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Senate approves emergency appropriation to nuclear emergency fund after member warns against emergency clause
Summary
The Senate passed an appropriation affecting the nuclear emergency management fund with an emergency clause; one senator said the emergency clause limits public recourse and explained her no vote. The roll-call was 26 ayes, 4 nays.
The Arizona Senate approved an appropriations measure affecting the nuclear emergency management fund with an emergency clause after on-floor objections to the clause.
Senate Bill 10o9, described on the floor as an appropriation making assessments relating to the nuclear emergency management fund, was passed with the emergency clause by a recorded vote of 26 ayes and 4 nays. Floor leaders announced the measure will be transmitted to the House.
Senator Gonzalez offered a floor explanation for her no vote, saying she supported the bill’s subject but opposed attaching an emergency clause. “When we put emergency clauses on any bill ... the public does not have any recourse to run an initiative if they don't like what we do here,” she said, adding that an emergency clause short-circuits normal public participation and limits time for public consideration. The presiding officer noted the measure required a two-thirds vote for passage with an emergency clause; the recorded roll-call met that threshold.
The transcript does not include the bill's full text or an on-floor amendment addressing the emergency clause; supporters successfully carried the measure with the clause in place. The bill will proceed to the Arizona House.
