Public notice bill comes back to life while another dies
The battle over who gets to print public notices continued in the House on Monday, as a bill that had been killed was revived and passed, and another bill went down in flames.
Senate approves bill to arm teachers and administrators
The Arizona Senate approved a bill Monday that could arm teachers and administrators in rural schools.
The bill passed the Senate on a 17-11 party line vote, and now moves to the House. If approved by both chambers, the measure would allow certain school employees to carry concealed firearms in schools with fewer than 600 students that are more than 30 minutes and 20 miles from the nearest[...]
Cash-strapped Arpaio recall effort nixes paid circulators
The recall effort against Maricopa County Attorney Joe Arpaio decided over the weekend to stop using paid signature gatherers due to a lack of funds, an ominous sign for a campaign that faces an uphill battle in collecting hundreds of thousands of signatures.
Judge says it’s OK to ban flesh-eating fish
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled Monday the state can ban foot-flesh eating fish from pedicures because they can’t be disinfected. Judge George Foster rejected the arguments from Clint Bolick of the Goldwater Institute that fish pedicures are different from traditional pedicure practices and they should be regulated differently.
Carmona won’t run for governor
The biggest name in Democratic politics in Arizona won’t jump into the fray for the 2014 governor’s race. Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona told KPNX-TV (Channel 12) reporter Brahm Resnik in a Sunday interview that he won’t seek the Democratic nomination for governor.
Latino groups condemn 2 early-voting bills; plan legal action to stop them
Faith Mendoza is a 17-year-old honor student from Chandler who spent hundreds of hours through the 2012 election walking the streets, registering voters and then picking up early ballots from people who otherwise might not have voted.
By most accounts, she is a model citizen. But if SB1003 passes through the Legislature in its present form and is signed by the governor, continuing her volun[...]
Redistricting commission almost out of money as legal fees stack up
The state’s redistricting commission will run out of money before legal fees accrued in multiple lawsuits can be paid, the commission’s staff said Thursday. The commission’s director has begun negotiating with the Legislature over another supplemental appropriation.
GOP activists vow to kill expansion
Some Arizona lawmakers contemplating the pros and cons of Gov. Jan Brewer’s plan to expand Medicaid coverage in the state must also consider whether a vote for her proposal amounts to political suicide.
Doing the Medicaid math
Do the math.
Those three words essentially sum up Gov. Jan Brewer’s core argument in favor of expanding the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid program. She repeats them at every press event, every interview and every plea for support.
It’s curtains for film tax credit bill
Political realities at the state Capitol have forced the film industry and its allies to abandon the push to create a tax credit program aimed at luring productions to Arizona.
Arizona jobless rate inches up in January
Arizona’s jobless rate inched up to 8 percent in January, when the state shed 45,500 jobs, the state’s employment and population statistics said today.
Redistricting commission to consider appeal of legislative privilege ruling
The state’s redistricting commission is set to discuss the lawsuits it is embroiled in today, and weigh an appeal of a recent ruling that forced commissioners to answer questions from attorneys who want to prove a conspiracy led to a legislative map that critics say favors Democrats.