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Recent Articles from Luige del Puerto
Distractions? Yes. Distracted? Probably not too much
Every circus has its sideshows. And this year, the state Capitol was crawling with them.
For the first time in more than a decade, lawmakers wrapped up their work in 100 days. And they did so in spite of distractions that came in the form of a roadside fracas that cost a Republican leader his post, a college football scandal that ensnared more than a dozen elected officials and a trag[...]
Tea Party Influence: New GOP legislators pushed ideological needle to the right
Friendly to faith-based legislation and deeply rooted in a small-government and fiscally disciplined philosophy, Arizona’s new legislators helped define and successfully push a conservative agenda at the Capitol.
Biggs, as Senate majority leader, less vocal in opposing bills
On several occasions, the Senate majority leader voted with the losing side — and against the majority in his caucus.
Those occasions are a stark reminder that the man Republicans picked as caucus leader is a fiscal conservative with a libertarian streak, who backs or supports measures depending on how they hew to or diverge from his reading of the U.S. Constitution.
Plight of the minority: Was self-assigned ‘watchdog’ role a success for the Democrats?
Lacking the numbers to block Republican-backed bills, Democratic legislators billed themselves as watchdogs whose main task at the Capitol was to highlight legislation they considered to be harmful to the state.
Pearce: No spending increase even if state gets extra cash
Pointing out that Arizona faces a revenue cliff when a temporary sales tax increase expires in two years, Senate President Russell Pearce said any extra money the state collects won’t be used to restore cuts or be spent on new programs.
Luige del Puerto discusses how business was the big winner in this year’s legislative session
Arizona Capitol Times reporter Luige del Puerto talks about how the business community coalesced behind an agenda they were largely able to achieve during the most recent legislative session.
Multistate compacts in vogue, not ready for prime time in Arizona
The sheer number of legislative proposals that were introduced this year seeking to defy the federal government seemed to affirm Arizona’s credentials as a bastion of the states’ rights movement.
But nearly all of the bills that would have allowed Arizona to band together with other states in attempts to check federal overreach fell by the wayside.
Reagan’s tobacco bill: A case of persistence and compromise
One bill signed into law this session is a textbook example of persistence, compromise, and how legislation sometimes ends up not too far from what it intended in the first place.
Brewer’s vetoes draw ire from conservatives
Gov. Jan Brewer’s vetoes might have solidified her position to govern from the center-right, but it’s drawing ire from conservatives.
Adding STO expansion to tax fix bill backfires, draws veto
Reeling from a veto in early April of a bill that would have dramatically expanded a tax credit program for private school scholarships, pro-school-choice legislators deleted the provisions Gov. Jan Brewer cited in her veto message.
Compromise between cities, builders reflects ‘real world’
The final compromise on impact fees contained several big provisions, but it mostly hinged on the definition of “necessary public services” that development fees would be used to pay for.
Builders, cities finally agree on impact fees
Late last year, the city of Mesa won a hard-fought court case over its use of impact fees to pay for cultural facilities, a use that homebuilders and others howled was an egregious abuse of the law allowing municipalities to impose a fee on new development so that growth pays for itself.
