Loyalty oath won’t be mandatory, Thorpe says he’ll amend bill
A freshman Republican lawmaker who sponsored a bill making a “constitutional oath” a requirement for high school graduation said he’ll amend the legislation so that the oath is no longer mandatory.
State prepares for debate on costly Common Core educational standards
Those who support Arizona’s new Common Core standards for math and English education say they help turn students into better thinkers and prepare them for college and the workforce.
Those who question the new standards say they could create added expenses for public schools, including new textbooks, teacher training and the need for new technology. They say the price tag, still undete[...]
Yavapai County bill designed to curtail cannabis clubs
Concerned about medical marijuana co-ops attracting blight and crime to residential neighborhoods, Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk is pushing a bill in the state Senate that would reaffirm counties’ zoning authority over marijuana and cannabis cultivation.
Fight over Colorado City looms once more
Flora Jessop, an escaped former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Colorado City, promised today that change is coming to the small community that straddles the Arizona-Utah border.
House leadership profiles
New House leadership previews the dynamic to come in the 51st Legislature.
Deep split among GOP lawmakers to AHCCCS expansion
When Gov. Jan Brewer announced her proposal to expand Medicaid to the full amount advocated by the federal health care law, Republican leadership in the House and Senate received a fight they didn’t ask for, and one they didn’t know was coming.
Dems ready to work with Brewer on Medicaid expansion, but express caution
Gov. Jan Brewer’s bombshell on Medicaid expansion in her State of the State speech Jan. 14 led many Democratic lawmakers to give her proposal a standing ovation for the first time in her four years at the dais.
Brewer: ‘Tut-tutting’ NYC conservative editors don’t know Arizona
One of the most prominent conservative media outlets in the United States is taking Gov. Jan Brewer to task for her call to expand her state’s Medicaid program in accordance with the Affordable Care Act, accusing her of abandoning her principles and pursuing a course of action that will harm both Arizona and the United States.
Arizona Supreme Court: Bennett didn’t err in describing Prop 204
Secretary of State Ken Bennett complied with the law in drafting the ballot description for Proposition 204, the unsuccessful initiative that would have permanently increased the sales tax by a penny, the Arizona Supreme Court said on Jan. 17.
Arizona jobless rate inches up
Arizona’s economy might be recovering, but the job market didn’t quite keep pace — or at least not last month.
Republicans unlikely to negotiate budget with Democrats
While Democrats gained seats following last year’s elections, Republicans are still likely to craft the state budget on their own rather than directly negotiate with the minority.
Brewer touts business, health care support for AHCCCS plan
As Gov. Jan Brewer gears up to push her Medicaid plan through the Legislature, she’s rallying business and health care leaders in support of the proposed AHCCCS expansion.