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Recent Articles from Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services
Educators present plan to fund public schools without raising taxes
Hoping to set the agenda, a coalition of educators and others laid out options that could generate more than $950 million for education this coming year, all without a general hike in sales taxes.
GOP lawmaker looks to add restrictions to voter initiatives
The proposal by Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, would limit future ballot measures to "one subject,'' with a requirement that be spelled out in the title.
State Supreme Court requires warrant to track cars with GPS
In a precedent-setting decision, a majority of the justices said people in vehicles have a "reasonable expectation'' of privacy.
Bill seeks to override future federal gun restrictions
The legislation spells out the kind of weapons that the state believes are necessary for those who are members of the state militia. Existing Arizona law already says that automatically includes all "able-bodied citizens of the state'' between 18 and 45.
Schools chief wants to salvage parts of law deemed invalid
Diane Douglas is not directly contesting the ruling by Judge Wallace Tashima that the 2010 law was approved by lawmakers out of "racial animus'' and that "no legitimate pedagogical objective motivated the enactment and enforcement'' of the law targeting the Mexican American studies program in Tucson Unified School District.
Senate President willing to consider cap on school tax credits
The architect of an ever-increasing siphoning off of state tax revenues to help send students to private and parochial schools said Thursday he's now willing to consider a cap -- now that the diversion has topped $74 million a year.
Federal judge rules state law banning ‘ethnic studies’ illegal
Declaring the law unconstitutional, a federal judge on Wednesday permanently blocked the state Department of Education from restricting "ethnic studies'' programs in the Tucson Unified School District -- or even demanding information from the school officials about what is being taught.
Lowest-paid Arizonans to see 50 cents more in hourly wages
As of Monday, the new state minimum wage will be $10.50 an hour for most private sector employees. That’s 50 cents more than the current figure – or a bit more than $1,000 a year, before taxes.
Elimination of car registration decals can save state $1.8 million, lawmaker says
Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita is proposing to eliminate one of the things police can use as an excuse to stop and question motorists: those metallic tags affixed to license plates that show whether a vehicle's registration is expired.
Border Patrol must provide mats for detainees to rest, 9th Circuit rules
A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a bid by Border Patrol to avoid having to provide mats and blankets to migrants they detain in holding cells in Arizona for more than 12 hours.
Bipartisan effort to ‘reform’ sentencing underway
Two state lawmakers hope to do what has proven politically impossible for decades: Convince colleagues to consider sentencing reform.
Jobless rate drops, signs abound of continued improvement
Overall, Arizona added 28,100 private sector jobs last month. That was enough to drop the state's seasonally adjusted jobless rate for November two-tenths of a point from October, to 4.3 percent.
