David Gowan: Preferring not to comment
For only the second time in 12 years, a legislative leader declined to sit down with the Arizona Capitol Times to discuss the issues of the recently completed legislative session in a question-and-answer format for our annual Session Wrap edition.
Eric Meyer: For Dems, this year was more successful
House Minority Leader Eric Meyer came to the Capitol eight years ago almost as a fluke. In 2008, another Democratic lawmaker was kicked out of the Legislature following his arrest for domestic violence, and Meyer stepped in.
Gowan OKs, then bars controversial group from meeting on House floor
America’s civil rights legacy has been “hijacked” by blacks, and revisionist history unfairly denigrates “English-speaking white citizens” even though they freed the slaves and ended segregation, according to a group planning a “civil rights conference” on the floor of the Arizona House of Representatives later this month.
Arizona House bans reporters who won’t consent to background checks
Claiming it’s a matter of security, the state House on Thursday banned reporters from the floor who would not consent to extensive background checks.
Steve Matt: A Shakespeare fanatic and rapid-fire reader
Steve Matt, a security guard in the House of Representatives, has some background in security – he joined the Army after high school, and studied law enforcement in college. But his true love, and his chosen profession for most of his life, is acting.
House establishes new travel policy in wake of Capitol Times report
The Arizona House of Representatives created a new travel policy after an Arizona Capitol Times story revealed that a handful of House Republican leaders and top staffers drove more than 36,000 miles in state vehicles in 2015, sometimes for political or personal purposes.
Reports show House travel spending more than doubled
The House is required to report its spending to the Arizona Department of Administration’s General Accounting Office. Although those records don’t detail which lawmakers or staff the chamber’s travel expenses were on behalf of, they offer a glimpse of the chamber’s spending on travel in the past year.
Gowan repaid House $12K for erroneous travel, per diem payments
Arizona House Speaker David Gowan last month repaid the state more than $12,000 for mileage reimbursements he claimed for trips that he took in state vehicles and for days he claimed to work but did not.
House opposes bill allowing liquor sales near schools
The House failed to pass a measure that would allow convenience stores to sell liquor within 300 feet of a school or church.
House to Mendez: No God, no prayer
A prayer is only a prayer if it refers to God, at least according to the state House of Representatives.
House panel votes to restore technical education money
A House panel moved quickly Monday to restore funding for Joint Technical Education Districts ahead of a $30 million cut to the programs that, without action, will kick in this coming school year.
House panel passes bill clarifying travel expense disclosure
A House panel has passed a measure that would clarify what lawmakers have to report as gifts for travel-related expenses.


















