Control of federal school lands needed to fund education within the territory were a secondary benefit of statehood.
[4] Following passage of the bill to relocate the capitol to Phoenix, the session suspended and on January 29, 1889, began the move to the new seat of government.
Instead of using stagecoaches to make the trip via the direct route, the delegates instead chose to utilize a pair of Pullman cars routed through Los Angeles;[7] the luxurious mode of transport was chosen in large part due to the railroad's practice of providing free passes to the legislators in an effort to avoid laws unfavorable to their interests.
[8] Territorial Secretary James A. Bayard was in turn left with the job of packing and transporting the session's furniture, records, and supplies.
One that attracted significant notice was a law, based upon a similar New Mexico statute, that established the death penalty for train robbery.
[11] Other laws prohibited carrying of deadly weapons inside town limits and requiring literacy in English for territorial office holders.
[8] Other actions taken by the session were transferring the northern section of the Tonto Basin from Yavapai to Gila county and establishing a $3000 subsidy encouraging development of artesian wells.
The Democratic nominees presented by Governor Zulick refused to relinquish control of buildings and institutions needed for performance of official duties, claiming confirmation of the new Republican appointees had not been legal due to the session running too long.
[15] A second issue was a set of eleven "lost laws" that had been passed by the session but misplaced in a desk drawer without the Governor's signature or veto.
In the most common variation of the story, supporters of the effort to move the capital made arraignments with Jenny to ensure passage of the session's first act.