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Brewer clears schedule as budget negotiations continue
Gov. Jan Brewer isn’t making any public appearances set for the week and is keeping her schedule open so she’ll be available for budget and Medicaid negotiations.
Governor not looking for ‘Brewer v. Burns’ repeat
What a difference four years makes. In 2009, Gov. Jan Brewer sued the Legislature over its refusal to send her a package of budget bills that she was certain to veto, leading the Arizona Supreme Court to rule that lawmakers couldn’t hold back measures that were ready for the governor.
Medicaid detour
Foes of expansion eye referendum
Even if voters approve her plan, a threatened citizen referendum on Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion proposal could cast a pall over the 2014 election and throw the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System into chaos.
If the Legislature passes Medicaid expansion, two former senators and frequent foes of Brewer plan to[...]
House Republicans consider killing Senate budget and starting over
Some House Republicans are so opposed to the Senate’s “Democratic spendfest” budget, which passed out of the upper chamber with mostly Democratic support, that they want to scrap the proposal and start the budget process over from scratch.
Sooner or later, key bills likely to emerge from legislative limbo
Gov. Jan Brewer's moratorium on signing bills ensured that after the budget is finished and before lawmakers adjourn, a flurry of legislation will head her way.
Many of the proposals stuck in the pipeline can be rolled into the budget, but others are non-budgetary changes in statutes that need only a few final actions, and a vote, to be sent to the governor when she is ready to receive bi[...]
State Supreme Court takes school inflation funding case
The Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether Arizona’s Voter Protection Act requires the Legislature to fund inflation for K-12 education.
ACLU sues to strike law targeting abortions of female, minority babies
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and organizations representing black and Asian-American women sued the state today to overturn a law outlawing abortions carried out to prevent the births of females and minority babies.
Former senators eying Medicaid referendum that could delay any expansion
Former Sens. Frank Antenori and Ron Gould, GOP rivals of Gov. Jan Brewer who were frequently on the receiving end of her veto stamp, are hoping to return the favor.
If the Legislature approves the Medicaid expansion, the former lawmakers want to put it on the 2014 ballot in the hopes of convincing voters to reject Brewer’s proposal.
Tobin abandons plan to send Medicaid expansion to the ballot
House Speaker Andy Tobin is dropping his proposed resolution to send Medicaid expansion to the voters, and will deal with the issue in the Legislature, one way or another.
Tobin fighting to hold caucus together, keep the budget in GOP handsh
A fight is brewing in the House that Speaker Andy Tobin didn’t ask for, and he’s trying to keep his caucus members from tearing each other apart over Medicaid expansion – and stop the budget from getting hijacked.
After losing control of Senate, Biggs looks on as new majority emerges
The Arizona Senate’s passage of a budget plan that includes Medicaid expansion on May 16 was a tremendous victory for Gov. Jan Brewer, as well as the lawmakers who stuck their necks out for the governor — most notably Senate Majority Leader John McComish, who sponsored the amendment that added expansion to the budget plan.
JLBC: New sales tax reform plan will increase revenue
The newest incarnation of Gov. Jan Brewer’s sales tax reform plan will be a net positive to the state’s general fund that could bring in nearly $37 million in new revenue next year, according to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
