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J.D. Mesnard

May 23, 2019

Budget stalls as number of GOP holdouts grows

After Republican leaders boasted that they would introduce a budget Monday and finish it this week, the Arizona Senate adjourned Thursday evening with no budget vote and a warning from Senate President Karen Fann that lawmakers should be prepared to work Saturday and Memorial Day.

Republicans, GOP, DeWit, Ward, election, MAGA, Trump, Lake, Hobbs, Schweikert, ballots, tabulation
May 23, 2019

House Republican threatens vote against budget

Saying the budget agreement crafted by GOP legislative leaders and Gov. Doug Ducey is “not a conservative budget,” Rep. Tony Rivero, R-Peoria, vowed to vote against it Thursday unless his colleagues agreed to several significant changes.

May 20, 2019

Ducey, GOP legislative leaders agree on $11.8B spending plan

Gov. Doug Ducey would get much of what he asked for as part of an $11.8 billion budget deal struck with Republican legislative leaders, including savings of more than a billion dollars.

May 15, 2019

Senate approves horse racing bill despite sponsor’s objections

The Senate passed a bill Wednesday regulating horse racing simulcasts Wednesday over pleas from the original sponsor to kill it.

May 2, 2019

Preliminary Senate budget defies Ducey’s priorities

A budget proposal from Senate Republican leaders woefully fails to meet Gov. Doug Ducey’s biggest spending and saving priorities, and has isolated some rank-and-file GOP senators who’ve vowed to vote against it.

Apr 1, 2019

No deal on tax conformity as deadline to file tax returns looms

With two weeks until the deadline for Arizonans to file individual income tax returns, Republican lawmakers and Gov. Doug Ducey have yet to strike a deal that will finalize the state’s tax laws for 2018.

Mar 28, 2019

Minimum wage change passes out of Senate committee

Legislation to allow employers to pay some young people less than the voter-mandated minimum wage cleared a crucial hurdle Thursday after its sponsor agreed it would not be tied to whether the worker was in school.

Mar 26, 2019

Former AG revs up initiative to end ‘dark money’

Armed with volunteers and 15 months until a deadline, former Attorney General Terry Goddard launched a new bid Tuesday to end "dark money'' anonymous donations to Arizona political campaigns.

House Speaker J.D. Mesnard addresses his decision to suspend his Republican colleague Rep. Don Shooter from his duties as chairman of the House Appropriations committee on Nov. 10. Shooter's suspension came after several women publicly accused him of sexual harassment. (Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times)
Mar 4, 2019

Senators advance ballot question to adopt Arizona lieutenant governor

Arizona senators approved a bill to give the state’s voters a chance to shake up the line of succession for the governor’s office.

Feb 21, 2019

SOS AZ wants real reforms of vouchers, not extinction

Remarkably, I learned at last week’s Senate Finance Committee hearing that there are some people who still don’t know Save Our Schools Arizona’s stance on the Empowerment Scholarship Account voucher program. As an educator, I’m accustomed to repeating myself over and over again day after day for years on end, so I’m more than happy to apply that skill here.

Feb 18, 2019

Would you take away the ESA program from parents, or not

Families participating in Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program received a warm and welcome reassurance at the Senate Finance Committee hearing on SB 1395, a bill that would alleviate many of the administrative struggles ESA parents have faced in navigating the program’s rules.

Feb 18, 2019

We must keep the heat on voucher backers

So, the fight continues because those in power do not care. So we watch. We attend hearings. We fill committee rooms. We report. We post. We tweet. We expose. We write these letters. We keep pushing the truth against those that want to twist, ignore or deny the facts.

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