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Bill aims to prevent court battles over settlement money
A bill that would change the way the state handles money from court settlements with the Attorney General’s Office could help prevent the kinds of court battles that ensued after the Legislature swept $50 million into the general fund last year.
‘The Selective Seven’ — Sometimes they even vote against their own bills
A new voting bloc is emerging in the state House consisting of seven conservative Republicans who have voted against more GOP-sponsored bills on the floor than some Democrats have, though for entirely different reasons.
LaFaro says he hopes his “Judas’’ comment taught governor a lesson
The comments by Maricopa County Republican Party chairman A.J. LaFaro equating Gov. Jan Brewer to Judas Iscariot for pushing Medicaid expansion have created a firestorm and led to calls for his resignation.
Two early voting bills get uncertain new life
Two controversial early voting reform bills have been cleared for a vote in the House, but their future remains uncertain. The bills advocated by county elections officials had been going nowhere, held up in the House Government Committee.
Supporters, opponents of Medicaid expansion clash at hearing
The contentiousness of the debate over Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion proposal was on full display during the Legislature’s first public hearing Wednesday, where advocates and proponents debated every facet of the plan.
Mayors unveil own sales tax simplification plan
Mayors of Arizona cities offered an alternative plan to simplify the state’s sales tax code today, hours before a Senate panel began tackling key provisions of Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposal.
Arizona ‘bathroom bill’ ties restroom use to birth gender
A bill to prohibit men going into the women’s bathrooms and vice-versa was held from the House Appropriations Committee agenda Wednesday, but the sponsor vowed to bring it back up for debate next week.
Brewer tells Biggs to slow down the pace
Little progress has been made on Gov. Jan Brewer’s agenda for the legislative session, and she’s sending a clear signal that she wants to see some movement on her priorities before she deals with theirs. But the Ninth Floor says Brewer isn’t threatening to dust off the veto stamp.
Public notice bill comes back to life while another dies
The battle over who gets to print public notices continued in the House on Monday, as a bill that had been killed was revived and passed, and another bill went down in flames.
Senate approves bill to arm teachers and administrators
The Arizona Senate approved a bill Monday that could arm teachers and administrators in rural schools.
The bill passed the Senate on a 17-11 party line vote, and now moves to the House. If approved by both chambers, the measure would allow certain school employees to carry concealed firearms in schools with fewer than 600 students that are more than 30 minutes and 20 miles from the nearest[...]
Redistricting commission almost out of money as legal fees stack up
The state’s redistricting commission will run out of money before legal fees accrued in multiple lawsuits can be paid, the commission’s staff said Thursday. The commission’s director has begun negotiating with the Legislature over another supplemental appropriation.
Doing the Medicaid math
Do the math.
Those three words essentially sum up Gov. Jan Brewer’s core argument in favor of expanding the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid program. She repeats them at every press event, every interview and every plea for support.
