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

A raft of changes is coming to a Republican-led effort to overhaul the Arizona commission responsible for redrawing the state’s congressional and legislative district boundaries.

Attorney John Masterson, who represents Olsen, confirmed July 12 that the Goldwater Institute board of directors voted 7-6 to terminate Olsen’s employment agreement on June 27, nearly two weeks before the organization announced her departure.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge upheld former Gov. Jan Brewer’s 2013 Medicaid expansion plan, ruling that a hospital assessment that funds the program is not subject to a provision in the Arizona Constitution that requires a two-thirds vote in the Legislature for a tax increase.

Six straight months of revenues exceeding projections has some lawmakers hoping to reverse the impact of Gov. Doug Ducey’s budget cuts, but the Governor’s Office has signaled that agency heads and legislators shouldn’t get their hopes up.

Gov. Doug Ducey attributed his lack of information about a change in policy at the Department of Child Safety, which in February barred married same-sex couples from jointly fostering or adopting children, to the transition between ousted Director Charles Flanagan and his successor, Greg McKay.

Many school district officials and education leaders say Gov. Doug Ducey’s “Classrooms First” slogan and the oft-repeated boast that Arizona will spend more than ever on K-12 education next year are misleading and don’t reflect how budget cuts will affect schools in 2016.

The early months of 2013 offered some respite from the previous calendar year, when Arizona politicians were bogged down by investigations and indictments.

Figuring out how to avoid Gov. Jan Brewer’s veto pen is a guessing game that leaves even some of the most seasoned veterans at the Capitol perplexed.

Many lawmakers and lobbyists say there are no hard and fast guidelines for avoiding a veto from a governor who vetoed 91 bills in her first four legislative sessions.