Election audit overshadows work in Senate
In some ways, the most important event of the 2021 legislative session didn’t even happen at the Capitol.
GOP lawmakers’ feud ends with dead election bills
State senators voted Tuesday to kill a host of changes in state election laws as a long-simmering dispute between two Republicans spilled out into the open.
GOP pushes ‘vague’ ballot security measures
Last-minute amendments to Arizona’s $12.8 billion budget codify election security concerns could pose trouble for the election officials required to carry out the new provisions from Trump supporters who say they believe the election was stolen and there is a deep bias against conservatives.
Ducey agrees to forgo emergency powers to get vote on budget
Gov. Doug Ducey has agreed to give up the emergency powers he granted himself 15 months ago to get the last vote necessary for his tax cut plan for the wealthiest in the state.
House Dems torpedo GOP efforts to pass budget
Efforts to enact a new $12.8 billion budget and tax cuts sputtered Tuesday as House Democrats refused to come to the floor, leaving the Republican-controlled chamber short of a quorum.... […]
House, Senate GOP leaders bring in budget holdouts
The Legislature may start debating and voting on the FY22 budget as early as Tuesday after striking a deal with Republican holdouts that slows down the implementation of tax cuts and pays off more debt.
GOP House leaders to appease Townsend with bill to organize national convention
As budget negotiations remain stalled, House GOP leaders decided to grant one conservative holdout a late hearing on a bill to organize a national convention to combat federal policies perceived as threatening “constitutional and traditional rights.”
Bill bans mask mandates in public schools
Republican lawmakers did an about-face on facemasks in schools in the most recent version of the state education budget bill.
Lawmakers can call bluff with slim margin
House Republican leaders bent on passing a flat tax and succeeding with threadbare majorities where past Republican supermajorities had failed hatched a plan last week: put the tax bills up for a vote and embarrass their outspoken holdout into voting for it.
Some lawmakers want to eliminate voting machines
Some Republican lawmakers are considering long-term changes to how Arizonans’ votes are counted as the hand recount of Maricopa County’s 2.1 million ballots drags on at Veterans Memorial Coliseum more than six months after the election.
Governor’s budget ‘tantrum’ miffs lawmakers
In starting Memorial Day weekend by vetoing every bill on his desk, Gov. Doug Ducey aimed to prod reluctant lawmakers to end their vacation and return to pass his tax cut and budget.
Senate passes critical race theory ban for public employees
State senators voted Thursday to preclude the use of taxpayer dollars to train public employees about race, ethnicity and sex discrimination if the training also mentions blame or judgment.