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Failed 1998 initiative caused open primaries for independents
A 1998 initiative that aimed to open Arizona’s primary elections failed to make it onto the ballot but inadvertently led to the current system in which registered independents can vote in either primary they wish.
Goldwater Institute takes aim at Department of Health Services low-fat milk standard
The Goldwater Institute is known for its high-profile maneuvers, like challenging a part of the Clean Elections system and derailing the potential sale of the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team. But showing that it can tackle even seemingly benign state regulations, the watchdog group is now taking aim at the Department of Health Services for asking day care centers to serve low-fat milk.
Illegal immigration rhetoric doesn’t match reality
Strict enforcement laws like SB1070 sprang from widespread sentiment that the federal government refuses to untangle the illegal immigration mess, leaving states to bear the brunt of its fiscal and societal costs and compelling them to adopt a patchwork of laws to confront the problem.
“Top-two” proposal may favor centrist candidates, but critics fear unintended consequences
In a state where most campaigns are decided in the primary, a group of would-be reformers wants to force political discourse to the center by upending the entire election system.
Feds give approval for AHCCCS freeze
The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System finally received approval from the federal government for its partial enrollment freeze, though the one-day delay will push back freeze by an extra week.
Supreme Court labels matching funds ‘substantial burden’ to free speech
Arizona’s system of public campaign financing has been dealt a major, although expected, blow by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled June 27 that the matching funds provision of the Clean Elections Act is unconstitutional.
Will elimination of matching funds leave a mark on state politics?
Local political consultants and operatives disagree on what effect the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the matching funds component of Arizona’s public campaign finance option will have on politics.
Judge expected to reject $20M fund sweep
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge is prepared to rule in favor of a special fund that was swept in 2009 to balance the state budget, but he is not likely to order the Legislature to return the nearly $20 million it took.
Regents to unveil plan overhauling university funding system
Arizona is about to consider a funding concept for its three universities that has shown spotty results, but which is re-emerging as the system of choice for legislatures around the nation. The Arizona Board of Regents is set to unveil a detailed plan in early July that will serve as the foundation for legislation to transform the funding system from enrollment-based to performance-based.
Judge refuses to block AHCCCS freeze, but case isn’t over
Attorneys for a group trying to stop an upcoming partial enrollment freeze in the state's Medicaid program said a judge's refusal to block the freeze is only a temporary setback.
Planned Parenthood seeks court order to halt new abortion laws
Two new laws regulating abortion discriminate against women who want to use the abortion pill and physician assistants and nurses who dispense it, Planned Parenthood alleged Wednesday in court filings that seek to keep the new measures from taking effect.
Eyebrow threaders sue Board of Cosmetology
The Institute for Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Arizona State Board of Cosmetology over its crackdown on a hair removal practice known as threading.
