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Recent Articles from Hank Stephenson
Elections committee kills ballot harvesting ban revival
Lawmakers attempted to revive one of the most controversial portions of a repealed election law from 2013 via a last-minute strike-everything amendment to a bill in a special meeting of House Elections Committee Thursday. But they were rebuffed by one of the original opponents of the wide-reaching election bill from 2013.
Lawmakers attempting to revive ‘ballot harvesting’ ban
Lawmakers are attempting to revive one of the most controversial portions of a repealed election law from 2013 via a last-minute strike-everything amendment to a bill scheduled to be heard in a special meeting of House Elections Committee Thursday.
House unanimously approves rideshare legislation
Arizonans who want to provide rideshare services for companies like Uber and Lyft would have to have additional insurance under terms of legislation unanimously approved Wednesday by the House.
Ducey defends deeper cuts to higher education
Gov. Doug Ducey is defending a budget proposal that would take more money from Arizona's universities, saying it was necessary to slash deeper there to ensure a balanced budget.
Coalitions block GOP bills to repeal Common Core, boost school choice
After campaigning on an education platform of increasing school choice and doing away with Common Core, many conservative Republicans in the Legislature are frustrated to find that they can’t make good on their promises to constituents.
Dead bills: Once-promising measures get nowhere
Last week’s deadline to hear bills in chamber-of-origin committees was the single biggest hurdle for the 1,138 bills introduced in the Legislature this year.
House kills STO expansion bill, cancels votes on other school choice bills
Republicans and Democrats joined forces in the Arizona House of Representatives today to kill a bill that would have expanded School Tuition Organization tax credits. That led Republican leadership to unexpectedly cancel another vote on two other “school choice” bills.
No pink mustaches: Ridesharing debate takes a lower profile in 2015
When state House and Senate committees each approved a bill to legalize ridesharing in Arizona last week, the committee rooms were eerily quiet and devoid of the hype that surrounded last year’s ridesharing bills.
Disabled community stops bill to ban service animals in restaurants
The disabled community turned out en masse to oppose a bill that would allow restaurant owners to ban service animals from their restaurants, and the bill went down during a committee hearing.
Bill seeks to crack down on fake service animals by allowing restaurants to ban all service animals
Republican Rep. Bob Thorpe of Flagstaff wants to ensure that the fluffy dog sitting next to you in a restaurant is really a service animal, and not just someone’s pet.
Mesnard revives proposal to cut income taxes based on Marketplace Fairness Act
In his quest to ensure the state doesn’t bring in more revenue if the federal Marketplace Fairness Act comes online, Republican Rep. J.D. Mesnard of Chandler isn’t taking no for an answer.
New governor renews hope for old gun bills
Dale Wiebusch stood before the Senate Federalism, Mandates and Fiscal Responsibility Committee feeling the sensation of déjà vu.
