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Recent Articles from Jim Small
House moves to limit governor line-item vetoes
Voters may be given the opportunity this fall to further limit when governors can use their line-item veto power, if a measure approved today by the House is passed by the Senate.
Legislature poised to OK health care lawsuit
Lawmakers March 29 convened a special session designed to give Gov. Jan Brewer clear authority to sue the federal government over the recently enacted health care reform legislation on the grounds that it violates Arizona's sovereignty.
UpClose with Lucy Mason
If you ask anyone who has worked on an issue with Rep. Lucy Mason, they'll say she is persistent and tenacious and every other synonym that "Roget's Thesaurus" lists to describe those who never give up. The Prescott Republican is in her final term, and her tenure in the Legislature has been one of the wildest.
House panel OKs concealed weapons without permits
A bill that would let gun owners carry a concealed weapon without a permit cleared a hurdle in the Arizona House of Representatives March 25 and is now ready for a formal vote.
O’Connor House measures would reduce ballot initiative fraud
Andrew Chavez has made his living from initiative ballot campaigns for a decade, but he's never seen anything like the debacle of 2008. "For years now, we've been dealing with a system that wasn't broken, but definitely needed fixing," he said. "By far and away, (2008) was the worst year."
Patterson yanked from committee over clashes with Pearce, Weiers
A freshman Democratic legislator has been removed from a committee after clashing repeatedly with its Republican chairman since last year, a move the Democrat called an "abuse of power."
House gives preliminary OK to 3 ballot measures
The House March 23 gave preliminary approval to a trio of measures that would ask voters to lengthen legislative terms, temporarily suspend protections of some spending and give lawmakers control of billions of dollars of federal money.
Sinema: State will lose $7B with KidsCare elimination
Arizona is risking nearly $7 billion in annual federal funding for health care by eliminating a children's health insurance program in the budget that was signed into law last week, Democratic lawmakers said.
Farnsworth seeks return to AZ House
Eddie Farnsworth, a former Republican legislative leader, is hoping to return to the Arizona House of Representatives this fall after a 2008 defeat in a Republican Senate primary race.
Yale-educated Vogt says he’s receptive to Dems’ ideas
This was not the way Ted Vogt imagined his final semester of law school. It began normally enough, with classes and a clerkship and the inevitable plans to take the Bar exam and line up employment after graduation.
Cubs stadium bill passes House minus rental car tax
Legislation that aims to ensure the Chicago Cubs continue to call Mesa home for spring training baseball was stripped of its controversial provisions today and approved by the Arizona House of Representatives, though work on the matter is far from done.
Rural hospitals facing serious impact from AHCCCS budget cuts
With a few strokes of her pen, Gov. Jan Brewer approved massive cuts to health care funding and money the state gives to hospitals that treat large numbers of the poor and uninsured. While the move will be felt statewide, its most acute effect could be in the rural reaches of the state.
