Sign In
Free Newsletter
House members balk at bill to give state senators 4-year terms
Saying it will lead to greater continuity, more stability and less campaigning, the president of the Arizona Senate wants four-year terms for state lawmakers. But not for everyone. Just senators.
House committee moves to increase Arizona smoking age to 21
Despite one lawmaker’s protests that if age 18 is old enough to go to war, it’s old enough to smoke, a House committee gave preliminary approval Thursday to a measure that would raise the legal smoking age in Arizona to 21.
Bill outlines rules for law enforcers when tracking cellphones
Mia Garcia, spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office, said the legislation her agency crafted will make it clear in statute that state and local police are required to get a search warrant before they use devices like a “StingRay,” which can hone in on individual cell phones. And she said the “modernization” of existing laws is good for Arizonans.
Push to raise smoking age to 21 aims to keep cigarettes from youngsters
Saying it would help keep underage kids from getting cigarettes from 18-year-old high schoolers, Republican Rep. Paul Boyer wants to raise the legal smoking age to 21.
Arizona Senate panel votes for reviews of sales tax breaks
Republicans and Democrats on an Arizona Senate panel came together Wednesday to back legislation requiring regular reviews of more than $12.3 billion in exemptions in the current sales tax code.
Bill advances that could jeopardize more than $200 million in desegregation funds
At a time when Gov. Doug Ducey boasted more than $100 million in new investments for education in his budget plan, a Senate panel advanced a bill that could put roughly double that amount of school funding in jeopardy.
Senator pushes ban on billboards he considers unacceptable
The way David Farnsworth sees it, billboards should not advertise things that are illegal in Arizona, at least for some.
Rats and snakes beware: House gives preliminary approval to ‘snake shot’ bill
Republican Rep. Jay Lawrence of Scottsdale is so sure that “snake shot” can’t hurt people, he considered letting someone shoot him with it to prove it. But in the end, Republicans in the Arizona House took his word for it.
Senator wants to broadly expand law designed to punish wayward cities
A law that allows the state to withhold the revenues from communities that don’t do as Arizona lawmakers please has been called illegal coercion. Sen. Steve Smith wants to expand it.
Arizona Democratic lawmakers push anti-discrimination laws
Democrats in the Arizona Legislature want the state's civil rights laws amended to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status.
GOP lawmaker faces backlash from students on dorm voting bill
HB2260 states that “dormitories or other temporary college address cannot be used to define residency for the purposes of voter registration.” In other words, students who do not have the intent to stay permanently at their dorm addresses cannot register to vote from them.
House committee endorses bill protecting people from ‘smart guns’
Citing a fear of Big Brother and glitchy technology, Republicans on a state House panel approved legislation that would ensure nobody is required to use “smart guns.”
