Sign In
Free Newsletter
Supermajority GOP chalked up big gains, but not with immigration, guns and anti-union bills
Nearly two years after Republicans took advantage of an insurgent mood that swept the nation and secured supermajority control of the Legislature, the GOP in Arizona can boast of enacting state budgets that eschewed accounting gimmicks, assumed cautious revenue estimates and earmarked money for anticipated rainy days ahead.
Jan Brewer: Dismisses budget differences, says everybody ‘went home happy’
Gov. Jan Brewer had a big agenda for Arizona’s centennial year.
In her fourth year as governor, Brewer wanted a budget that gave more money to education, public safety and health services. She wanted sweeping changes that would overhaul the way Arizona hired and fired state employees. And she wanted to continue the economic recovery that she has consistently referred as the “Arizona[...]
David Schapira: Keeping spotlight on GOP helped block anti-labor bills
The most challenging task for Democrats at the state Capitol is to stay relevant in a place where you’re greatly outnumbered.
That job fell to Senate Minority Leader David Schapira, whose caucus shrank to only nine members following the 2010 elections.
Steve Pierce: Keeping GOP out of the news was biggest challenge
Extraordinary events put Steve Pierce at the helm of the Arizona Senate — and those same events made the job of leading the chamber, which is already difficult by itself, even more challenging.
The Prescott rancher was elected as Senate president following the ouster of Russell Pearce, who lost a November recall election to a rival Republican. While some of Pearce’s colleagues had n[...]
Andy Tobin: Federal cuts, uncertainty over ‘Obamacare’ forced tough choices
With his first full session as speaker of the House under his belt, Andy Tobin is feeling pretty pleased with the way things turned out: a balanced budget, money in the “rainy day” fund, and a second economic development package all signed by the governor.
50th Arizona Legislature earns ‘most pro-small business’ tag
Arizona’s 2012 legislative session picked up where the 2011 session left off — aspiring to be the most pro-small business Legislature in Arizona’s history.
Best quotes – 2012 legislative session
Our reporters catch lawmakers during their happy, upset, frustrated and humorous moments . . .
2012 session one of the most successful in years
It is often said that nothing — or at least nothing good — gets done in an election year. You can’t say that about the Arizona state Capitol in 2012.
Chad Campbell: Democrats label session as ‘a lot of missed opportunities’
House Minority Leader Chad Campbell was a little more hopeful this session. The state had some money to spend, and the Legislature wasn’t going to have to do as much budget-slashing as they had in previous years. Maybe now, he thought, they could start restoring some funding that had been cut.
Unfortunately, lost opportunities defined centennial Legislature
Two words come to mind when I think of the centennial legislative session: lost opportunity. The lack of true leadership demonstrated by the Arizona Legislature under a Republican supermajority and a Republican governor will hurt Arizona for years.
Lawmaker participation ranks high 3rd year in a row
Once again, voting and attendance records from this year demonstrate that as long as the legislative session is kept close to the 100 days prescribed by legislative rules, lawmakers’ participation remains high.
A rare GOP-Dem budget that almost happened
The most remarkable thing about Republican leaders’ decision to explore a budget compromise with the minority party this year is that it happened at all — much less that the two sides came within a hair’s breadth of striking what would have been a rare bargain.
