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

State lawmakers hope to use fees paid by medical marijuana users and dispensaries to convince everyone else not to inhale.

Testifying in the campaign finance case against him, Attorney General Tom Horne emphatically and repeatedly denied that he illegally coordinated with an independent expenditure campaign.

A long-awaited bill by Sen. Michele Reagan aims to force independent expenditure campaigns to disclose the source of the anonymous “dark money” that has played an increasingly large role in Arizona’s elections.

After more than two hours of discussion, the House Committee on Insurance and Retirement passed a bill Feb. 4 mandating health insurance marketplace navigators and certified application counselors (CACs) undergo background checks and obtain licenses before aiding health insurance marketplace applicants.

Health care will be an issue of reckoning for legislators this year. A less covered but extremely important topic is setting higher expectations in Arizona when it comes to incorporating technology into a patient’s access to care. Specifically, improving how insurers act upon prior authorization, a process required by insurance plans before certain medications are approved for patients.

Some statewide candidates are stuffing the warchest, some see only a trickle, some are spending fast.

A bill that throws the book at pimps and men who pay minors for sex received unanimous approval today in the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing that touched a nerve with the fathers of daughters on the panel.

Wil Cardon leads all candidates in fundraising for the secretary of state’s race, with fellow Republican Michele Reagan trailing not far behind.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of a group of charter schools today, saying the state cannot reduce voter approved-funds earmarked for teacher pay raises and the classroom to offset overpayments in previous years.

Sen. Leah Landrum Taylor, a Phoenix Democrat, is dropping her bid to become the next secretary of state.