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Gov. Jan Brewer's decision to sign legislation imposing new restrictions on abortion showed her conservative stripes after months of wrangling with fellow Republicans over elements of her budget proposal. Her actions on the abortion bills also signaled a clear departure from those of her predecessor, Democrat Janet Napolitano, who vetoed similar measures passed during previous legislative sessions.

With a Republican as governor, conservatives successfully advanced much of their non-budget agenda this year, successfully pushing for legislation that would allow guns in restaurants and bars, as well as in private parking lots.

A four-year battle for Sen. Carolyn Allen came to end with a stroke of the governor's pen. Gov. Jan Brewer on July 13 signed S1018, which raises the burden of proof for medical malpractice lawsuits against emergency room physicians. Allen, a Scottsdale Republican, had tried unsuccessfully for years to get the measure passed, only to see it fail to reach the governor's desk.

Arizona's part-time legislators are on the job in midsummer after their inability to work out an on-time solution to the state's budget trouble led them to crack a barrier they hoped to avoid. The annual regular session starts in January and has adjourned in May or June in recent years. This year, it ran 71/2 hours into July 1 before lawmakers approved a new budget and finished action on other bills.

Senate Republicans closed their caucus from the public July 13 after two members got into a relatively heated discussion over how to deal with the governor and her proposal for a one-cent sales tax increase. After the two-hour closed-door meeting, senators said they talked about organizational matters, one of several subjects that they are permitted to go into executive session to discuss.

Gov. Jan Brewer signed a raft of bills Monday but vetoed three, including one that would have given the Legislature authority over federal funds and another that would have required the state treasurer to give an annual report on the fiscal condition of the state.

The verbal tussle between Gov. Jan Brewer and Senate President Bob Burns does not appear to have abated, even with a lull in activity at the Legislature. In a statement July 10, Burns said it is “not helpful to sling ...

Gov. Jan Brewer on July 10 put her signature on 87 more bills, the second and third batches of non-budget bills she has signed since the Legislature adjourned sine die.

The overwhelming display of bipartisanship that kicked off the special legislative session when it convened July 6 may be a precursor of how lawmakers will work to patch the $2.5 billion hole in the budget, but to what extent Republicans and Democrats work together likely won't be known until later this month.

Arizona lawmakers sent more than 100 bills to Gov. Jan Brewer for her approval or veto earlier this month, but a few measures they passed don't need the governor to sign off - including one that asks Congress to reconsider a measure that would pull the United States out of the United Nations.