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

There’s no doubt that our water challenges are myriad and addressing them will require a range of solutions. But funding the department, returning it to satisfactory staffing levels and providing competitive salaries for employee retention is an essential part of the path forward.

It is a shame that in the name of “school choice” public schools in Arizona have reversed decades worth of equality. For a state that has over a $1 billion in our rainy day fund and over $700 million in excess revenues, additional funding for schools based on poverty and special education, just like results-based funding, is critical. This additional funding will not reverse the troubling trend of segregation in our schools; however, it will provide hope and help to traditional public schools affected by this unfortunate trend.

In recent years, a number of states and the federal government have been working to increase the amount of renewable energy in America’s power grid. Unfortunately, progress has been slow. For example, when it comes to harnessing offshore wind power, only a single project off Rhode Island has been installed to date in U.S. coastal waters.

Providing dual language instruction is not cheap or easy. Any district undertaking such an endeavor needs to be well prepared for the challenges. But those who do will find, as we and Helios did, that the benefits for our children are well worth the time and investment.

Arizona has forfeited its opportunity to go down in history for a positive principle, but it can still do the right thing and ratify the ERA this session to become #39.

The ability to impound a vehicle for the driver driving on a suspended license was a tool that truly kept our communities safer. Without it, we and our families are all just a little more at risk.

As we embark upon a new decade, it’s hard to miss the technological advances happening all around us. Arizona in 2020 is a state ripe with investment in cutting-edge technology, one where entrepreneurship is thriving and the breakthroughs of tomorrow are happening right in our own backyard.

We are asking for this investment from the state. We accept the assignment. And we will deliver.

It is too late for the baby taken to the Phoenix morgue last week. It is too late for the thousands of children in our nation’s child protection system who have already died on the state’s watch. But it is not too late to save the lives of children going forward by making it a priority to require agency transparency including immediate, independent investigations. The state’s fatality report says these deaths are preventable. Let’s make it so.

Rep. Mark Finchem and Sen. Sonny Borrelli have taken a backward and myopic view of our shared public lands, while at the same time directly infringing on the rights of private landowners. That’s no small accomplishment.