Leaders reverse course, reconsider sine die adjournment
House and Senate leaders are abandoning their nascent plans to adjourn the Legislature sine die on May 1 after rank-and-file Republicans revolted, according to lawmakers in both chambers.
Legislature on track to adjourn May 1
The Arizona Legislature will end its session next week, killing hundreds of outstanding bills and giving lawmakers several months to hunker down and prepare to come back in the summer -- by which time a clearer picture will emerge of the state’s financial and physical health.
Republicans rail against all-mail elections, but they vote by mail
Saying it is ripe for fraud, many Arizona Republican lawmakers oppose the idea of sending mail ballots to all voters during the COVID-19 crisis, but 79% of the GOP caucus opts for the U.S. Postal Service to deliver their vote.
Cook: Ethics probe now a ‘public prosecution’
A Gila County lawmaker at the center of a House Ethics investigation wrote a letter to his colleagues Tuesday excoriating the practices of the committee leading the probe into his alleged misconduct.
Lawmaker: Virus makes need for change to sentencing laws greater than ever
This is all frustrating for Rep. Walt Blackman,R-Snowflake, one of many Arizona lawmakers who over the years have sought to amend the state’s sentencing laws -- some of the strictest in the country -- and improve prison conditions, mostly to no avail.
Democratic candidates down in numbers, still enthusiastic
As Democrats eye their chances of winning a majority in the House and reversing, tying or narrowing their margins in the Senate, they’ll be doing so with far fewer candidates.
Candidates submit signatures, set primary election ballots
The 2020 primary ballot is set and at least 15 current lawmakers will breeze to re-election with no primary or general election challenger, but some candidates could be in rough waters for not providing a comfortable cushion in case their signatures are challenged.
Second subpoena filed in Rep. Cook ethics probe
A second subpoena has been issued in the House Ethics probe into Rep. David Cook, an embattled Globe Republican who’s the subject of a pair of ethics complaints filed earlier in the year.
Legislature won’t return April 13
The worsening COVID-19 pandemic has sidelined the state Legislature’s plans to reconvene on April 13, according to internal emails from top lawmakers shared with the Arizona Capitol Times.
In Their Words: Art Hamiton
There are no gratuitous fights . . . every fight costs you something. And the other thing I learned was you need to know who you’re fighting because the people whose names are on the bill are some of the people who are really, really, really trying to get something done.
Ethics probe into Cook heats up
A fight over document discovery is brewing in a House ethics investigation into an embattled Republican lawmaker.
Legislature passes $11.8B budget, $50M for COVID-19 aid
The Arizona Legislature will adjourn until April 13 after lawmakers in the House passed a $50 million deal Monday intended to mitigate the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.