Rep. Catherine Miranda has a commanding lead in her bid to move from the House to Senate in Legislative District 27.

Republican Rep. Kelly Townsend is leading the pack in the Legislative District 16 GOP primary and Republican Rep. Doug Coleman is beating back former lawmaker John Fillmore for the district’s second House seat.

Now that SB1344 has taken effect, I write to announce that the Clean Elections Commission will continue its mission without change.

At the state Capitol, Republican Rep. Carl Seel isn’t always treated with deference by his colleagues. Seel is the only Republican in the House who is not a freshman and does not hold a position in leadership or a committee chairmanship. He formerly was chairman of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, but had that role was stripped from him in 2013.

Rep. Frank Pratt, chairman of the Arizona House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee, said a lack of confidence in the former director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality was at the heart of legislation preventing the agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions without express legislative authorization.

For the first time in six years, Arizona voters may get a chance to approve higher salaries for legislators. If history is a guide, any proposed increase in lawmakers’ salary of $24,000 a year, plus per diem, will be handily defeated. Voters haven’t approved a pay raise since 1998, when they raised the salary from $15,000 a year.

The state's police and fire pension oversight board is set to vote on a proposal to overhaul the system and bolster its finances.

The nation's strictest rules on the use of abortion medication will continue to be blocked while a lawsuit against them plays out in court.

Another legislative session is completed. The Republican majority has again failed to work with Democrats for the common good in Arizona. Many of us hoped the bipartisan efforts in 2013 would lead to an increased focus on substantive issues like fixing CPS, restoring the massive cuts to education or passing meaningful ethics reform. Instead, Republicans have concentrated on a strategy of appealing to the most extreme elements of their party to the detriment of Arizona’s children, businesses and workers.

Abortion providers have opened up a second legal front in their bid to block Arizona from restricting the use of medication to terminate pregnancy.