Brandy Wells: The science of public policy and pugs
Brandy Wells has passion – for science, for public policy, even for pugs.
Bill changes how much lobbyists must report when they spend on legislators
A House committee approved a bill that would potentially lower how much lobbyists report compared to what they actually spend for events where lawmakers or state employees are invited.
Most medical marijuana bills go up in smoke; Senate OKs 1
Legislators have introduced a swath of bills aimed at amending the state’s voter-protected Medical Marijuana Act, but getting the necessary votes to pass has proven difficult.
Judge hears arguments in AG suit against regents
Lawyers for the Board of Regents told a judge Friday that Attorney General Mark Brnovich has no legal right to challenge the tuition it sets for the state's three universities -- or even the policies used to come up with those numbers.
State’s no-hire list is short — it’s tough to get blacklisted
It takes a whole lot to end up on the state’s list of people who won’t be considered for jobs. In fact, the state’s employment blacklist only includes four people, two of whom stole money from state coffers.
Clemency Board urges reduced sentence for cop in 2010 killing
The Arizona Board of Executive Clemency has recommended reducing the prison sentence of a former Phoenix police officer who killed a man in 2010 while responding to a domestic violence.
Report finds rash of crimes on the books never charged
More than one-third of Arizona laws involving a felony penalty haven’t been used in the past 15 years, a new report from the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission found.
Judge fines ex-lawmaker for campaign finance violations
An administrative law judge ruled on Feb. 28 that former Rep. Jesus Rubalcava violated several state statutes and the Clean Elections Commission reporting requirements during his 2016 campaign.
Ducey orders formation of cybersecurity group
Gov. Doug Ducey signed an executive order March 1 creating a cybersecurity group tasked with advising him on cyber policy.
Digital products tax-free under proposal House passed
HB 2479 would spell out in statute that the state cannot impose its 5.6 percent sales tax on everything from digital books and videos to cloud-based software, online storage and web hosting services. The 39-19 vote sends the measure to the Senate.
Senate passes redistricting overhaul on party-line vote
Republicans state senators approved a resolution Wednesday that would overhaul the membership of the state body responsible for redrawing Arizona’s legislative and congressional district boundaries.
Bill proposes English as language that governs insurance contracts
HB 2083 would spell out that the English language version of any policy governs any dispute between insurance companies and their customers, even if a version in another language prepared by the company says something else. It would, however, require that there be a disclosure on the non-English version that it has no binding effect, no matter the difference.