22nd Arizona Territorial Legislature

The 22nd Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which convened in Phoenix, Arizona. The session ran from January 19, 1903, until March 19, 1903.

Governor Oakes Murphy announced his intention to resign in early 1902. His replacement, Alexander Oswald Brodie took office on July 1, 1902. Statehood efforts meanwhile had encountered an obstacle. A proposal had been made in the United States Congress that Arizona and New Mexico territories be combined and admitted as a single state. The proposal had been initially made in the United States House of Representatives and was defeated in May 1902 by a vote of 106 to 28. Following the initial defeat, Senator Albert J. Beveridge of Indiana had become a supporter of joint statehood and the battle over the idea continued in the United States Senate. Seeking support in his efforts to defeat the proposal, Arizona Territorial Delegate Marcus A. Smith had sent a telegraph requesting the legislature pass a resolution in opposition to the proposal.

The session began on January 19, 1903, and ran for 60 days. During that time it passed 93 acts, 10 memorials, and a single joint resolution.

The address was given by Governor Brodie on January 20, 1903. It began with a review of territorial finances. This was followed by recommended reforms for the territorial incorporation and tax laws. The governor asked for a change allowing elections of county supervisors and legislators to be based upon legislative districts instead of being selected at-large. He called for constables, justices of the peace, and sheriffs to be paid by salary instead of continuing the existing system where they kept a portion of their collected fees. Brodie also asked for legislators to perform a study on the issue of 8 hour days for mine workers

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