Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

Since the late 1970s, rising crime has led lawmakers to require prison time for many non-violent offenses.

But some say eliminating the options of fines, work release, substance-abuse treatment and house arrest in favor of prison time can turn non-violent offenders into career criminals.

Now, as states face large budget deficits, calls for reforming sentencing for non-violent offenders also are coming increasingly from conservatives who call prison costs unsustainable.

Olympic swimmer Misty Hyman gently coaxes volunteers from the audience to describe their accomplishments and goals.

Spice, a chemically treated blend of herbs marketed as incense but often smoked as an alternative to marijuana, is now illegal in Arizona.

In a rite of spring, state legislators are proposing at least 12 special license plates that would add to nearly 50 offered by the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Now that Arizona voters have approved the use of medical marijuana, employers need new ways to deal with employees who are impaired for any reason, a state lawmaker said Tuesday.

The commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the border is more safe and secure today because of a 1 1/2 -year-old border crackdown initiative.

A Democratic state lawmaker says it’s time to close what he calls a gap in state law that allows people to purchase firearms at gun shows without the same background check required at shops.

Spice, an herb often smoked as a legal alternative to marijuana, should be banned in Arizona because of its dangerous side effects, a state lawmaker said Thursday.

Domestic violence affects women of every country, culture and income level, and victims are often reluctant to seek help for a variety of reasons.

When a woman is in the U.S. illegally, however, she will be even more reluctant to come forward, law enforcement officials and victims’ advocates say. Undocumented immigrants as a group fear dealing with police, and some abusers use that fear as a lever, threatening to turn in their victims and separate them from children through deportation.

Payson is one of the first cities in the state to enact a local ordinance banning the use of fireworks that will become legal statewide on Dec. 1. Show Low and Queen Creek have also passed bans, and Flagstaff is considering regulation. Yuma is among cities taking a wait-and-see approach.