Recent Articles from Hank Stephenson
Tysen Schlink: If you build it, they will work together
Tysen Schlink is a fundraiser for Republican candidates who’s starting a new co-working space near the Capitol.
Alma Hernandez: Happy to be ‘dragged’ into politics
Freshman Democratic Rep. Alma Hernandez of Tucson credits – or blames – her brother, Democratic Rep. Daniel Hernandez of Tucson, with “dragging” her into politics.
House passes budget package, Senate goes home
Just a few hours after saying she was “bound and determined” to pass a budget Friday night, Senate President Karen Fann sent senators home for the night without voting on an $11.8 billion spending plan.
House works overnight to approve parts of the budget
The Republican-controlled Arizona House approved some of the fiscal-year 2020 budget over night.
House Republican threatens vote against budget
Saying the budget agreement crafted by GOP legislative leaders and Gov. Doug Ducey is “not a conservative budget,” Rep. Tony Rivero, R-Peoria, vowed to vote against it Thursday unless his colleagues agreed to several significant changes.
Coalition of voters takes Ducey to court over filling U.S. Senate seat
The former leader of Arizona’s Libertarian Party filed a lawsuit against Gov. Doug Ducey Wednesday, arguing he must immediately hold a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by John McCain.
Wrap up with Rebecca Rios
In her first year as House Democratic leader, Rebecca Rios, D-Phoenix, a longtime lawmaker, was hopeful that her caucus could take a rare vote in favor of a GOP-backed budget. But when the budget didn’t go far enough toward investing in Arizona’s teachers, House Democrats held true to their beliefs and their prom-ises, and voted against the budget package.
Wrap up with J.D. Mesnard
In his first year as speaker of the House, J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, managed to get all 35 of his chamber’s Republicans to agree to support the state budget, though two from his caucus still balked at Gov. Doug Ducey’s university bonding proposal.
Many hurdles make ‘citizen veto’ hard to come by
Activists are attempting to repeal a trio of laws approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor this year. But pulling off a referendum, known colloquially as a “citizens’ veto,” isn’t easy.
Testy session, debates marked by use of ‘impugning’ rule in House
Throughout the 2017 legislative session, the House floor was a hotbed of animosity, as Democratic lawmakers repeatedly tested the boundaries of what they could say about their colleagues, and Republican lawmakers repeatedly tested the limits of how far the chamber’s rules could stretch to limit speech.
Clean Elections audit finds Rep. Rubalcava committed several campaign finance violations
The Arizona Citizens Clean Election Commission approved the results of its comprehensive audit of Democratic Rep. Jesus Rubalcava, who stands accused of a series of campaign finance violations that could result in his eviction from office.
Clean Elections Commission to discuss allegations of campaign violations against legislator
The Arizona Citizens Clean Election Commission will discuss on Thursday the results of its comprehensive audit of Democratic Rep. Jesus Rubalcava, who is accused of a series of campaign finance violations that could result in his eviction from office.