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Recent Articles from Luige del Puerto
Goldwater Institute takes aim at Department of Health Services low-fat milk standard
The Goldwater Institute is known for its high-profile maneuvers, like challenging a part of the Clean Elections system and derailing the potential sale of the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team. But showing that it can tackle even seemingly benign state regulations, the watchdog group is now taking aim at the Department of Health Services for asking day care centers to serve low-fat milk.
Illegal immigration rhetoric doesn’t match reality
Strict enforcement laws like SB1070 sprang from widespread sentiment that the federal government refuses to untangle the illegal immigration mess, leaving states to bear the brunt of its fiscal and societal costs and compelling them to adopt a patchwork of laws to confront the problem.
ADEQ: We have electric car charging stations now
The decision by the state agency in charge of implementing air quality policy to repeal the Clean Cars program in favor of emission standards that aren't as stringent led to a chorus of protests from environmentalist and health advocates.
Revenues collections solid for 10th month in a row
Increases in individual income taxes and a higher-than-anticipated influx of federal funds put May’s revenue collections on solid footing, the Legislature’s budget arm reported.
Bundgaard enters ‘not guilty’ plea
Sen. Scott Bundgaard, the Peoria Republican who is facing misdemeanor charges over a physical scuffle with his then-girlfriend in February, has entered a “not guilty” plea.
Prop 13 again files initiative to cap property taxes
A group espousing California-style property tax limits has renewed its drive, filing another citizen initiative after failing to qualify for last year’s ballot.
ADEQ seeks to put brakes on ‘Clean Cars’ program, environmentalists object
While all sides agree that Arizona’s air quality woes require a long-term fix, the latest effort to adopt a less stringent standard for curbing car emissions shows that the state program to combat air pollution is defined less by consistency and more by the winds of Arizona’s ever-changing political landscape.
Catholics, Southern Baptists oppose anti-illegal immigration bills
For years, the Catholic clergy in Arizona has been among the most prominent religious organization opposing various anti-illegal-immigration measures at the Capitol. With the Mormon church’s statement, and a similar one from the Southern Baptist Convention, the Catholics now have new allies.
Mormon church position on illegal immigration
On June 10, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued an official statement on immigration that called on its members to follow the law – and also to view the immigration debate that is roiling in many parts of the country through the prism of compassion. The statement reads:
Mormon lawmakers split over LDS position on illegal immigration
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently joined an increasingly loud chorus of voices calling for a nuanced and humane solution to this complex problem.
The church boasts a perceived conservatism and politically prominent members, but how the LDS statement will precisely influence immigration legislation remains to be seen.
Sen. Gray to MCC: Don’t reverse course on increased tuition for illegal immigrants
A state senator is accusing the Maricopa Community Colleges board of planning to break the law by reconsidering its tuition rates, a move the legislator said would result in undocumented students paying in-state tuition rates.
Debt reduction is next fiscal hurdle
After policymakers borrowed heavily to keep government afloat amid a festering fiscal crisis that blew holes in the state’s budget for four years, a former Senate president tried to put into place a mechanism to rein in politicians’ appetite for debt-financing.
