PHOENIX — State lawmakers shut down the 2008 session late Friday — but not without some acrimony.

 The day’s schedule was supposed to be routine, with legislators scheduled to finish action on a variety of issues still left after 166 days.

 But tempers flared when Senate Majority Whip John Huppenthal, R-Chandler, sought to cut off debate in the middle of discussion of a proposal to let all counties except Maricopa County impose a sales tax of up to 1 percent, twice as much as now allowed.

 Sen. Paula Aboud, D-Tucson, said she believes that was done to rush a vote on a measure to ask voters to ban same-sex marriages.

 That’s because Sen. Pamela Gorman, R-Anthem, was scheduled to catch a plane. And she was the necessary 16th vote on the measure.

 Senate Rules Attorney Joni Hoffman concluded that debate had illegally been shut down. But she said it was too late to do anything about it, leading to protests from several Democrats.

 “You cannot not follow the rules because you don’t like them,’’ said Sen. Ken Cheuvront, D-Phoenix, who, like Aboud, is an openly  gay legislator.

 Aboud also made a comment about Senate Majority Leader Thayer Verschoor, R-Gilbert, being a Mormon, apparently to suggest that his role in cutting off debate made him a hypocrite.

 While this session is much longer than has been the practice, it still is shorter than the 173 days of the 1988 session, the year lawmakers impeached and convicted Gov. Evan Mecham.

 The length of this year’s session was extended, at least in part, by the need to actually adopt two budgets: One to plug a $1.2 billion hole in the current spending plan and the other to adopt a plan for the new fiscal year that begins Tuesday.

 Abortion

 For the second time this session, Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed  legislation to enact a state law making partial-birth abortion a crime.

 Arizona’s original law, approved in 1997, was blocked by a federal judge before it ever took effect. This new version i modeled after a federal statute that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld.

 Napolitano rejected an earlier version because of difference with that federal law.

 The new version fixes that. But Napolitano said she does not think a state law is necessary in light of having a federal ban on the books.

 “I am loathe to introduce more criminal penalties, including incarceration by the state, into the relationship between a woman and her physician,’’ the governor wrote.

Railroad review

 Gov. Janet Napolitano signed legislation Friday which requires railroads to have any plans for any expansion or new line reviewed by the state Department of Transportation.

 The law was crafted in response to plans by Union Pacific Railroad to construct a 6-mile-long switching yard near Picacho Peak. The company also explored a new rail line from Yuma to the Mexican border but has since said it is no longer interested i that.

 HB 2156 does not allow the state to block any plans, as that right is preempted by federal law. But it does require disclosure of certain information and at least one — but not more th three — public hearings.

 Napolitano vetoed a similar measure last year. But she said th companies have made no real effort since then to work out some acceptable language that addresses community concerns while respecting federal law.

 “Time has run out,’’ the governor said. “Arizona will proceed to provide its affected citizens with the information necessary to understand the effects of a new railroad route in their community.’’

 State budget

 Gov. Janet Napolitano signed the new state budget for the coming fiscal year into law on Friday.

 The $9.9 billion plan compares with a $10.6 billion budget lawmakers adopted for this year. That was before sales and income tax collections plummeted, forcing a mid-year adjustment down to $10.2 billion.

 Continued soft revenues have forced cutting about another $348 million. But that does not make up for the lack of tax collections, resulting in a plan that borrows close to $ billion, putting off $187 million in new school construction, taking nearly $340 million out of other funds and shifting part of the cost of the Highway Patrol onto gasoline taxes and vehicle registration fees.

 House Majority Whip Tom Boone, R-Peoria, said mid-year adjustments will be necessary if the state’s economy does not improve soon.

 Guns in cars

 State lawmakers gave final approval Friday to legislation making it legal for individuals to carry guns anywhere in their vehicles, even hidden, whether or not they have a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

 Backers of HB 2389 said the law can make criminals out of otherwise law-abiding citizens who have a gun on a seat next t them which is inadvertently hidden by a jacket. But Rep. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, said the main beneficiaries of such a change in law will be criminals.

 “We’re letting drive-by shooters, we’re letting gang-bangers we’re letting all the wrong people in society the ability to carry a gun without proper documentation,’’ he said. Gallardo called the measure “irresponsible.’’

 The measure now goes to the governor who has shown a reluctance in the past to sign measures that ease laws on who can carry a concealed weapon.

 Elected judges

 The House defeated a proposal Friday which would allow three rural counties to keep electing their Superior Court judges directly.

 Under current constitutional requirements, judges in counties of at least 250,000 residents are selected through a process involving interviews by a special panel with selection by the governor. The judges then stand for reelection every four year on a retain-or-reject basis, with no direct opposition.

 Residents of the other counties were allowed to continue to elect judges directly, just like other political offices

 When adopted by voters in 1974 that covered just Pima and

 Maricopa counties. But three others — Pinal, Yavapai and Mohave — are likely to hit that threshold after the 2010 Census.

 “We don’t want it,’’ said Rep. Nancy McLain, R-Bullhead City, who urged colleagues to put a measure on the ballot to change that threshold to 600,000. And Rep. Pete Rios, D-Dudleyville, said Pina County is still small enough so that residents know th judges they are electing.

 But supporters of the “merit selection’’ process said these counties are growing large to use the screening process now in place in the two largest counties.