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

Legislative leaders have been stymied for more than a month in their effort to coax Gov. Jan Brewer to divulge how she intends to spend federal stimulus money, despite several informal requests and a letter signed by the House speaker and the Senate president.

Dear Governor Brewer: For the last two months, we have met with your staff on a regular basis to discuss ongoing budget issues, tax reform and progress related to the federal stimulus funds. Concurrently, members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have continued their work toward a legislative budget proposal. We have spent considerable time with the members providing educational opportunities so that they would have the information needed to make budget decisions

The biggest differences between the Republican budget proposal released April 27 and a draft leaked to the press a month earlier were two components designed to generate more than $500 million in revenue without raising taxes. And those two ideas have created the biggest backlash against the latest proposal.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has postponed a decision that could result in the removal from office of Rep. Doug Quelland, buying commissioners more time to unravel a soured relationship between the north Phoenix Republican and a Valley political consultant.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission on April 30 postponed a decision that could result in the removal from office of Rep. Doug Quelland, buying commissioners more time to unravel a soured relationship between the north Phoenix Republican and a Valley political consultant.

The Citizens Clean Elections Commission this morning could decide to take the monumental step of beginning a process to remove north Phoenix Rep. Doug Quelland from office.

Gov. Jan Brewer and other state leaders urged Arizonans on April 29 to "stay out and stay alive" when it comes to abandoned mines, which have claimed 10 lives in the past decade. "We need a safe place, we need safe mines and we need education," Brewer said. "Let's keep everyone alive."

The House and Senate Appropriations committees were scheduled to meet jointly on April 28 to discuss a budget proposal to allow the state to sweep hundreds of millions of dollars from cities. But the hearing was cancelled at the last minute because, as at least one lawmaker put it, a homebuilders association was not prepared to give a presentation.

Republican leaders are expected to unveil a budget proposal today that would close the state deficit without raising taxes and without borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Senate and House leaders will hunker down to iron out areas of disagreement in their draft budget proposals this week. Legislative staffers have been instructed to prepare a spreadsheet comparing the two chambers' draft budget proposals.