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

The Senate completed the first step towards passing a budget on Monday while the House hit a snag.

Former Arizona Treasurer Jeff DeWit is the new chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, scoring a decisive victory in a crowded race. 

Arizona Democrats have elected Yolanda Bejarano to chair the party. Bejarano won 70.2% of the vote on Jan. 28, receiving 440 votes to her opponent, Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo’s 186 for the top job in the Arizona Democratic Party. 

Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs proposed the end of results-based funding in her budget, effectively untying additional per-pupil funding from achievement determined by the school letter grade system.  

State legislators are prepared to intervene in a conflict between Scottsdale and Rio Verde over dwindling water supply that Scottsdale says it is not required to share with the community.  

The top two Republican lawmakers want Katie Hobbs to put money left over from the inaugural celebration into a state account -- where it can't be used to elect more Democrats.

Gov. Katie Hobbs is calling for a top-to-bottom review of the Arizona prison system, where inmates and their families have complained about a wide range of issues and a federal judge recently found medical care to be “plainly grossly inadequate.” The governor issued an executive order on Wednesday establishing an “independent prison oversight commission” to review problems in the prison system from healthcare to staffing levels.

The Arizona Senate and House of Representatives adopted new rules packages on party lines this week that would expand the powers of the House speaker and Senate president and drastically reduce requirements for members to retain records.  

Legislative Republicans are gearing up to send a budget to Gov. Katie Hobbs soon, which will likely be met with a hasty veto.  

In the past few weeks, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and top Republican lawmakers have engaged in some public mudslinging.