926-5261)
jhuppenthal@azleg.gov
Senate President Pro Temp Robert Blendu, [R] District 12 (602-926-5955)
rblendu@azleg.gov
Senate Assistant Minority Leader Jorge Luis Garcia, [D] District
27 (602-926-4171) jgarcia@azleg.gov
Senate Minority Whip Rebecca Rios, [D] District 23 (602-926-5685)
rrios@azleg.gov
House Speaker Jim Weiers, [R] District 10 (602-926-4173) jweiers@azleg.gov
House Minority Leader Phil Lopes, [D] District 27 (602-926-3278)
plopes@azleg.gov
House Majority Leader Tom Boone, [R] District 4 (602-926-3297)
tboone@azleg.gov
House Majority Whip John McComish, [R] District 20 (602-926-5898)
jmccomish@azleg.gov
House Speaker Pro Temp Bob Robson, [R] District 20 (602-926-5549)
brobson@azleg.gov
House Assistant Minority Leader Jack Brown, [D] District 5 (602-926-4129)
jbrown@azleg.gov
House Minority Whip Steve Gallardo, [D] District 13 (602-926-3392)
sgallardo@azleg.gov
Senate Higher Ed Chair Tom O'Halleran, [R ] District 1 (602-926-5584)
tohaller@azleg.gov
House Higher Ed Chair Jennifer Burns, [R] District 25 (602-926-5836)
jburns@azleg.gov
Senate Health Chair Carolyn Allen, [R] District 8 (602-926-4480)
callen@azleg.gov
The following members of the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives
also voted in support of this year's budget. They deserve our
appreciation as well.
Senate
Paula Aboud, [D] District 28 (602-926-5262) paboud@azleg.gov
Amanda Aguirre, [D] District 24 (602-926-4139) aaguirre@azleg.gov
Bob Burns, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair, [R] District
9 (602-926-5993) rburns@azleg.gov
Ken Cheuvront, [D] District15 (602-926-5325) kcheuvront@azleg.gov
Jake Flake, [R] District 5 (602-926-5219) jflake@azleg.gov
*Pamela Gorman, [R] District 6 (602-926-5284) pgorman@azleg.gov
*Chuck Gray, [R] District 19 (602-926-5288) cgray@azleg.gov
Linda Gray, [R] District 10 (602-926-3376) lgray@azleg.gov
Albert Hale, [D] District 2 (602-926-4323) ahale@azleg.gov
Leah Landrum Taylor, [D] District 16 (602-926-3830) llandrumtaylor@azleg.gov
Barbara Leff, [R] District 11 (602-926-4486) bleff@azleg.gov
Debbie McCune Davis, [D] District 14 (602-926-4485) ddavis@azleg.gov
Richard Miranda, [D] District 13 (602-926-5911) rmiranda@azleg.gov
Charlene Pasquiera, [D] District 26 (602-926-4326) cpasquiera@azleg.gov
Victor Soltero, [R] District 29 (602-926-5342) vsoltero@azleg.govvsoltero@azleg.gov
*Jay Tibshraeny [R] District 21 (602-926-4481) jtibshraeny@azleg.gov
Jim Waring, [R] District 7 (602-926-4916) jwaring@azleg.gov
House
Ed Ableser, [D] District 17 (602-926-4118) eableser@azleg.gov
Manny Alvarez, [D] District 25 (602-926-5895) malvarez@azleg.gov
Mark Anderson, [R] District 18 (602-926-4467) manderson@azleg.gov
David Bradley, [D] District 28 (602-926-3300) dbradley@azleg.gov
Ollivia Cajero Bedford, [D] District 27 (602-926-5835) ocajerobedford@azleg.gov
*Judy Burges, [R] District 4 (602-926-5861) jburges@azleg.gov
Chad Campbell, [D] District 14 (602-926-3026) chcampbell@azleg.gov
Mark DeSimone, [D] District 11 (602-926-3037) mdesimone@azleg.gov
Steve Farley, [D] District 28 (602-926-3022) vsfarley@azleg.gov
Martha Garcia, [D] District 13 (602-926-5830) mgarcia@azleg.gov
Pete Hershberger, [R] District 26 (602-926-5839) phershberger@azleg.gov
Ann Kirkpatrick, [D] District 2 (602-926-5160) akirkpatrick@azleg.gov
Bill Konopnicki, [R] District 5 (602-926-5409) bkonopnicki@azleg.gov
Linda Lopez, [D] District 29 (602-926-4089) llopez@azleg.gov
David Lujan, [D] District 15 (602-926-5829) dlujan@azleg.gov
Marion McClure, [R] District 30 (602-926-3312) mmcclure@azleg.gov
Barbara McGuire, [D] District 23 (602-926-3012) bmcguire@azleg.gov
Robert Meza, [D] District 14 (602-926-3425) rmeza@azleg.gov
Ben Miranda, [D] District 16 (602-926-4893) bmiranda@azleg.gov
John Nelson, [R] District 12 (602-926-5872) jnelson@azleg.gov
*Warde Nichols, [R] District 21 (602-926-5168) wnichols@azleg.gov
Lynne Pancrazi, [D] District 24 (602-926-3004) lpancrazi@azleg.gov
Jonathan Paton, [R] District 30 (602-926-3235) jpaton@azleg.gov
*Russell Pearce, [R] District 18 (602-926-5760) rpearce@azleg.gov
Tom Prezelski, [D] District 29 (602-926-3424) tprezelski@azleg.gov
Michele Reagan, [R] District 8 (602-926-5828) mreagan@azleg.gov
Pete Rios, [D] District 23 (602-926-5761) prios@azleg.gov
Lena Saradnik, [D] District 26 (602-926-3398) lsaradnik@azleg.gov
David Schapira, [D] District 17 (602-926-3028) dschapira@azleg.gov
Kyrsten Sinema, [D] District 15 (602-926-5058) ksinema@azleg.gov
*Bob Stump, [R] District 9 (602-926-5413) bstump@azleg.gov
Jackie Thrasher, [D] District 10 (602-926-3024) jthrasher@azleg.gov
*Andrew Tobin, [R] District 1 (602-926-5172) atobin@azleg.gov
Albert Tom, [D] District 2 (602-926-5862) atom@azleg.gov
Theresa Ulmer, [D] District 24 (602-926-3002) tulmer@azleg.gov
*Steve Yarbrough, [R] District 21 (602-926-5863) syarbrough@azleg.gov
*Voted for Higher Education bill only, not the Budget Bill which
appropriates the funds to the Universities.
Mailing
address for the Senate: Arizona
State Senate, 1700 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007-2890
Mailing address for the House: Arizona House of Representatives,
1700 W. Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007-2890
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