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.

Across the state, education leaders in Arizona are trying to plan for the new school year with little information on how much state or federal funding they will receive. Education funding represents Arizona's largest expense, but it's unclear whether public schools will get more or less dollars when the new fiscal year begins in July.

Just when it looked like the Legislature couldn’t get any slower, Gov. Jan Brewer told legislative leaders to stop sending her bills altogether and if they do, the implied threat is that she will veto them.

Small-group discussions have begun on the state budget, offering rank- and-file lawmakers their first chance to give input on next year’s spending plan, and nearly everyone has a pet priority they want funded.

Gov. Jan Brewer and some Arizona lawmakers are determined to pass her plan to simplify the state’s tax code this year, but municipalities are just as determined to delay at least one portion of the governor’s proposal that they argue could do irreparable harm to their finances.

The director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday defended his agency’s decision to release more than 2,000 illegal immigrants last month, saying it was necessary to keep the agency within its budget.