A trio of union-busting bills considered by a House committee on Tuesday met a varied fate: One passed, one was tabled to stave off a likely failure, and another was killed but later resurrected and approved when two Republican lawmakers changed their minds.

A Republican senator is renewing the push for a tax credit program to lure multi-media productions to Arizona.



Sen. Al Melvin, R-SaddleBrook, wants to allow production companies to claim a 20 percent tax credit on expenditures of at least $250,000.

While some local Republicans expectedly came out against the immigration reform proposal that Flake and McCain unveiled yesterday, several have expressed support or at least showed a measure of caution about jumping straight to opposition.

Saying members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community deserve equal treatment under Arizona law, a Democratic lawmaker has introduced four bills addressing employment, adoption and marriage.

It’s become a pattern as state lawmakers try to address synthetic drugs such as bath salts or spice: Almost as soon as one recipe is outlawed, manufacturers simply change to a mix that isn’t banned.

A state lawmaker wants to create an independent, nonpartisan commission that would investigate alleged violations of election laws as well as ethics complaints lodged against elected state officials.

Sen. John McCain is warning fellow Republicans that failure to pass comprehensive immigration legislation could mean continued election losses for the GOP, as Republican-friendly states like Arizona fall to the Democrats.

Wounded former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will appear as an unscheduled witness Wednesday at the year’s first congressional hearing on curbing gun violence, adding drama to a session that was already slated to hear from a top official of the National Rifle Association.

Former Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman made his official entry into the 2014 governor’s race.



Hallman, a Republican, has long been an oft-rumored candidate for numerous offices. On Tuesday he filed a campaign committee with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office for a gubernatorial run.



“We’re off and running,” Hallman said.

Gov. Jan Brewer responded to a bipartisan plan for comprehensive immigration reform with a call for her supporters to sign an online border security petition run by her political action committee.