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Young Supreme Court could shape Arizona law for years to come
The current Arizona Supreme Court has the potential to become the longest sitting court since the state stopped electing justices. The crop of justices averages 56 years old. The earliest any of them reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 will be 2021.
Biggs, Brewer, Tobin have options on Medicaid issue
Gov. Jan Brewer is determined to expand Arizona’s Medicaid plan, Senate President Andy Biggs has vowed to prevent it, and House Speaker Andy Tobin is somewhere in the middle.
Medicaid opponents see their bills vetoed, but differ on reasons
Conservative lawmakers rallied against Medicaid expansion at a press conference on the Capitol lawn last month. But some expansion opponents warned that publicly staking out their position and standing up against Gov. Jan Brewer can come with political repercussions.
Some ‘dead’ bills get a 2nd chance, but tactic doesn’t always work
More than a dozen bills have been reconsidered on the floors of the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives after their earlier demise, and while most have passed when given a second thought, a few have stalled or met another death by vote.
Gun buyback programs likely to end in Phoenix, Tucson
Officials in Phoenix and Tucson say it’s no longer viable to organize gun buyback programs now that a state law will require the guns to be sold back into circulation, not destroyed.
Judge boots MCAO from Horne campaign finance case
A judge ruled that the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office lacks to the authority to pursue campaign finance allegations against Tom Horne and a top aide, giving the attorney general at least a temporary reprieve.
With a legal challenge pending, consolidated elections still isn’t a sure thing
Although cities are concerned about how they will comply with the changes resulting from consolidated elections, all the worry may be for naught, at least for charter cities, if a legal challenge against the law is successful.
Fixes for consolidated elections stall, leaving cities in dark about when to hold elections
When voters in Tucson and Phoenix went to the polls to elect their mayors in 2011, voters elected them for four years. But a bill passed last year by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer may extend the mayors’ time in office by a year. Or it may shorten their terms by a year. Nobody is sure which one it will be.
Brewer signs more lenient resign-to-run bill
Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill Tuesday making it easier for elected officials to seek new offices without violating the state’s resign-to-run law.
Action lacking despite opportunities to improve Arizona’s lobbyist reporting system
From lobbyists to lawmakers to advocacy groups, reactions to flaws in Arizona lobbying reports reflect an image of a system that needs to be improved.
Some proposals for how to improve the system have emerged, but any agreement on the solutions, not to mention the political will to enact them, still eludes lawmakers two years after the Fiesta Bowl lobbying scandal roped in dozens of pol[...]
Money without merit
Bonuses given to state workers who didn’t surrender protections
Raises for rank-and-file state employees came with a choice last year: Become an at-will employee in exchange for a 5-percent pay bump, or keep those protections and receive the same salaries they’d had since 2007.The amount of money the deal directed toward political appointees and top staff, who are among t[...]
Brewer: Answers from feds leave Arizona with only one option on AHCCCS
The federal government has told Arizona that it will not be able to continue cuts to its Medicaid program beyond the end of the year if it hopes to receive federal funding for a voter-approved expansion of the program.
