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Recent Articles from Jim Small
Sale of state prisons running into wall of opposition
When lawmakers chose April Fool’s Day as the deadline to submit a plan to privatize the state’s prison system, they unwittingly telegraphed just how dubious the plan was. First, the whole idea of putting state prisons under private control was a difficult sell to the public. Then there was a question about how many of the state’s 10 prisons to auction off.
Stuck in budget limbo, lawmakers are pre-filing fewer bills
Lawmakers have pre-filed fewer bills for the upcoming session than at the same time two years ago, a potential sign that fewer bills will be filed overall. That's not necessarily a surprise given the staggering state budget deficit lawmakers will face when they head back to the Capitol in January.
Arizona’s tough-on-crime stance costs big bucks
Crime in Arizona has dramatically declined this decade, but the number of Arizonans in prison continues to climb and has grown by nearly 50 percent since 2002, thanks in part to the creation of new crimes and tougher sentencing guidelines. Supporters of the tough-on-crime approach say the figures show that the laws are doing what is intended: making Arizona safer by keeping dangerous criminals [...]
House communications director steps down
The top press aide for the House Republican caucus has announced she will resign at the end of this week. Becky Blackburn spent less than a year as communications director for the House of Representatives. In an e-mail to House majority members, staff and the media, she announced Dec. 4 would be her final day.
Judge sets date for SRP records hearing
Salt River Project and a pair of Arizona municipalities will face off in court over a public records dispute in February. A Maricopa County judge on Dec. 2 set a hearing date of Feb. 17. The two sides will debate whether the quasi-governmental utility company is subject to the state's public records law. Prescott and Prescott Valley have filed two public records requests with SRP, and the utili[...]
October marks 15th straight month of revenue declines
State tax collections continued their downward slide in October, with revenues for the month coming in more than $140 million below forecast and the state slipping deeper into a sea of red ink.
UpClose with House Chief Clerk Norman Moore
When House Speaker Kirk Adams banged the gavel at 3:33 p.m. on Nov. 23 and closed the fourth special session of the 49th Legislature, he also may have brought the end of the final floor session for Norman Moore. Moore has served as chief clerk in the House of Representatives since 1992, when his predecessor Jane Richards retired. The chief clerk is responsible for supervising the bill process a[...]
SRP fighting to keep records private
The nation's third-largest public power utility and one of the state's largest water suppliers avoided a ruling earlier this year that would have determined whether it was subject to Arizona public records law. But now the Salt River Project is again bracing against claims that its quasi-governmental status requires it to maintain and provide access to documents.
Barnes’ comments take a turn for the weird
While the Senate barely said a word about the budget bills, the House spent more than an hour debating their merits when they came up for a vote Nov. 23. It was a strikingly partisan debate on spending cuts to education and social services. At times it was adversarial. At other times it was just strange.
Will legislative PACs be used to corral votes?
A pair of political committees created by top legislative Republicans will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend in next year's elections, which is causing some to wonder if it's appropriate for them to wield that kind of power.
House panel approves budget-fix bills
A House panel followed the Senate's lead, quickly approving a series of budget bills aimed at chipping away at the state's massive deficit. The bills include $300 million in cuts to social programs and state aid for education.
Municipalities file special action for access to SRP watershed records
Two municipalities are challenging the authority of one of the state's largest utilities and are now asking a Maricopa County court to order Salt River Project (SRP) to turn over records under the state's public records law.
