PHOENIX - Katie Hobbs on Saturday blasted House Republican leaders who a day earlier rejected a budget that the Senate, led by GOP lawmakers, approved and  the governor had planned to sign.

“For months I have worked with leaders of both parties, in both chambers, to craft a bipartisan, balanced and fiscally responsible budget. Sadly, House Republican leadership abdicated their responsibility and refused to meaningfully participate in those bipartisan conversations," the governor wrote.

"Now, to cover for their failures, they are attempting to jam through an irresponsible and partisan ‘budget.’"

With bipartisan support - and bipartisan opposition - state senators gave final approval early Friday to a $17.6 billion spending plan for the coming year.

And then they went home, declaring the session that began Jan. 13 to be over and done.

They did not bother to tell the House, which has never taken up what the Senate approved. And, absent both chambers approving a spending plan, the authorization for state agencies to operate self-destructs at midnight on June 30.

The Senate move came as a surprise to House Republicans who less than a week ago had enacted their own budget, one with a price tag of $300 million less. They spent much of Friday behind closed doors, with what several members, who asked not to be identified, described as airing anger at their Senate counterpart.

Afterward, House Speaker Steve Montenegro pronounced the Senate plan as dead.

"The House is not going to be forced into a take-it-or-leave-it deal that doesn't reflect the will of our members or the people we represent,'' the Goodyear Republican said late Friday.

But recognizing the upcoming deadline - and the fact that Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is supportive of the Senate-approved budget - Montenegro said his staff is drafting a "continuation budget,'' one that will keep state operations going past June 30. That, he said, will provide "the time we need to continue negotiations on other balanced spending proposals.''

Less clear, though, is whether the Senate which adopted its plan on a 17-12 margin, is willing to go along. The only thing that is clear is that the House is set to reconvene Monday morning.

That vote to adjourn for the year came over the objections of several senators.

Sen. J.D. Mesnard called it "entirely inappropriate for one chamber to do that to another.''

The Chandler Republican has some experience in this area: He was a member of the House in 2015 when Andy Biggs - now a congressman but then the Senate president - shut his chamber down even as the House was voting on bills.

What it also may be, Mesnard said, is unconstitutional.

"We don't have the authority to adjourn for more than three days'' without the consent of the other chamber,'' he told Capitol Media Services on Friday.

Hobbs called Montenegro's move  a "farce."

"His reckless actions jeopardize basic government functions with potentially devastating consequences for small businesses, veterans, children and countless families across our state who rely on their elected officials to fulfill their basic constitutional duties.

"We do not need another month, nor do we have the luxury of time, to redevelop a budget that we have already spent months negotiating."

Friday's Senate vote came over the objections of members of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, Republican lawmakers headed by Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, who have fought for lower taxes and smaller government.

Having lost that fight, they now are trying to get the House to reject it outright, calling it in a prepared statement "stuffed full of pork and Democrat policy victories.''

"The Republican-controlled Legislature is supposed to hold the power of the purse, but unfortunately that power was handed over to Katie Hobbs,'' the statement reads.

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