Sen. Don Shooter persuaded his fellow senators to advance a bill out of the Senate on March 7 by promising them the bill as written is essentially dead on arrival in the House.

Calling the Capitol a soft target for terrorist threats that could decapitate the state and destabilize the nation, Republican Rep. John Allen of Scottsdale is pitching a plan to install a full vehicle barrier around the Capitol complex.

By using a loophole in Proposition 108 that may allow her to sidestep the need to get a two-thirds vote for her Medicaid expansion plan, Gov. Jan Brewer would be putting an unprecedented amount of power in her AHCCCS director’s hands.

As Arizona’s population has expanded, the state’s water supply has been quickly dwindling and without action, the state will face shortfalls that could cripple its ability to grow or even endure.

According to a report by Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, 1,021 new single-family homes were sold in the Phoenix area during October, an 85 percent increase from the same month last year.

The incoming class of lawmakers contains a relatively high number of new members — and like children heading to their first day of school, those newbies bring with them outside experiences, fresh ideas and optimism. But one thing they often don’t bring is a working knowledge of the issues and the process.

T.J. Shope, a Republican from Coolidge, and Juan Mendez, a Democrat from Tempe, share a lot in common.

Both are 27-year-old incoming state representatives. Both studied political science at Arizona State University and received bachelor’s degrees in 2008.

House Speaker Andy Tobin set the House committee chairmanships today, offering the first look into who will control the flow of legislation in the House of Representatives for the 51st Legislature, which begins its work in January.

Democrats today selected their next set of Senate leaders, following a largely successful campaign to increase their number in the state Legislature and amid hopes for bipartisan cooperation.

By a slim margin, Republicans won two House seats of the Democrat leaning Legislative District 8, where there was an infusion of cash from independent expenditure groups to reclaim the district.