AZ Democratic senator: 'We desperately need' bipartisan solutions for state's biggest issues
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The 2024 legislative session kicks off next week at the Arizona Capitol. Gov. Katie Hobbs will give her State of the State address on Monday and, from a budget shortfall to school vouchers to affordable housing, lawmakers have a lot on their minds.
Wednesday on The Show, we heard from Republican Sen. T.J. Shope (Coolidge), the Senate’s President Pro Tempore, about his priorities for the coming year. Now we turn to the other side of the aisle and Democratic Sen. Christine Marsh (Phoenix).
The Show sat down with her to talk about how Democrats are approaching the 2024 session.
CHRISTINE MARSH: I hope that it tones down the environment and it is not quite as divisive as it was last session. I’m hoping that there is going to be more of an appetite for some bipartisanship, which we desperately need. We have a lot of big issues to solve in Arizona. And if Democratic ideas are not even seeing the light of day, then we are missing out on some really good ideas. And that has been the past few sessions. I would really hope that since it is an election year and since I’m thinking that things will be a little bit more toned down, that we might see some more bipartisanship. However, I’m also a very hopeful person, and I recognize that the chances of this happening are probably not as high as I would like them to be.
The entire time you’ve been in the Legislature, you’ve been in the minority. How does that change the way you approach things? Where do you find your opportunities to have influence, to make sure your voice is heard, to get in the room, to get on the committee, that kind of thing? Is this a strategic game? Because you’ve got to find your moments.
MARSH: Yeah, it is definitely, to some extent a strategic game. It comes down to even who I have co-sponsor bills of mine and how many. I mean, it is all a strategy, and I think it’s unfortunate. I don’t think it should be such a strategic thing to just get a bill to see the light of day. But that is the reality that we are operating in down there. But quite frankly, I wish that everybody would look at a bill period and not who is sponsoring it one way or the other.
There will also be a different conversation surrounding the budget, which is obviously the only and the biggest thing that the Legislature has to do next session or any session. Less money in the coffers. We’re looking at a potential deficit this time around. Does that make it more difficult or maybe give you more opportunity to work in a bipartisan way?
MARSH: I think it’s going to make it so that there is more potential for some bipartisanship. At least I’m hoping that. I have not actually been down there during a deficit year. And my understanding from others who have is that it is ironically less contentious than when there is money to spare and money to invest in various priorities. So I am hoping that that is the case because, you know, we are looking at somewhere around a $300 million deficit. And I think it’s going to be really interesting on where we can find those opportunities to streamline, to maybe be a little bit more fiscally responsible. But one way or another, we have to figure out how we’re going to cover that shortfall without causing pain to communities.
So what are your priorities? What are you really going to go to bat for in terms of trying to make sure that it is not cut?
MARSH: I am definitely going to be going to bat for kids care. We expanded kids care this past session, and I would like to see that left in place. I’m going to be going to bat for the housing trust fund, to ensure that that doesn’t face any cuts. And of course, I’m still a teacher. My heart and my roots are in teaching. I’m going to definitely be going to bat for our public schools.
Because you are a teacher and you have been involved in the education fight for a long time now. Most of the conversation around education will probably be about universal vouchers — the expansion of that program — again this session. We’ve seen the numbers continue to rise on how much that is costing the state, and we don’t really know where that will stop. What are your priorities there? What do you think is reasonable to expect in terms of trying to work with Republicans? Do you think there’s any wiggle room there?
MARSH: I hope there is, because we have safety issues at stake here. And that’s where I’m going to be spending my focus. We have to get fingerprint clearance cards across the finish line, for example. Any private school or potentially even micro school that is accepting ESA voucher money, those adults who are going to be having contact with minor children need fingerprint cards. So I’m going to be definitely fighting that battle. We absolutely need to put in some protections and transparency for our special ed kids who are moving from a public school into a private school or who have already been in a private school, quite frankly. The federal protections that they give up and some of the aspects of what they would be experiencing in a private school, we need to make sure that those parents fully understand what they are potentially giving up and make sure that they are making an intelligent choice. And so, yeah, a lot of my focus is going to be around the transparency, accountability and — first and foremost — the safety issues.
You’ve already dropped your first bill of the session. This one has to do with legalizing drug testing equipment. This is a personal issue for you as well. Can you tell us why this was your first priority, the first thing you wanted to get on the table?
MARSH: Yeah, this was already high on my priority list as I was just a candidate. And then my son died. He took what he thought was a Percocet, and it was laced with fentanyl. And it killed him about 6 months before I won my first election. And so that, of course, this issue that was already high priority became even more so. So yes, I wanted that to be my absolute first bill. And what it does is it legalizes — takes out from under the drug paraphernalia umbrella — all testing equipment, which we need. We have xylazine coming down the pike that is exponentially more deadly than fentanyl. And at this point, even if there was any testing type equipment or resources available — which right now it’s so new that there isn’t that to my knowledge — we couldn’t use them anyway because it’s under that umbrella of drug paraphernalia and thus illegal.
You’ve made some progress on issues like this before. Last session, you were able to get a bill through that legalized testing strips for fentanyl. Do you see this as sort of an expansion on that work?
MARSH: Yes. And that was a very narrow bill on purpose, and it put in some exceptions under that broader umbrella of drug paraphernalia, like except for fentanyl testing strips. This bill that I’m dropping this session just flat out takes all testing equipment out from under.
Republicans are planning some new legislation to address our state’s housing crisis, legislation that largely failed last session. What are Democratic priorities in this? Where do you want to try to influence things in this conversation?
MARSH: Well, the housing situation is a high priority for our entire caucus, and we are right now behind the scenes hammering out and working on specific legislation to address that issue. I think it’s among the highest priority, if not the highest within the top three or four of all of the Senate Democrats and I believe House Democrats as well, is to get in there and try to mitigate this crisis as much as possible.
Do you see this as connected to the homelessness crisis that we’re also seeing throughout the Valley now?
MARSH: Oh, absolutely. Oh, yeah. They go hand in hand. Yes.
So any solution probably will as well?
MARSH: Yes. I think most of the solutions that we are looking at for housing will mitigate the homelessness issue that we are also facing. That's also a crisis. And I have high hopes for what we are as a caucus able to come up with.
