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Child welfare work group poised to pitch ideas for new agency
A small group of lawmakers and Capitol staffers will begin making their pitch for a new child safety organization to the Legislature next week.
Not seeing eye to eye: Optometrists, ophthalmologists battle over prescriptions
Optometrists want the ability to prescribe steroids, hydrocodone pain killers and other potentially dangerous drugs, but lawmakers say a bill allowing them to do so is circumventing the legislative process and would put the public at risk.
Republicans join with Dems to reject school choice bill
Eight Republicans helped to reject a bill Thursday that would have sharply expanded a program that uses public money to send students to private schools.
Attention turns back to child welfare reforms
The Capitol community’s attention is turning to the work of a small group of lawmakers and Capitol staffers drafting legislation to create a new child safety and welfare agency,... […]
Senate leader pans House budget changes
Senate President Andy Biggs said his chamber may not accept the changes to the budget made late Thursday by the House.
House GOP reach compromise, approve $9.2B budget
After a week of political bargaining over the state budget that included a failed attempt to consider the spending package on the floor and an emotionally charged press conference declaring negotiations had broken down, Republicans in the House of Representatives banded together to approve a $9.24 billion spending plan for the 2015 fiscal year late Thursday night.
Arizona House breaks deadlock, begins debate on state budget
The Arizona House has begun debating a state budget plan that adds spending to the plan passed by the Senate.
Moderates walk out as House budget negotiations break down
Six moderate Republicans put on a show of force this afternoon, marching out of the House to announce that budget negotiations between them and House Republican leadership had officially reached an impasse on the Senate budget proposal.
House budget stalemate continues
Dissident Republicans met off and on all day behind closed doors in their bid to have the nearly $9.2 billion spending plan approved last week by the Senate expanded to deal with their own priorities. At least part of that includes additional spending for the new Division of Child Welfare, created by Gov. Jan Brewer to replace the troubled Child Protective Services.
Lack of GOP support for Senate budget derails House vote
House Republican leaders late Monday gave up trying to corral the votes for a new budget, at least for now. House Speaker Andy Tobin stopped debate in the middle of a bill when it became clear he lacked the necessary votes for the spending plan.
Analysis shows soaring Arizona abuse caseloads
A new analysis presented Friday to members of the Legislature's Child Protective Services oversight committee shows Arizona's child welfare system experienced a greater caseload increase than all but one state in the 10 years ending in 2012, while most states saw decreases.
House passes livestock cruelty bill without “ag-gag” provision
The removal of a controversial provision didn’t go far enough to bring critics of a livestock cruelty bill on board, but the House of Representatives still narrowly passed the legislation.
