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

As wildfires rage across Arizona and threaten numerous communities, legislators and forestry officials have had to come up with innovative ways to combat the problem.

The Legislature is set to pass a $200 million proposal to fund areas without a proper water supply.

Public school advocates’ frustrations with the state budget go beyond Gov. Doug Ducey’s tax plan – the rebirth of zombie bills and expansion of empowerment scholarship account eligibility are an added blow to groups that say the Legislature should prioritize traditional public education.

Last-minute amendments to Arizona’s $12.8 billion budget codify election security concerns could pose trouble for the election officials required to carry out the new provisions from Trump supporters who say they believe the election was stolen and there is a deep bias against conservatives.

House Republicans pushed through the plan to sharply cut taxes on the rich Thursday -- but only after changing the rules to limit debate and objections by Democrats.

The Senate’s passage of a massive voucher expansion will test the resolve of two Republican House members who killed the expansion earlier this year.

Gov. Doug Ducey has agreed to give up the emergency powers he granted himself 15 months ago to get the last vote necessary for his tax cut plan for the wealthiest in the state.

The Senate unilaterally passed a $13 billion budget, complete with last-minute amendments tied to unfounded election fraud claims, following a marathon session that began yesterday and lasted until early Wednesday morning.

House Republicans’ hopes of passing a budget Tuesday were dashed when the Democrats boycotted the morning’s floor session.

The Legislature may start debating and voting on the FY22 budget as early as Tuesday after striking a deal with Republican holdouts that slows down the implementation of tax cuts and pays off more debt.