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House panel OKs Clean Elections repeal
Two weeks after a House panel killed an effort to gut the state's public campaign finance system, a revised version of the measure to end Clean Elections was approved by the same committee.
Rural hospitals facing serious impact from AHCCCS budget cuts
With a few strokes of her pen, Gov. Jan Brewer approved massive cuts to health care funding and money the state gives to hospitals that treat large numbers of the poor and uninsured. While the move will be felt statewide, its most acute effect could be in the rural reaches of the state.
Bennett backs campaign reporting requirements, stiff penalties
Arizona's elections chief says the state needs to overhaul a portion of its campaign finance laws to maintain an informed electorate after the nation's top court gave corporations the ability to pay for political advertisements.
Authorless budget proposal aired by Approps Committee
Members of legislative budget committees on Feb. 18 saw how a secretive budget proposal that has been circulated around the Capitol in recent weeks stacks up to the budget plan offered by Gov. Jan Brewer, but much of the discussion focused on who drafted the authorless spending plan.
Surcharges for new Cubs stadium clear hurdle
An effort to finance a new Spring Training stadium in Mesa for the Chicago Cubs through surcharges on rental cars and baseball tickets cleared its first hurdle today and won approval from a House panel, despite opposition from every other baseball team in the Cactus League and Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig.
Changes to lawmaker-replacement process shot down
An effort to give rural areas more control over filling vacancies in the Arizona Legislature was stymied by a House panel after lawmakers raised concerns that it would create more problems than it would solve.
House narrowly approves bill to borrow $750M
The House today narrowly approved a bill that would close about half of the current year's budget deficit through borrowing.
Covert, bipartisan budget plan unveiled
Secret plotting to balance Arizona's wildly out-of-whack budget got started in an east Phoenix restaurant best described as a hole-in-the- wall. What better place than a hole-in-the-wall to work on a budget full of holes?
Konopnicki to challenge Allen for Senate seat
The Republican primary election in a rural Arizona district is shaping up to be an exciting one, as a term-limited member of the House has announced he will challenge the district's incumbent Republican senator.
Crump says he’ll resign today
Rep. Sam Crump, a Republican from Anthem who is in his second term, told Arizona Capitol Times he will turn in his letter of resignation today to focus his efforts on earning the Republican nomination in Arizona's 3rd Congressional District.
‘I hate this bill and I vote aye’
Last year, Sen. Jack Harper gave his word that he would vote for a bill to restrict notary publics from notarizing documents that would present a conflict of interest. He made good on his promise by voting for it in committee. But when the bill failed there, Harper said he was relieved that it didn't pass. The situation illustrates the fact that lawmakers sometimes vote for measures they don’t n[...]
Lights out on payday loans
Next year, the Arizona Legislature will decide whether to eliminate payday lending in the state, which presents a dilemma for Republican lawmakers who will have to decide between their free-enterprise beliefs and a moral objection to the large fees on short-term loans.
