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

Arizona ranks ninth nationally in its reliance on sales taxes to fund its state and local governments, according to a report by a nonpartisan tax research organization. The Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation found that 48.4 percent of Arizona's tax base came from general sales taxes and from selective sales taxes on motor fuel, tobacco, insurance premiums, public utilities, amusements and alcoholic beverages.

John Paul Mitchell spends two to three hours a day on social media sites, sharing links to articles he finds interesting and regularly engaging people in bursts of 140 characters or less. But the time he spends on his Twitter account, Facebook page and other sites is more than just leisure. Mitchell hopes it will help deliver him the Arizona governorship in 2010.

A 15 percent cut at the Department of Economic Security would take a heavy toll on the vulnerable populations Gov. Jan Brewer has spoken so often of protecting. According to a report by the Department of Economic Security, a 15 percent reduction in the agency's budget would drop it down to 2004 funding levels.

What would the Governor’s Office do to reduce its budget by 15 percent? Just that – reduce it by 15 percent. Anyone seeking more details, however, is bound to be disappointed. Gov. Jan Brewer in September asked each state agency ...

Lawmakers and representatives from the education community clashed over funding for Arizona's public education during a forum Oct. 20 at a downtown restaurant. Rep. Rich Crandall, a Mesa Republican, said he was taking the position as a "realist" and warned that cuts to education are inevitable next year given the size of the state's budget deficit.

Gov. Jan Brewer has acknowledged that she made mistakes as she pursued a budget deal with the Legislature, although she didn’t elaborate on exactly what they were “Obviously I did something wrong. There were mistakes made in an effort to ...

With much of its budget locked in by federal and state mandates, the Arizona Department of Health Services would have to reduce crisis services and cut back on treatment for the mentally ill, substance abusers and sexually violent offenders in the state hospital if it had to chop 15 percent from its budget.

What do an FBI fraud team, a showdown between a governor and the legislature, and a sophisticated online system called geographic information systems have in common? All are part of states' efforts to ensure that billions in federal stimulus money are spent wisely within their borders.

A special session - or two - is likely this fall as Gov. Jan Brewer continues to pressure lawmakers to reconvene and legislative leaders have started asking members when they would be available. But roadblocks remain.

The balance of power in Arizona government may shift a little further toward the Phoenix metro area when the state's legislative and congressional district boundaries are redrawn. As a result, rural areas might wind up with less representation than they have now. Determining with any precision where the district lines will be in 2012, when Arizona's Independent Redistricting Commission will finish redrawing the boundaries, is a nearly impossible task.