Gov. Jan Brewer is hitting the fundraising trail again for an independent expenditure committee that is expected to help the Republican lawmakers who backed her Medicaid expansion plan.

The award for best legislative batting average for the session — the calculation of bills introduced versus bills signed into law — goes to Rep. David Livingston, a freshman Republican lawmaker from Peoria who has been vocally critical of the governor.

The push to refer Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan to the ballot began in earnest as opponents of the bill rallied at the Capitol before fanning out across the Valley to collect signatures.

The bipartisan coalition forming around Medicaid expansion flexed their political muscle on Monday, shooting down a pair of amendments and approving another amendment to a Medicaid expansion supporter’s bill involving school bonding.

Arizona lawmakers have slashed $1 billion from public education dollars in recent years and gone to court to avoid mandatory increases in school funding. Now they want taxpayers to directly cover the costs of new construction, repairs, equipment and school buses.

A bill to scrap the requirement that high school students pass the AIMS test is heading to the governor’s desk after being approved by the House on Tuesday during a heated debate.

Saying the American Dream is on life support and in need of help, Republican Rep. Tom Forese of Chandler beat back bipartisan opposition to his bill allowing a new type of corporation — a benefit corporation.

Arguing that struggling schools and students need more class time and less summer vacation, state representatives approved a bill to allow such schools to increase their calendar year to 200 days, and pull in some extra state money in the process.

Freshman Republican Rep. Adam Kwasman of Oro Valley came up to the Legislature with big plans to enact big ideas.

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.