Eileen Klein’s vision for her tenure at the helm of the Arizona Board of Regents centers on pushing the board’s function beyond what it is best known for – setting university tuition rates – into making the organization a driver for improving the state’s economy.

By a 29-0 vote, the state Senate late Thursday approved Gov. Jan Brewer’s sales tax overhaul proposal after she obtained the buy-in of Arizona cities and towns.

It has been three weeks of legislative deadlock since the Senate passed a state budget including Medicaid expansion, but the gears are moving again and the House is getting ready to take a vote on the Senate’s budget plan.

Maricopa County GOP chairman AJ LaFaro told our reporter today he’s disappointed that Tobin has given up the fight on Medicaid expansion. He said there’s still some time to press on, since neither the budget package nor Medicaid expansion has ...

House Speaker Andy Tobin is hopeful he can get at least 31 Republicans to support the House version. But he still thinks spending is too high.

WASHINGTON – Arizona public schools again had some of the lowest per-pupil spending in the nation in 2011, ahead of only Oklahoma, Idaho and Utah, according to a recent Census Bureau report.

YUMA ai??i?? An error in the 2010 U.S. Census is forcing Yuma officials to alter their proposed budget for the next fiscal year.

A fight is brewing in the House that Speaker Andy Tobin didn’t ask for, and he’s trying to keep his caucus members from tearing each other apart over Medicaid expansion – and stop the budget from getting hijacked.

The fever pitch for economic development legislation has died down somewhat following signs of recovery and passage of blockbuster bills in the past two sessions. But lawmakers are still pushing job-creating legislation, which has been stalled for months over the ongoing budget stalemate.

The Arizona House of Representatives has advanced a measure that would require some high school students to learn about personal finance before graduating.