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

With polls showing him trailing front-runner Mitt Romney only slightly in Arizona, Rick Santorum told an audience here Tuesday that his consistent support of smaller government makes him the best GOP candidate to take on President Barack Obama.

A House panel endorsed a bill Thursday that would put the brakes on many of the special license plates that allow Arizonans to display support for various causes.

After American Indians led silent prayers at sunrise, dozens marked Arizona’s 100th birthday Tuesday by trekking a mile to the State Capitol, following a volunteer dressed as George W.P. Hunt, the state’s first governor.

Red and blue lights flash in your rearview mirror. A police officer asks for your license and proof of insurance.

In 1998, Arizona voters decided to bar the Legislature from making changes to initiatives and referendums without a three–quarters vote in each house. But Rep. Chester Crandell has proposed that any voter-approved measure using public funds later face reauthorization votes by the public.

While attempts to bar minors from riding unrestrained in pickup truck beds have failed for years at the Legislature, state leaders have three new reasons to act, a lawmaker said Thursday.

A state House committee Tuesday narrowly endorsed scrapping a state law the prevents legislators from serving as paid lobbyists at the Capitol for a year after leaving office.

Its author, Rep. Jack W. Harper, R-Surprise, said the moratorium is intended to keep lawmakers from influencing legislation but fails to recognize that staff members are even better positioned to become lobbyists. He said it’s unfair to deny former lawmakers the same opportunities allowed for staff members.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio grimaced as he scanned the square of paper pulled from a historic trophy offered by Secretary of State Ken Bennett.

In honor of Arizona’s approaching 100th birthday, Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza is sporting more trees and a spruced-up lawn following a nine-month makeover of the State Capitol grounds.