GOP State Government Faces Budget, Immigration Issues

KTAR reported: Tuesday's election gives Republicans their most lopsided advantage ever over Democrats in the Arizona Legislature. The GOP will control the Senate 21-9 and, if current numbers hold up, will control the House 40-20. "You'll have a supermajority in the state Senate and you'll have a supermajority in the state House of Representatives, along with an all-Republican executive branch from the governor's seat on down," said political strategist Marcus Dell'Artino. With Republicans vowing no tax increases and the state facing a $1.4 billion deficit over the next two years, there will be more budget cuts, he said.
"Now, we've got an issue over the 14th Amendment and the birthright status, which Sen. (Russell) Pearce and Rep. (John Kavanagh), I think, are in the process of drafting a bill to deal with that situation." Pearce, the new Senate president, has suggested overturning the 14th Amendment which automatically grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States. Dell'Artino said he believes a "large portion" of the 90 state lawmakers are interested in immigration-related matters, especially those who represent areas near the Arizona-Mexico border.