Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

The Supreme Court appears ready to allow Arizona to enforce a state law provision that requires police officers to check the immigration status of people they think are in the country illegally.

The Arizona House is scheduled to consider a bill Wednesday to allow the state to abolish the police department in the northern Arizona community of Colorado City.

Pearce today stood firm and unapologetic as local and national critics tore into S1070 before a national audience. He was set to speak before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, but he wound up addressing only NY Sen. Charles Schumer and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin after the panel’s other members were no-shows.

Former Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker will have a few more weeks of freedom, as a judge postponed his Thursday sentencing. Junker pleaded guilty in February and March in state and federal courts to crimes in connection with a scheme in which the Fiesta Bowl illegally contributed to political campaigns. He is facing a prison sentence of up to 2.5 years.

Gov. Jan Brewer fired the outgoing executive director of the Board of Executive Clemency after three newly confirmed appointees showed up late for work Monday.

Their tardiness caused a two-hour delay of clemency hearings as victims and families of prisoners stood by disgruntled, and waited for a quorum to form.

The Arizona Senate has rejected a proposed ballot measure to declare that the state has sovereignty over the air, water and other natural resources within its boundaries.

Arizona legislators have voted to reverse a cost-cutting decision that made thousands of state and local government employees pay a bigger share of the costs of the state's main public retirement system. Workers and their employers had each paid 50 percent of the Arizona State Retirement System's costs.

Gov. Jan Brewer will get a bill to have Arizona retreat on trying to make it harder to skip paying sales tax on online purchases.

The Arizona Legislature is going on record as saying it wants the federal government to consider establishing a site in Arizona to store spent nuclear fuel.

Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas took a swipe at his accusers and the Arizona Supreme Court today in announcing he is not going to appeal his April 10 disbarment. Thomas had until 5 p.m. today to file a notice of appeal, but instead sent an email to the press to say that he can’t continue the legal proceedings because the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors refused to pay for his attorneys.