Arizona House Democrats Stay Away To Deny GOP Quorum In Budget Protest – By Amanda Terkel (Huffpost) / June 22 2021
Democrats in the Arizona House refused to show up to the floor on Tuesday to deny the GOP quorum to move forward on its budget proposal.
Every single Democratic lawmaker in the Arizona House refused to show up for legislative business on Tuesday, preventing their GOP colleagues from moving forward on a budget that includes a $1.7 billion tax cut that would mainly benefit the wealthy.
The Arizona Legislature is furiously working to pass a budget by June 30 to avoid a government shutdown. Democrats say that Republicans, who hold the majority, are trying to quickly push through the package without their input and without enough public debate. Feeling like they were left with no other good options, Democratic members didn’t come to the floor Tuesday, denying Republican leaders a quorum to proceed.
The move was reminiscent of a recent battle in Texas, where Democratic legislators staged a dramatic walkout last month to block a bill restricting voting rights.
The Arizona House requires 31 members for a quorum, and Republicans have exactly 31 members of their caucus, but several of them were not in Phoenix on Tuesday. Democrats have 29 members.
