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Recent Articles from Hank Stephenson
WHAT’S LEFT? A lot still on the docket for 2016
Monday, April 18, marks the 99th day of the 2016 legislative session and begins what, by lawmakers’ own rules, is supposed to be the final week of work. But there is still a lot to get done.
Appearance in a front row seat creates a stir at DBacks opener
When House Speaker David Gowan was spotted on live TV sitting in the front row directly behind the batter at the Arizona Diamondbacks Opening Day game, tongues started wagging.
Campaign finance overhaul cedes ‘dark money’ authority to feds
Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law a massive overhaul of Arizona’s campaign finance laws, which opponents fear will usher in a wave of anonymous campaign spending and add to the rising tide of money in politics.
Ducey vetoes cursive instruction mandate
Gov. Doug Ducey has vetoed a bill to require schools to teach cursive handwriting to all Arizona students.
In ‘flex loan’ battle, influential lobbyists clash with consumer protection groups
One of the biggest behind-the-scenes battles at the Legislature this year is the fight over “flex loans” – high interest loans for those with bad credit and few other options in an emergency.
Arizona voters backed candidates who quit race
Nearly 100,000 voters in Tuesday’s presidential preference election threw away their votes on Republican candidates who are no longer seeking their party’s nomination for president.
Steve Matt: A Shakespeare fanatic and rapid-fire reader
Steve Matt, a security guard in the House of Representatives, has some background in security – he joined the Army after high school, and studied law enforcement in college. But his true love, and his chosen profession for most of his life, is acting.
Gowan travel records show extensive trips throughout CD1
Travel records show House Speaker David Gowan didn’t start traveling the state until after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June 2015 left Arizona’s congressional district boundary map in place and set the stage for the 2016 election.
130 years: Rare confluence of events will cost Legislature more than a lifetime of experience as veterans depart
For reasons ranging from political ambition to frustration with “crazy bills,’’ many of the state’s elder statesmen are leaving the Capitol.
House establishes new travel policy in wake of Capitol Times report
The Arizona House of Representatives created a new travel policy after an Arizona Capitol Times story revealed that a handful of House Republican leaders and top staffers drove more than 36,000 miles in state vehicles in 2015, sometimes for political or personal purposes.
Reports show House travel spending more than doubled
The House is required to report its spending to the Arizona Department of Administration’s General Accounting Office. Although those records don’t detail which lawmakers or staff the chamber’s travel expenses were on behalf of, they offer a glimpse of the chamber’s spending on travel in the past year.
Montenegro repays ALEC for travel stipend
House Majority Leader Steve Montenegro has repaid the American Legislative Exchange Council for a travel stipend he received for attending the organization’s July 2015 conference in San Diego, which he drove to at no personal cost while using a state fleet vehicle.
