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

Gov. Jan Brewer is not a governor prone to second-guessing. While many lawmakers are eager to point out where they think she went wrong during her first legislative session on the Ninth Floor, whether it be her near single-minded pursuit of a temporary sales tax increase or their belief that she didn't communicate enough with legislators, Brewer doesn't appear to be having second thoughts.

Lawmakers will be facing quite the conundrum in 2010 - how to raise more revenue for the cash-strapped state without raising taxes. The Republican-led Legislature stymied attempts by Gov. Jan Brewer to put a sales tax increase on the ballot, and outright rejected the idea of passing a tax increase itself.

A day after being repeatedly told by a judge to avoid long-winded answers and focus his responses to address only the question asked, Rep. Doug Quelland frustrated the court by feigning ignorance when asked basic questions. Of course, that was only when he was being cross-examined by the attorney for the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.

Doug Quelland maintains he didn't break any laws during his successful 2008 campaign for the House of Representatives, claiming he didn't do the things the Citizens Clean Elections Commission had determined earlier this year when it recommended his removal from elected office.

A group of lawmakers are taking a closer look at a program that gives income-tax breaks to people who donate money for private school scholarships. A Sept. 21 hearing on school-tuition organizations at the state Capitol came on the heels of newspapers reports that highlighted ways the tax-credit program could be abused.

There are 13 legislators in the House of Representatives who can hear the hoof-beats of term limits fast approaching, and their plans after the forced exit from the chamber range from possible runs for higher office to recapturing memories from youth.

A controversial constitutional amendment that limits the length of time that lawmakers can stay in office will force more than one-third of the senators out of their chamber by the end of next year, a massive revamp unprecedented in recent years.

Looking for supporters of term limits? Good luck finding any at the Capitol. Many who actively worked to change the state's Constitution nearly two decades ago say the rules harm the political process and need to be scrapped.

Once again, lawmakers adjourned, only to see Gov. Jan Brewer veto parts of the budget they passed. And once again, Brewer announced her intention to bring them back into special session to deal with the consequences.

Legislative leaders say the governor exceeded her constitutional authority in some of her line-item vetoes of budget bills this month, but they decided against taking the matter to court. Gov. Jan Brewer said she "absolutely" stands by her action, adding she didn't give much thought to the lawmakers' statement that she doesn't have authority to line-item veto items that don't have to do with appropriations.