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Recent Articles from Rachel Leingang and Hank Stephenson
Ex-Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce, lobbyist Jim Norton indicted
Former Arizona Corporation Commission chairman Gary Pierce was indicted in federal court this week on felony conspiracy, bribery, mail fraud and five counts of wire fraud following an investigation into his relationship with Johnson Utilities owner George Johnson.
ABOR President: If university bonding plan fails, lawsuit is an option
Lawmakers could face a lawsuit from the universities if the proposal to permit them to issue bonds of up to $1 billion falls flat, the head of the Arizona Board of Regents hinted.
Leaders ponder best time to put education sales tax extension on ballot
The difference between a good joke and a bad one is timing. The same could be said for a ballot measure that would extend or possibly raise taxes.
A raft of bills would make Arizona’s initiative process more difficult
More than a century after Arizona’s voters gave themselves a Constitution and the right to write laws, legislators still can’t quite accept the fact that they have competition.
Outside spending groups target Arizona races
As the election comes to a close, campaign finance documents filed with the Arizona Clean Elections Commission and the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office show that, with only one statewide race, outside spending is in state and legislative elections is way down from 2014.
Departments jockey to create the most compelling pleas for money
A new helicopter, more prison beds, money to pay utility bills – state agencies sent the Governor’s Office their annual budget requests detailing big and small priorities they hope the governor will include in his executive budget proposal to lawmakers in January.
Stonewalled: Legislature redacts, delays and denies access to messages
Four months ago, the Arizona Capitol Times set out to learn how much of the state’s business is being conducted on smartphones, via newer technologies like text messages, social media chats and third-party messenger applications. But getting access to those messages, which most experts and public officials agree are covered under the state public records laws, can be extremely difficult.
The end of transparency? Corp commissioner Burns considering further restrictions to public records
After three months of fighting with the Washington DC-based Checks and Balances Project over records of an Arizona Corporation Commission member’s text messages, emails and call logs, a fellow commissioner was fed up. "When does too much become too much?” Commissioner Bob Burns wrote in an email to Jodi Jerich, executive director of the Corporation Commission.
