That didn’t happen today. Matter of fact, things were quieter than anyone would have hoped it would be. But that still leaves a question: can they do that?

Yes, they can, and it has happened before.

During Jeff Groscost’s reign as speaker, Democratic leader Bob McClendon had Democrats leave during late business one night in an attempt to deny Groscost and the Republicans a quorum. Andy Nichols decided to stay behind in his office. He had work to do and thought that if anything happened on the floor, he could always do a quorum call. This would have been done so that a head count would have revealed that there weren’t enough members to do business, which would have shut things down for a bit.

The bells rang and Dr. Nichols realized he miscounted and that there would be a quorum if he showed up on the floor. So, he stayed in his office. That’s when a “call of the house” was issued, meaning that the Sergeant of Arms was authorized to bring Dr. Nichols to the floor. Nichols tried to keep himself barricaded in his office, and after various rulings from the rules attorney, a quite unhappy Nichols had to go to the floor.

Sometimes, enforcing a “call of the house” requires even more extreme measures.

Kel Fox was a remarkable public servant, serving the state in a number of capacities and being responsible for such things as I-17 and electrification in much of rural Arizona. He even has a trail near Sedona named for him. During his time in the legislature, he also ran afoul of the “call of the house.”

This all stemmed from a disputed election in Apache County between Democrat Lynn Lockhart and Republican Bryan Whiting. Later in the session, Fox had busines to attend to at his ranch, so he left the capitol for his home near Munds Park.

After Fox was gone, supporters of Lockhart once again tried to get him seated, resulting in a tie vote. Fox retold the story in an article he wrote that appeared in the Winter 1994 edition of The Journal of Arizona History:

Lockhart’s supporters then turned to a little-used rule known as “a call of the house,” which barred the Senate from conducting any further business until the absent member was returned, by force if necessary. It so happened that I was in Flagstaff on the morning the motion was made, having hauled in a tractor for repairs. A highway partrolman suddenly accosted me as I was standing in the garage watching the mechanic work.

“Are you Senator Fox?” he asked.

I replied in the affirmative, whereupon he informed me, “I have a warrant for your arrest. You must return at once to Phoenix.”

“Can’t I go back home to change?” I pleaded, looking down at my dirty Levis and soiled work shoes.”

“No,” he replied. “We have a plane waiting for you at the airport.”

And so I was forced, dirty clothes and all, to return to the capitol.