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Recent Articles from Ben Giles
Tribes, Ducey oppose bill to legalize sports betting
Arizona’s Native American tribes overwhelmingly oppose a legislative effort to legalize sports betting in Arizona.
Proposal adds geographic requirements for citizen initiatives
Arizona lawmakers may add geographic requirements for citizens who want to pass laws via the ballot, a hurdle critics warned may be insurmountable for ordinary citizens.
Senate passes bill that would lower tuition for DACA recipients
The Arizona Senate voted today to give all the state’s high school graduates, including Deferred Action Childhood Arrival recipients, a break on the cost of tuition at Arizona community colleges and universities regardless of when they graduated and where they now live.
Committees advance competing car-sharing bills
House and Senate committees approved competing proposals to regulate car sharing in Arizona, with lawmakers split on how to tax the emerging industry.
Townsend to amend bill that makes criminals of people paid to register voters
Republican lawmakers advanced a bill that would criminalize getting paid to help register voters in Arizona, but only with the promise to partially eliminate that core provision.
Bill to keep lottery winners anonymous gains panel’s approval
Republicans on a House panel advanced Rep. Nancy Barto’s bill on a 5-3 vote Tuesday. If approved and signed into law, gamblers with winnings of $100,000 or more would be allowed to request that their identity be kept a secret.
Key Republicans compromise on sales tax hike for education
Three Republican lawmakers have reached a consensus on a plan to ask voters to raise a sales tax for education funding.
Mesnard: Ducey’s tax conformity depends on Dems
Sen. J.D. Mesnard told the Arizona Capitol Times that Ducey is in for a long and bumpy ride this legislative session after the governor vetoed a bill, backed by all but one Republican lawmaker, to offset estimates of higher tax collections this year by roughly $150 million or more.
Republicans vote to expand voucher program, revamp oversight
Republican senators advanced a bill that would expand eligibility for Arizona’s school voucher program and strip oversight of those vouchers from the newly elected Democratic head of the Department of Education.
Bill to protect secondary-ticket sales market tabled
When U2 made its final stop on the Joshua Tree Tour in Phoenix, Rep. Jeff Weninger almost couldn’t get into the show. The Chandler Republican had two tickets to the... […]
Bill strips Department of Education of voucher oversight
A Republican lawmaker wants the state to hire a private company to oversee and administer Arizona’s voucher program and wants State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, not the newly elected Democratic superintendent, to choose the vendor.
Tyler Pace: Businessman turns true freshman
When Tyler Pace jumped into the race for the state Senate, his victory was all but assured thanks to the timely retirement of former Sen. Bob Worsley.
