Recent Articles from Bob Christie, Capitol Media Services
Wildfire regulation bill to be stripped of most contentious elements in Senate
A sweeping measure passed by the Arizona House giving utilities like Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power major protections from lawsuits for wildfires sparked by their equipment will be... […]
Hobbs disapproves of automatic income tax cut passed in Senate
Republicans who control the Arizona Legislature are looking to enact more tax cuts just four years after the largest tax cut in state history turned state finances on their head... […]
Some Arizona Republicans support Harris despite backlash
Doug Coleman agonized about whether to put a “Republicans for Harris” sign in the front yard of his home in the eastern Phoenix suburb of Apache Junction, concerned about backlash,... […]
Limited growth and increased spending needs pose tough choices for Hobbs
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs won’t have much room for new spending on education, water or just about anything else in the remaining two years of her initial term as Arizona’s... […]
Hobbs demotes three officials but doesn’t cut their salaries
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs demoted three officials running state agencies to deputy director posts after a judge ruled that her move to name them and other agency heads as “deputy... […]
Prop 311 seeks to make convicted criminals pay families of slain first responders
The families of state or local police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians killed on the job as the result of a criminal act will get an extra $250,000 payment... […]
Prison system will boost spending, medical staffing but puts more strain on state budget
Arizona’s prison system will boost spending and medical staffing for prison healthcare by more than a third as it works to meet a federal judge's orders that it vastly improve treatment of the nearly 25,000 prisoners in state-run prisons, but the move puts added pressure on a state budget that is already deep in the red.
Hobbs rejects Republicans’ request to extend bar hours during World Series
Sports fans who want to celebrate an Arizona Diamondbacks World Series win – or drown their sorrows after a loss to the Texas Rangers – won’t have an extra hour to do so in bars across the state.
Planned Parenthood Arizona asks judge to disqualify himself from hearing abortion case
Planned Parenthood Arizona is formally asking state Supreme Court Justice William Montgomery to disqualify himself from sitting on an upcoming case brought by the abortion provider where the state’s high court will decide whether the procedure remains legal here.
Court rules counties can’t hand-count all ballots in elections
Arizona counties are prohibited by law from hand-counting all ballots in an election, even if they want to do so because county leaders have bought into conspiracy theories that say vote tabulation machines are untrustworthy, the state Court of Appeals ruled.
Republican legislative leaders face first budget crunch in nearly a decade
Republican leaders in the Arizona Legislature are facing their first budget crunch in nearly a decade and minority Democrats are pointing the finger right at the GOP, saying the pain that will be felt by state residents is a self-inflicted wound.
Arizona Commerce Authority missing data on incentives, audit finds
A new report reveals that the Arizona Commerce Authority could not show that it confirmed that companies that received nearly $11 million in incentives proved that they invested the money or hired the workers they promised at the agreed-to wages.


















