The 2009 Arizona Legislature adjourned its regular session on July 1, and sent its budget package to Governor Brewer. She promptly vetoed most of the budget bills, and applied line-item vetoes to a significant part of the general appropriations bill. She then called the Legislature into special session beginning July 6.

The special session ran for almost two months, with the Legislature sending Governor Brewer another budget package (very close to identical to the first one) in late August, and then adjourning at the end of August. Governor Brewer was allowed until September 5 to act on the budget package, and she signed some of it and vetoed some. The overall effect of all of this activity is that the state budget is still about $1 billion in the red, and the Governor could not get the Legislature to refer to the ballot her request for a temporary increase in the state sales tax.

For occupational therapy practitioners, the current situation, although untenable for the long term, is at least better than it could have been. The Governor’s vetoes have protected much of the budgets for K-12 education, DES and DHS for the time being. The industrial injury system should continue to function without significant change. And federal stimulus funds are being used to shore up gaps in AHCCCS, education and health care. The one negative impact is that on October 1 AHCCCS will implement an across-the-board 5% reduction.

For bills enacted in the regular session, the effective date is generally September 30, 2009. The Legislature enacted far fewer bills than normal, and there were only a couple of bills with significance for health care. The emergency room burden of proof bill (clear and convincing evidence) was finally passed and signed after several years of effort. Two bills were enacted allowing individuals and small businesses to purchase health insurance policies that are exempt from the standard mandatory coverage requirements. And the Legislature referred to the 2010 ballot a constitutional measure that protects health care choice, although with different language than the initiative that failed in 2008.