State tax collections continue to outpace expectations, and April general fund revenues were boosted by an unexpected spike in individual income tax collections.

Arizona’s unemployment rate is down slightly due to growth in professional and business services and a drop in people looking for work.

Arizona’s economy is picking up, albeit full recovery is still a few years away, economists from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business said at a forum today.

When Michael Luna left for basic training with the Arizona Army National Guard in July, little did he know what his time would be occupied with when he would return home in December.

Finding a job.

The Arizona Commerce Authority set off alarms at the Goldwater Institute this week after the government agency announced it would be awarding thousands of dollars to companies that were eliminated from a competitive grant program.

State economists say Arizona is on a pace to add about 50,000 nonfarm jobs annually but that the rate of increase still trails the period before the Great Recession.

Arizona has seen its revenue from tribal casinos rise for the seventh consecutive quarter.

The Arizona Department of Gaming reported Wednesday that tribes’ payments to the state will be about $24.3 million for the quarter that ended March 31.

The Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday gave initial approval to a bill that some proponents say is aimed at stopping a United Nations conspiracy to take away the rights of American citizens.

Critics say the bill is not only based on crackpot “one-world-order” theories, but that it would make valuable state programs illegal and take away the state’s authority to manage natural resources.

Arizona voters will decide in November whether to give businesses a break on property tax paid on newly acquired business equipment.

Unanimously House approval of a resolution on Monday completes legislative action on the general election referendum on the proposed state constitutional amendment.

Big business and consumer-rights advocates are squaring off over a bill that would significantly limit the ability of people to sue a manufacturer whose products might pose risks to the public.

The legislation would shield manufacturers from punitive damage claims — the most aggressive legal recourse allowed against manufacturers — unless very specific negligence can be demonstrated.