By a 29-0 vote, the state Senate late Thursday approved Gov. Jan Brewer’s sales tax overhaul proposal after she obtained the buy-in of Arizona cities and towns.

A relationship that has seen Gov. Jan Brewer and the Center for Arizona Policy in nearly perfect agreement for four years is showing signs of strain after the social conservative powerhouse took aim at the governor’s prized Medicaid expansion plan.

The state Senate approved Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan on an 18-11 vote this afternoon, sending it to the governor for her signature.

The Senate’s approval of Medicaid and a state budget occurred after the House of Representatives worked into the early morning hours to approve the budget and Medicaid plan, with supporters giving opponents the silent treatment through the entire discussion of the $8.8 billion budget.

The Center for Arizona Policy is opposed to Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan unless the Legislature ensures that funds from the program don’t indirectly subsidize abortions.

The Arizona Legislature is on track to pull an all-nighter and work into Thursday to finish a state budget and approve Medicaid expansion.

Raising doubts from skeptics, Department of Corrections Director Charles Ryan told a legislative committee Wednesday the department has no solitary confinement, despite keeping the maximum-security inmates in their cells alone for 22 hours a day.

Lawmakers are prepared to sine die Thursday afternoon and leave what’s become an increasingly toxic atmosphere at the Capitol as bipartisan coalitions in each chamber have seized control and began systematically approving Gov. Jan Brewer’s budget proposal in special session.

Gov. Jan Brewer named former Rep. Ted Vogt as the next director of the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services. Brewer said Vogt’s military background makes him “uniquely qualified” for the position. Vogt is a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer and commander of an anti-terrorism unit.

A compromise between House and Senate lawmakers could allow time-sensitive reforms to Child Protective Services to clear the Legislature this session, but other CPS-related measures may still face the governor’s veto stamp.

A Paradise Valley Democrat introduced a floor amendment Tuesday that would eradicate an anti-abortion bill. The House postponed action on SB1069 after Rep. Eric Meyer introduced a proposal to create a study committee that would examine whether abortion clinics are in compliance with state regulations