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

A Republican senator who had skipped a vote on four special session bills last week returned to the Capitol Nov. 23 to apologize for his absence and to vote in favor of the legislation to close a portion of the ...

Arizona’s largest teachers’ union has asked the state Supreme Court to overturn laws that affect the pay and retention of public school teachers. In a 32-page petition for special action, the Arizona Education Association argues that educational policy bundled into ...

Click here for up-to-the-minute updates on the Legislature's fourth special session. Our reporters will be at the Capitol all day (or all week, if it comes to that), tracking the progress of the four pieces of legislation in the House and Senate.

A pair of political committees created by top legislative Republicans will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend in next year's elections, which is causing some to wonder if it's appropriate for them to wield that kind of power.

Sen. Thayer Verschoor broke his silence Nov. 20, saying he skipped the third day of the Legislature’s special session because he was still trying to negotiate a deal on the package of legislation with the House and the governor.

Standing between lawmakers and millions of dollars in budget cuts to education are three letters - M-O-E. Since Arizona started drawing federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, some lawmakers have decried the maintenance-of-effort, or MOE, requirements for portions of the money.

The Senate has hit a major snag and has failed to pass the main budget measure that is part of a package that partially fixes a $2-billion deficit, and it has adjourned until Nov. 23. The bill went down by a vote of 14-13. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Gray voted "no" so he could bring the vote up for reconsideration later. All the Democrats voted "no" on the bill. So did Sen. Ron Gould, a Lake Havasu Republican.

The State Loan Commission has approved a $700 million line of credit from Bank of America, marking the first external borrowing the state has done since the Great Depression. State Treasurer Dean Martin said his office will finalize the agreement with Bank of America next week and will begin issuing treasurer's warrants by the end of November.

A House panel followed the Senate's lead, quickly approving a series of budget bills aimed at chipping away at the state's massive deficit. The bills include $300 million in cuts to social programs and state aid for education.

It's back to square one for the Arizona Bankers Association. A tenuous deal to alter Arizona laws that govern home foreclosures was struck down by lawmakers on Nov. 18 after objections were raised by the homebuilding industry. The agreement had been struck by the Bankers Association and the Arizona Association of Realtors.