Shope eyes smaller districts for state representatives

Rep. T.J. Shope wants to cut Arizona’s massive House of Representatives districts in half.

The first-term lawmaker hasn’t completed his plans yet, but is strongly leaning toward a proposal that would split the House districts in half. Rather than have each legislative district elect two House members at large, Shope’s plan would create two separate House districts that would be contained within each Senate district.

Arizona’s attorney general has declined to take legal action to remove one of the state’s newest senators from office, citing a lack in clarity of state laws dictating appointments to office.

The Equal Marriage Arizona initiative officially announced its campaign was dead on its Facebook page, ending an effort that had been dormant for almost a month.

An attorney for Rep. Albert Hale is preparing a legal challenge to the newest appointee to the Arizona Senate, who is scheduled to be sworn into office Tuesday morning.

State Rep. Albert Hale, who sought an appointment to a vacant state Senate seat, is challenging the Apache County Board of Supervisors’ decision to send a nominee who lives in Gilbert to the Capitol.

Opponents of a law that dramatically raises Arizona’s campaign contribution limits filed suit in Maricopa County Superior Court after the Arizona Supreme Court declined to take the case.

Organizers of a grassroots conservative effort to refer Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan to the ballot are keeping quiet about their progress as they prepare for the final month of their signature-gathering efforts.

The protracted fight for Medicaid expansion likely won’t end with Gov. Jan Brewer’s signing of the historic legislation.

In this weekend’s Medicaid coverage, the governor made the point that her decision to move forward with Medicaid expansion was a combination of common sense and gut. She knew when making this tough call that the math did not work in Arizona’s favor to try to go it alone on funding a program that has, for decades, been a mix of state and federal funds.

A newly formed commission for choosing judicial nominees in Pinal County doesn’t meet state constitutional requirements that set the composition of the panel, legal experts say.