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Recent Articles from Hank Stephenson
Rules attorneys warn bills are unconstitutional — to no avail
The House and Senate Rules committees are perhaps the most powerful committees in the Legislature. Every bill must pass through the Rules Committee in each chamber before receiving a vote from that chamber.
Kirsten Engel: Freshman lawmaker brings impressive background to Capitol
Democratic Rep. Kirsten Engel of Tucson is a University of Arizona professor and environmental lawyer who has built up an impressive resume in both academia and the legal field.
House to repeal and replace Gowan’s travel policy
After former House Speaker David Gowan got caught using state fleet vehicles for his own personal and campaign purposes, he changed the House rules to encourage all lawmakers to use state fleet vehicles for their travels.
‘Unicorns and rainbows’ – Dems question governor’s budget plan
When Gov. Doug Ducey delivered his 2017 State of the State speech outlining his ambitious budget priorities, especially in the arena of K-12 education, legislative Democrats were more optimistic than they’ve been in years.
Arizona bill to ban school ‘social justice’ courses dies quickly
Republican Rep. Bob Thorpe’s bill to ban K-12 schools and universities from teaching “social justice” is dead for the year, according to the chairman of the committee to which it has been assigned.
Q&A: Mesnard wonders where money will come from for Ducey’s ambitious plan
House Speaker J.D. Mesnard sat down for his first interview with the Arizona Capitol Times since being elected to the chamber’s top post to talk about Gov. Doug Ducey’s State of the State address and his own priorities for the House this year.
Q&A: Rios calls Ducey’s State of the State a ‘great Democratic’ speech
House Minority Leader Rebecca Rios praised Gov. Doug Ducey’s State of the State speech, saying it was what she would hope to hear from a Democratic governor.
Lawmakers adopt new rules, but Dems fail to get Senate committee change
The new year brought new leaders to both the Arizona Senate and House, and new rules to govern the chambers and lawmakers.
Adrian Fontes: Maricopa County Recorder-elect, a win for Democrats
Adrian Fontes is a first-time politician who unseated 28-year incumbent Helen Purcell by a razor thin margin in the November election. He’s the first Democrat to hold any countywide office in decades.
House retreats feature 2 approaches: Fun for GOP, frugal work for Dems
House Republicans and Democrats held caucus retreats this month to prepare for the upcoming legislative session – but while Democrats hunkered down to discuss policy, Republicans just wanted to have fun.
Campaign finance reform kills dark money bot – for now
Arizona’s dark money bot, the Twitter account set up by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting to blast out notices when dark money groups spend in political campaigns, has sent out its last tweet – for now, at least.
Candidates got away with ignoring big-dollar disclosure requirement
Statewide and legislative candidates widely ignored a requirement to disclose big-dollar contributions during the final days of their campaign, and election officials are in no mood to go after them.
