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

When state Sen. Carlyle Begay switched parties, joining Republicans after spending more than two years in office as a Democrat, Democrats were quick to say they weren’t losing much, as Begay often voted with Republicans, anyway.

In 2008 and 2012, the Tucson Weekly seized on the minimal requirements and encouraged average citizens to run for president in Arizona as part of a “reality journalism competition” dubbed “Project White House.”

As police are increasingly recording interactions with alleged lawbreakers and victims, lawmakers are considering whether body camera video should be treated differently from other public records.

Jason Fitzpatrick is the man behind the cameras that have filmed official action at the Capitol for nearly 15 years.

Citing a unique opportunity to ensure the next lawmaker is a woman, LD26 Democratic precinct committeemen on Wednesday nominated an all-female slate of three candidates to fill the district’s open House seat.

The amount of money and property that Arizona law enforcement agencies have seized from suspected criminals under the state’s civil asset forfeiture laws has skyrocketed in the last decade, making Arizona one of most active states for seizures in the nation.

In a span of less than 24 hours, House Democratic Leader Eric Meyer went from railing against the special session package designed to settle the lawsuit over education inflation funding, to vowing to support it at the special election in May.

The Arizona House of Representatives worked late into the night Thursday to approve a $3.5 billion education finance package aimed at settling a long-running lawsuit over education funding.

Lawmakers will likely vote on a deal to settle the five-year lawsuit over education inflation funding today, after Democratic leaders in the House late Wednesday night agreed to provide the necessary votes to fast-track the proposal that they largely oppose.

In the face of a massive push from the governor and GOP legislative leaders for a special session to increase education funding, some conservative Republicans are pushing back, saying the funding proposals contain no metrics to gauge if the additional money actually improves education outcomes.