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Gov. Jan Brewer and House Speaker Kirk Adams announced that they and Senate President Bob Burns have reached a tentative budget deal, which they hope will be approved in the Legislature by the end of the night.

With the state facing a $3 billion deficit, Senate Republicans realized they needed a strong leader to unite the caucus behind a budget plan and get the governor to sign it. From among themselves, they chose Bob Burns.

Democrats have accused Republicans of breaking off budget negotiations June 28 and breaking a promise that they wouldn’t use the bipartisan talks to leverage a deal with the governor.

Legislative leadership met Tuesday (July 28) morning with Gov. Jan Brewer as talks continued over a possible budget deal that would include a ballot referral for the governor's temporary sales tax increase.

UPDATE - Sen. Steve Pierce told the Arizona Capitol Times that his foreclosure bill will have to be fixed, either in special session or next year when the Legislature begins the regular session. Pierce and stakeholders met this afternoon (July 28) to discuss changes to the legislation.

It’s been three weeks since lawmakers were called into a special legislative session to patch a massive hole in the budget, but there are finally signs that negotiations with Democrats may be bearing some fruit.

The Arizona Supreme Court has decided unanimously that state lawmakers overstepped their authority when they swept millions of dollars of interest held in the Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Fund. The dispute came down to the fine print of ...

Sen. Linda Gray often cites "The New England Primer" while delivering speeches on the Senate floor. In a committee hearing June 10, the Glendale Republican read an excerpt: "I believe in God the Father, Almighty Maker of heaven and Earth, and in Jesus his only Son our Lord, which was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried." Gray was trying to make a point.

Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill on July 13 that originally aimed specifically to penalize people caught driving while under the influence of methadone. But the legislation was watered down to a point where the final language differs only slightly from existing law. It actually morphed several times, as sometimes happens to measures as they work their way through the Legislature.

When Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a large portion of the budget approved by lawmakers earlier this month, she sent the Legislature back to square one. Now Republican leaders are working with Democrats instead of the governor to craft a spending plan, and the state still faces a $2.5 billion deficit a month after the fiscal deadline.