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

Arizona lawmakers voted to rebuke the Department of Child Safety on Tuesday afternoon, a striking statement against an agency that has struggled to impress the legislators who created it over a year ago.

Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed suit this morning to toss state utility regulator Susan Bitter Smith from her office. Brnovich contends Susan Bitter Smith is “ineligible to serve” as a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission. He wants the Arizona Supreme Court to order her removed.

Democratic Sen. Carlyle Begay is now a Republican. The Ganado lawmaker announced Monday morning his switch to the Republican Party, a move he said is an extension of his independent streak at the Arizona Capitol. But Democrats categorized the move as no surprise for a lawmaker who often bucked his party to vote in favor of Republican-led bills.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is set to choose a replacement for a Democratic state senator from Tempe who resigned to take a new job in Nevada.

Reaching a deal that provides a portion of court-ordered funds meets schools’ desire to stabilize and sustain funding, according to a statement released by the Arizona School Boards Association, a plaintiff in the case.

In 10 cases so far, prosecutors have been unable to file charges under Arizona statutes targeting “revenge porn” because lawmakers failed to amend the law this past legislative session.

When Gov. Doug Ducey announced his plan to increase K-12 funding through the state’s land trust, it became the biggest part of what has become an ambitious education agenda featuring several high-profile initiatives.

New poll numbers show a slim majority of Arizonans favor decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

New federal rules designed to better protect small streams, tributaries and wetlands ai??i?? and the drinking water of 117 million Americans ai??i?? are being praised by environmentalists as a victory for clean water and criticized by Republicans and farm groups as going too far.

Officials with the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Arizona, formerly the Marijuana Policy Project of Arizona, filed the initiative with the secretary of state this afternoon, setting the stage for a potential vote on legalization in 2016 – six years after Arizonans narrowly voted to legalize medical marijuana.