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

Arizona has led the nation in economic growth for several decades. This success was not by accident. When confronted with the direst of economic challenges, our leaders pushed for policy changes that allowed the state’s economy to survive, then thrive. Once again, we are faced with such a situation.

Our housing market needs solutions right now. Low income housing tax credit program is ready to go, and we know it works. Let’s hope the Legislature and Gov. Ducey agree and vote to get it done.

Something insidious is happening in the Arizona Legislature. After an election that saw a record high turnout, exemplary election administration in Arizona, and no instances of voter or election fraud, Republican legislators would like to change the election laws.

The closely divided Arizona electorate wants practical solutions, not strict ideology. They will support my tax plan as they are willing to pay in an equitable way for more government services. I ask the Arizona Legislature to put my 4.5% flat income tax plan on a ballot for voters to decide.

The recent prison escape in Florence has once again highlighted the complete disaster that is Arizona’s prison industry. Yet it was reported in early January that the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry had floated the idea of contacting up to 2,706 more for-profit prison beds though the inmate population has decreased by nearly 5,000 since 2016. This would be an extremely bad idea in terms of fiscal policy, legal practice, and the direction of the state.

Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, along with a new Biden administration, promise sweeping policy changes in the United States. This includes campaign pledges to remake America’s electricity mix. But with campaign season over, Democrats should put rhetoric aside and pursue a bipartisan energy plan that supports economic recovery.

Donald Trump's America has plunged below rock bottom. The coronavirus has taken hundreds of thousands of lives. Trump has spent years debasing our foundational institutions while being cheered on wildly by half the country. And Congress was assaulted by a violent mob while carrying out the most essential democratic function of all – the peaceful transfer of power after an election.

Regardless of the reason why people with disabilities have been consistently ignored and overlooked throughout this pandemic, it is something we have all too often seen firsthand in Maricopa County.

Many states already have Covid liability protection, and many other states have made it a priority for debate in this year’s session of their legislatures. Arizona has, too, and as SB1377 begins its journey through the Legislature, lawmakers should pass it at every stage with all due dispatch.

On January 22, we marked the 48th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Prior to 1973, access to abortion wasn’t considered a right in America. Many women, especially poor women, were forced to choose between an untenable pregnancy, death or serious injury from a dangerous black-market abortion – even if pregnancy itself was a threat to their life or health. Sadly, for far too many in 2021, it might just as well be 1972.