State lawmakers return to the Capitol Monday to deal with something they appear to have plenty: Money and who gets it.

Republican leadership in the House of Representatives released a general framework of policy and spending goals for the upcoming legislative session on January 9, laying out a broad-stroke vision for nine key issues to watch in 2020.

The Arizona House and Senate plan to release their own budget proposals in the third week of January, creating two or three distinct spending plans as the Legislature begins its 2020 business.

In Arizona, help for our schools can always wait, it seems. A 903-1 student-to-counselor ratio is an emergency. The consequences of delay could be tragic. Our state's response requires more urgency than "wait until next year."

The 2019 legislative session is finally behind us. Or is it?

Even after a taxing 134-day session, House Speaker Rusty Bowers remains patently himself when he sits down with the Arizona Capitol Times – reflective, resolute and ready with a story, which this time was about the day his brother shot himself in the foot.

How exactly do you work with someone you believe has betrayed you? That’s a question some lawmakers are asking themselves about the state’s county prosecutors after what some saw as an 11th hour reversal on criminal justice reform measures.

Republicans in the state Senate — and possibly the House — plan to start drafting next year’s budget shortly after Labor Day and have a proposal ready by the end of the year

On paper, that $11.8 billion budget signed Friday by Gov. Doug Ducey is a somewhere north of 11 percent higher than what was adopted a year ago.

Sine die watch is finally over after the Senate approved an $11.8 billion budget on Memorial Day