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

Senators voted March 25 to tax the sale of marijuana, anticipating that the public will approve its use for medical reasons this November.

Andrew Chavez has made his living from initiative ballot campaigns for a decade, but he's never seen anything like the debacle of 2008. "For years now, we've been dealing with a system that wasn't broken, but definitely needed fixing," he said. "By far and away, (2008) was the worst year."

Lawmakers need to be held accountable for how much they've done to support public education during the state's budget crisis, the leader of a parents group said March 24.

A system for tracking school expenditures and whether money spent on specific programs improves student performance would make schools more efficient and accountable, according to a group of business and education leaders.

Gov. Jan Brewer may call a special session to get legislative approval for a lawsuit challenging the health care bill passed by Congress.

A bill that creates tougher penalties for those who take advantage of child prostitutes is nearing the finish line, and social workers who call Phoenix a hub for child prostitution say it's about time.

A freshman Democratic legislator has been removed from a committee after clashing repeatedly with its Republican chairman since last year, a move the Democrat called an "abuse of power."

The Arizona Legislature is advancing a bill that would allow churches anywhere non-religious groups are permitted to operate, despite opposition from city officials who fear the bill would create a host of practical and legal problems.

The House March 23 gave preliminary approval to a trio of measures that would ask voters to lengthen legislative terms, temporarily suspend protections of some spending and give lawmakers control of billions of dollars of federal money.

The mayors of Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert and Chandler say years of bad planning by Arizona's government threatens the financial future of their cities and others around the state.