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

The budget allocates $1 million each to the University of Arizona and Arizona State University for their so-called “freedom schools,” which teach conservative values and were started with high-dollar donations from foundations run by the Koch brothers.

State lawmakers are moving to adopt a $10.4 billion spending plan for the coming fiscal year, balancing the books -- and finding the dollars for a teacher pay hike plan -- at least in part by passing along expenses to some local taxpayers.

The teacher strike enters its third day today as educators remain dissatisfied with the pay hike proposal by Gov. Doug Ducey and many schools remain closed despite threats by the Goldwater Institute to sue.

Arizona Democratic leaders oppose a sales tax hike to provide new revenues for teacher pay raises, despite supporting sales tax increases in previous years.

As teachers around the state prepared to strike, legislators sat nearly idle for four days as they got into a stand-off with Gov. Doug Ducey over how to give teachers pay raises.

With little work to do on the Arizona House floor, members spent more than 90 minutes debating the offensiveness of rap lyrics.

House Majority Whip Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, is telling teachers who oppose the job action to send her emails at her official state address detailing that they actually want to go to work but can't because the school has been closed. Townsend told Capitol Media Services she will write back -- and from her official state email account -- to provide proof that they made that claim.

Motorists who speed a little too much or drift through stop signs may soon be paying a bit more in their debt to society.

Top Republicans are huddling to see if they can reach an accord over the issue of teacher pay ahead of Thursday's strike deadline, potentially forestalling or at least undermining the walkout.

It could soon cost more to register your car or truck in Arizona. On a 17-13 vote Monday, the Senate gave final approval to allowing the director of the Department of Transportation to levy a fee on each vehicle.