In just a few years, new business and higher education centers have emerged downtown along with many more housing and entertainment options and a soon-to-be-completed new grocery outlet in the center of the city. In cities across the state, the downtown area no longer goes dark after 5 p.m., but is a place where people live, work and socialize throughout the day.

The preliminary approval of SB 1147 on a voice vote came after Rep. John Allen, R-Scottsdale, who is working with the vaping industry, agreed to some last-minute changes designed to blunt opposition.

Saying state and county prosecutors may balk, a House panel voted Tuesday to let anyone file suit to claim that public dollars are being used to influence elections.

Bisbee is one of eight municipalities or counties in the state whose laws have been targeted by state legislators under SB1487, a 2016 law that allows any state legislator to ask the attorney general to investigate an ordinance.

H2032, which was introduced by Rep. Jay Lawrence, R-Scottsdale, would have required cities and towns to print the political party designation of candidates for mayor and city or town council on the ballot, despite a court ruling that upheld municipalities’ rights to set up elections however they choose.

Republicans who pushed for Senate Bill 1152 intending to spark a lawsuit over consolidated elections will likely get their wish.

The League of Arizona Cities and Towns and the Arizona Association of Counties fended off a bonding plan that would have allowed the state’s three public universities to keep the sales taxes they ordinarily would have paid to the state, cities and counties.

The case for Governor Doug Ducey’s infrastructure plan for public universities comes down to one word: Jobs. We’re talking about quality, high-paying jobs – the kind provided by employers that demand a trained, educated workforce. The fundamental tie between higher education and the economy is the reason business and community leaders from across Arizona have thrown their support behind the Ducey plan.

It is not appropriate to target fellow government entities that rely on tax dollars to fund core government functions.

The mayors of Tempe, Flagstaff, Tucson and Mesa oppose the governor’s plan to allow universities to keep the sales tax that would ordinarily go to cities and towns.