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

Arizona lawmakers have been at the forefront when it comes to laying the groundwork for 5G, the next generation of wireless telecommunications technology, a group of experts said Tuesday.

Rep. Jesus Rubalcava, D-Gila Bend, has resigned in the shadow of an ongoing Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission investigation.

Former Arizona House speaker David Gowan will not be charged by the attorney general despite a lengthy investigation that called reimbursements for travel and per-diem payments given to him “troublesome.”

Former House Speaker David Gowan deliberately put off the release of public records last year to buy time to disguise questionable spending by his staff, himself, and fellow lawmakers.

Theresa Ulmer has been a Capitol regular since 2010, when she was elected to her first and only term in the House of Representatives. And what a difference nearly a decade has made.

Public officials can’t use private phones or social media messages to get around public records laws, according to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich.

Regents and lawmakers alike expect the June 18 resignation of the Arizona Board of Regents’ chairman can heal any lingering wounds between them, though Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, who is at the center of the controversy, said the resignation changes nothing.

Senate Minority Leader Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix, led Democrats in her chamber through yet another session where the minority party tried and failed to substantively change the budget. But the Phoenix Democrat found a few reasons to be pleased with the session, while mostly remaining frustrated by Republican legislative victories.

Lawmakers approved legislation this year that threatens to pull funding from Planned Parenthood, and passed a law that requires physicians to do more to save fetuses that are “delivered alive.”

In her first year as House Democratic leader, Rebecca Rios, D-Phoenix, a longtime lawmaker, was hopeful that her caucus could take a rare vote in favor of a GOP-backed budget. But when the budget didn’t go far enough toward investing in Arizona’s teachers, House Democrats held true to their beliefs and their prom-ises, and voted against the budget package.