Arizona Education Network

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2010 Legislative Sessions: Education Funding Voting Record by Legislator
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You can find your legislative district by visiting here or Votesmart.org.
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You can visit our 2009 Voter Record here.
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Legislative Districts are grouped by color for visual differentiation only.
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Scroll to the bottom of the page for our methodology and a listing of bills, including links to summaries and voting details.

As with our 2009 Education Funding Voting Record by Legislator, AEN compiled a summary of all legislators’ voting records pertaining to their support of public education at all levels (K-University) during the 2010 regular and special sessions.  Analyzing all the bills that passed Legislature and sent onto the Governor’s office, AEN identified five (5) pieces of legislation that dealt directly with public education budgets and the dollars allocated to it.   AEN totaled each legislator’s votes “FOR” and “AGAINST” public education funding.  AEN also tallied the number of times a legislator did NOT vote on the legislation pertaining to public education budgets. In our state, which is ranked next to last in education funding nationwide,  AEN defines a vote to protect dollars allocated to public education as a vote “FOR” public education.    Conversely, AEN defines a vote to take budget dollars away from public education as a vote “AGAINST” public education.

The summary is organized by district and then by legislative chamber:  Senate first, followed by the House of Representatives.  The first set of numbers following a legislator’s name provides the percentage of times the legislator voted “FOR” and “AGAINST” public education, as well as the percentages of times that legislator did NOT vote on the legislation.  This percentage was derived using the total number of bills on which the legislator could have voted.

The second set of numbers for each legislator shows the percentage of times he or she voted “FOR” and “AGAINST” public education, adjusted for the number of public education votes missed.  In some cases, adjusting for the number of missed votes resulted in a significant change in a legislator’s numbers.
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For a listing of non-funding bills from the 2010 sessions that related to education reform, accountability, and personnel changes/mandates, visit 2010 Second Regular Session Education Accountability Bills (PDF)..
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Links to Individual Legislative Summaries (PDF Format)
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Second Regular Session
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Second Regular Session SB1284: School Finance Revision
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Second Regular Session HB 2128: Omnibus; JTEDs
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Second Regular Session HB 2664: STOs; Tax Credit Requirements*
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Second Regular Session SB 1274: STOs; Contribution Date*
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*NOTE: These pieces of legislation do not directly reduce funding allocated to public education and have not been included in the voting record.  However, they increased the ability and extended the deadline for Arizonans to make tax credit donations to benefit private education.   These tax credit donations are monies that would otherwise be added to the state’s general fund, increasing the resources available to balance the budget and lessening the need to cut public education and other general welfare expenditures.
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Sixth Special Session
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Sixth Special Session SCR 1001: Temporary Sales Tax Referral *
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*NOTE: SCR 1001 was legislation that referred Proposition 100 – the temporary sales tax increase–to voters on May 18, 2010.  AEN did not count the vote to refer Prop. 100 to the ballot as a vote “For” or “Against” education related funding.  The fiscal impact to public education was wholly dependent upon the passage or failure of the measure by Arizona voters at the voting booth.  Furthermore, the fiscal impact was unclear until the Seventh Special Session when the budget appropriations and contingency for the passage or failure of Prop. 100 was identified.
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Click “Senate ” and/or ”House” to see how your legislator(s) voted on this referral.

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Seventh Special Session
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Three (3) of the five (5) bills in the 2010 Legislative Education Funding Voting Record are from the Seventh Special Session, when the legislature voted on and passed the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 budgets.  This particular budget had two sets of budget reductions for K-12, community colleges and universities, both of which were dependent upon the success or failure of Prop. 100.  Even though voters passed Prop. 100 in the May 18, 2010 special election, the K-12, community college, and university budgets were still cut, however not as severely as if it had failed.
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Seventh Special Session HB 2001: General Appropriations; 2009-2010; 2010-2011
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Seventh Special Session HB 2008: K-12 Education; Budget Reconciliation; 2010-2011
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Seventh Special Session HB 2009: Higher Education; Budget Reconciliation; 2010-2011
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Seventh Special Session HCR 2001: Early Childhood Development; Health; Repeal *
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*NOTE:  In 2006, voters passed First Things First, approving an 80-cent per pack tobacco tax to pay for early childhood programs such as quality childcare, preventative health care and parenting classes–programs which provide infants and toddlers with a solid foundation to succeed in school.  HCR 2001 referred Prop. 302 to the Nov. 2, 2010 ballot, which if passed will repeal First Things First (FTF). This referendum will not only repeal the program but will redirect $324 million in reserve funds to the state general fund and redirect future tobacco tax revenues to the state general fund.
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Like SCR 1001 (Temporary Sales Tax Referral), AEN did not include the vote on HCR 2001 as a vote ”For” or “Against” education-related funding.  The fiscal impact to FTF is wholly dependent upon the passage or failure of the measure by Arizona voters at the voting booth, Nov. 2, 2010.
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Click ”Senate” and/or “House” to see how your legislator(s) voted on this referral.