Ducey talks disdain for new education tax, vows fast fix
A new voter-approved tax on high-earning Arizonans that will boost education spending is firmly in Gov. Doug Ducey's crosshairs, with the Republican vowing Friday to see Proposition 208's new tax cancelled either through the courts or the GOP-controlled Legislature.
Bipartisan ‘political science experiment’ plays in Legislature
Usually, legislative Democrats are lucky if it takes two hands to count the number of bills they get signed into law.
Election measures keep moving along partisan lines
With most headline-grabbing election measures dead, numerous others that pit arguments of voter integrity against voter suppression are working their way through the Legislature.
Dems claim bill gives churches immunity from lawsuits
It's promoted as a measure to ensure that no future governor shuts down religious services during an emergency, but some legislators worry that the actual wording of the legislation would potentially immunize churches from lawsuits over child abuse.
Lawmakers in negotiation on $1B in tax cuts, flat income tax
House Majority Leader Ben Toma, R-Peoria, said that while the details are still in flux, he believes support exists for the idea of phasing in a flat income tax over three or four years. He said he would like to see the rate around 2.5%.
House panel to tackle bills on rioters, defunding police
The House Military and Public Safety committee is scheduled to take up two controversial bills Monday that were introduced in reaction to the protests and calls for police defunding last spring and summer.
GOP lawmakers demand Ward allow audit of her election
About a third of state Republican lawmakers are calling on newly re-elected state GOP Chair Kelli Ward to either agree to a recount of that vote or back off of her challenges to the presidential race.
House panel OKs criminal sentencing changes
State lawmakers took the first steps February 3 to reversing decades of tough-on-crime policies.
GOP divide spurs call to arms, doxing
Protesters rallied outside House Speaker Rusty Bowers’ home December 8 and a self-declared candidate for Arizona governor threatened to remove Gov. Doug Ducey through non-legal means this week as intraparty... […]
Good revenues belie looming budget uncertainty
With COVID-19 again on the rise in Arizona and the next legislative session looming, some in the Legislature are coming around to the idea of passing a so-called “skinny budget” that retains baseline spending levels from the previous fiscal year and ducking out early, just as lawmakers did last session.
Bowers, Fann retain leadership posts; Dems choose Bolding, Rios
Legislative Republican and Democratic caucuses met separately this and last week to select leadership following a topsy-turvy election that saw statewide Democrats succeed but the party’s legislative candidates flounder under... […]
From luaus to private parties, fundraising persists despite COVID
With the election drawing near, lawmakers are ramping up efforts to fundraise. For some, this means hosting or attending parties – even as the COVID-19 pandemic, though subdued in Arizona since its mid-summer peak, continues to kill dozens in the state each day.