Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order today directing the Arizona Department of Administration to change its hiring procedures to handle criminal histories differently.

Rep. Ceci Velasquez, D-Phoenix, pled guilty to a misdemeanor count of unlawfully using food stamps.

Lawmakers introduced 1,361 bills, memorials and resolutions in the 2016 legislative session, but in the end, most of those measures were left on the cutting room floor.

State lawmakers voted on May 5 to make the ability of nearly 80,000 people to continue to get food stamps subject to a political process.

The Arizona House of Representatives approved a bill Tuesday that would add a photo to welfare benefit cards after the sponsor promised to get rid of provisions that would drop as many as 120,000 from federal benefit programs.

Calling it bad use of public funds, a Mesa lawmaker wants to bar people from using their public benefits cards on fast food.

Some people collect antique cars. Others go fishing. Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal leaves posts anonymously about Adolf Hitler on political blogs.

More than 1.1 million Arizonans who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – better known as food stamps – will see their benefits reduced Friday in a long-planned national cut.

The budget was not the only significant legislation that died Monday between a deadlocked House and Senate – the farm bill also expired at midnight, leaving farm programs, crop supports and food stamps up in the air.

The House barely passed a farm bill Thursday afternoon, with only one member of the Arizona delegation supporting the measure after House leaders stripped the food stamp program out of it.