Arizona Senate blocks House attempt to adjourn for Israel trip

PHOENIX — State senators voted Thursday not to allow the Arizona House to adjourn for more than a week so 17 of its members can travel to Israel.

But House Speaker Ben Toma, who is going on the trip, said he has a legal work-around.

And Rep. Alma Hernandez, a Tucson Democrat who organized what she said is an educational trip for lawmakers, said it is still on. She called Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, who led the effort to block it, a profanity. 

A section of the Arizona Constitution says neither the House nor Senate can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other chamber. Such permission has been routinely granted for reasons such as long holiday weekends.

This time, however, the House asked for permission to be gone from March 5 until March 12.

Kern said he was "appalled'' that the House leadership would make such a request even before lawmakers adopt a state budget for the coming fiscal year. The budget is the one thing lawmakers are constitutionally obliged to do each session.

The trip is being financed by itrek, a nonprofit based in New York City which says it "brings the richness of complexities of Israel to life through Israel treks that combine education, culture and fun.''

"This is to educate people to what Israel's all about,'' Hernandez said. "The trip is not a luxury vacation. There's a war going on.''

Hernandez, who has championed several measures promoting Holocaust education in public schools, said the trip will help inform other lawmakers of the importance of such programs.

"One of our stops is at Yad Vashem,'' she said, Israel's official memorial to victims of the Holocaust. "It's very important ... to have them see, when I'm talking about these things, this is really important, this is what we're talking about.''

Hernandez said there also are plans to meet with families of some hostages who were taken when Hamas invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7. Meetings also are planned with elected officials and students.

Asked about what is currently happening in Gaza as the Israeli military has bombed and invaded and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, Hernandez responded, "If you're asking if we're going there? Of course not."

"That's something we're not able to do,'' she said. "But we are meeting with Palestinian students.''

Kern said it's not about the trip. He said he doesn't even mind if it's being paid for by lobbyists, something Hernandez said is not true.

The issue, he said, is being gone during the legislative session, which always is scheduled from early January through at least late April.

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"The voters to me are not being represented well,'' Kern said, citing the lack of a budget, which has to be done by June 30. "They can go in August, they can go in September,'' he said. 

Toma sniffed at that reason for blocking adjournment. The speaker said there is no progress on the budget because Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has so far refused to negotiate with the Republican-led Legislature. He said other activities, including committee meetings by the remaining representatives in the 60-member House, will continue.

Toma blamed politics for Kern's action. 

Both he and Kern — along with others — are running to be the GOP nominee for the congressional seat that is opening up next year when Republican Debbie Lesko leaves the post.

"What's happened right now is basically a desperate attempt by a fledgling legislator to be relevant in a congressional race where he has zero chance of winning,'' Toma said. "So he's decided to be petty about it.''

Toma has been endorsed by Lesko and various area mayors. Abe Hamadeh, also running in the Republican primary, has the backing of former President Donald Trump.

While the Senate refusal requires the House to meet — at least every three days — there are options.

Toma told Capitol Media Services he is looking at having Rep. Travis Grantham, R-Gilbert, who is the speaker pro-tem, come in every three days with at least one other lawmaker. That would enable them to gavel the House into session, note there is no quorum, and adjourn.

Other Republican senators who are more politically aligned with Kern than Toma also criticized the trip, however.

"This isn't about the trip itself,'' said Sen. Justine Wadsack of Tucson. "I think any one of us would be honored to go on trip to Israel. But not during session.''

Wadsack also pointed out, pursuant to common practice, lawmakers are paid a per diem allowance, on top of their $24,000 annual salary, for every day the Legislature is in regular session. That means not only the normal Monday-through-Thursday meeting schedule but also on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

And in this case, she said, they would be paid for the days they are out of the country.

"If they were taking an unpaid leave, that might be a different story,'' she said. "But they're all still getting paid to work.''

Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, also said this isn't about Israel.

"The land of Israel is the land that God seeks out,'' she said. "God blessed Israel, King David. But I respectfully vote no.''