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Lawmaker: Have voter-approved measures face reauthorization
In 1998, Arizona voters decided to bar the Legislature from making changes to initiatives and referendums without a three–quarters vote in each house. But Rep. Chester Crandell has proposed that any voter-approved measure using public funds later face reauthorization votes by the public.
Students rail against lawmaker’s proposal on financial aid, tuition
Grants covering tuition and fees as well as a work-study job that brings in $200 every other week allow Alisha Raccuia to pursue a psychology major and social justice minor at the University of Arizona.
Commerce Authority lawyers exploring whether Cardon should pay back $50K
Attorneys for the Arizona Commerce Authority are poring over outgoing CEO Don Cardon’s contract to see whether the agency can recoup a $50,000 signing bonus he received, and will likely put safeguards into his successor’s contract to make sure it won’t be a question next time.
Lawmakers, Brewer looking past rocky 2011
The road from the end of the last legislative session to the beginning of the new one was full of potholes for Gov. Jan Brewer and the Legislature.
Both sides say there’s nothing unusual about the two branches butting heads, and say they’ve moved past the disagreements of 2011. But there was no shortage of feuds between Brewer and the Legislature.
Scramble over rising revenues begins – save it or spend it
After four years of painful slashing, a steady uptick in state revenues could lead to a budget showdown the public hasn’t seen since the heydays of Arizona’s economy — what to do with “surplus” money.
Democrats plan to seek repeal of immigration law
Democratic lawmakers in Arizona plan to propose a repeal of the state's 2010 immigration enforcement law but concede that the bill won't go far at the Legislature.
Counties try to derail plan to shift prisoners
County officials don't like either Door No. 1 or Door No. 2 when confronted with the approaching 2012 implementation of an Arizona law that would shift costs for housing thousands of prisoners from the state to the 15 counties.
Déjà vu: Brewer expresses possible support for another K-12 tax hike
A coalition seeking a voter-approved tax hike for education may have an ally in Gov. Jan Brewer, who gave her strongest signals yet that she may support the group’s proposed ballot measure.
Counties plan to lobby against giving money to state budget
Maricopa County has decided to push back against the multi-million dollar contributions the state has forced it and four other counties to provide during the past three fiscal years to help fill holes in the budget.
Battling rising permit costs tops business group’s regulatory reform agenda
The state’s commitment to regulatory reform is clashing with its need to balance the budget, and the result is a rising cost of doing business for Arizona companies.
Contractors say fund sweeps cost 42,000 highway jobs, want HURF reimbursed
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and at the Legislature, those measures have included sweeping money from state funds and agencies.
But now that the fiscal outlook is less bleak, some opponents would like the state to reimburse those funds.
