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The perils of voting yes to Medicaid expansion
Long before casting their votes for Medicaid expansion and a bipartisan budget proposal, Republican lawmakers who chose to support Gov. Jan Brewer had been issued a warning: Vote yes at your own risk.
Crossing the Andys: The twisting path to Medicaid expansion
The special session on the budget and Medicaid expansion was the product of a five-month battle that took more twists and turns than a rattlesnake on a blistering sidewalk.
Livingston scores a perfect legislative batting average
The award for best legislative batting average for the session — the calculation of bills introduced versus bills signed into law — goes to Rep. David Livingston, a freshman Republican lawmaker from Peoria who has been vocally critical of the governor.
Moratorium leads to near-record number of Brewer vetoes
The bill moratorium that rankled lawmakers as Gov. Jan Brewer started applying pressure to pass her Medicaid expansion plan helped push her to a near-record number of vetoes in 2013.
Brewer vetoed 26 bills this year, the second highest total of her career, behind the 29 she rejected in 2011.
Up Close with Senate President Andy Biggs
On a scale of one to 10, 10 being the most effective, how do you rank your effectiveness as Senate president? I won’t give myself a numerical grade. I will say there are things I thought we did well, that I did well as the leader.
Details of Brewer-backed bipartisan budget emerge
The bipartisan budget put together by Gov. Jan Brewer and her allies would spend $8.8 billion in fiscal year 2014, a 3.46 percent increase from current spending levels.
Brewer gets her way
House and Senate approve Medicaid expansion, ending months of debate
After a bitter and prolonged debate that ripped apart Republican majorities in the House and Senate, Arizona lawmakers approved Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion proposal and sent it to her for her signature.
Arizona Senate passes election overhaul bill
The Arizona Senate revived an election omnibus bill Thursday that could limit early voting participation after Republican leaders pressured their caucus to pass the measure in the final hours of the 2013 legislative session.
Brewer, coalition called off plan to oust GOP leaders
Gov. Jan Brewer confirmed that she and the legislative members of her pro-Medicaid expansion coalition crafted a plan to oust Senate President Andy Biggs and House Speaker Andy Tobin from their leadership positions when lawmakers went into special session.
CAP opposes Medicaid expansion without abortion safeguard
The Center for Arizona Policy is opposed to Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan unless the Legislature ensures that funds from the program don’t indirectly subsidize abortions.
Top legislative leaders meet similar fate in dealing with governor
It may have taken House Speaker Andy Tobin longer to realize, but eventually he came to the same conclusion that Senate President Andy Biggs reached months ago.
Governor not looking for ‘Brewer v. Burns’ repeat
What a difference four years makes. In 2009, Gov. Jan Brewer sued the Legislature over its refusal to send her a package of budget bills that she was certain to veto, leading the Arizona Supreme Court to rule that lawmakers couldn’t hold back measures that were ready for the governor.
