Vetting panel chooses 5 finalists for IRC chair
The most powerful, unpaid political figure in Arizona for the next decade will either be a teacher, a businessman, an attorney for a public utility, a gun store owner or a psychologist-turned-life coach.
Booming economy brings jobs, a vibrant lifestyle, to Arizona
In just a few years, new business and higher education centers have emerged downtown along with many more housing and entertainment options and a soon-to-be-completed new grocery outlet in the center of the city. In cities across the state, the downtown area no longer goes dark after 5 p.m., but is a place where people live, work and socialize throughout the day.
Firefighters say cities are breaking workers’ comp law
In 2017, the Legislature passed a bill to expand the list of cancers that are legally presumed to be a result of firefighters’ workplace conditions. HB2161 sailed out of both chambers with nearly unanimous support from lawmakers who sought to protect firefighters across Arizona from the financial burden of diseases such as leukemia, melanoma and testicular cancer, among others.
Homie’s appeal for vote grabs attention
A new guerilla marketing campaign is taking advantage of an election season loophole in Arizona, and leaving some Phoenix-area residents wondering: Who is “Homie,” and why is he or she running for the U.S. Senate?
Lack of impact data stalls bills to bar digital goods’ tax
An effort to forgo sales taxes on digital goods and services has stalled while state budget analysts try to figure out how much Arizona may stand to lose in tax revenue.
Legislature joins push to delicense, deregulate all sorts of professions and jobs
If there’s a professional license, there’s probably an Arizona lawmaker who wonders if it should exist.
Legislators’ complaints of lawbreaking by cities on the upswing
Bisbee is one of eight municipalities or counties in the state whose laws have been targeted by state legislators under SB1487, a 2016 law that allows any state legislator to ask the attorney general to investigate an ordinance.
Let’s use road funds on roads
The ink is barely dry on the budget when residents of our 91 cities and towns and 15 counties register their complaints with local officials about streets and roads showing signs of age, inadequate maintenance and disrepair.
Patrice Kraus
In the kingdom of term limits and constant turnovers, institutional knowledge is king. And few can match Patrice Kraus’ experience, skill and political acumen as a lobbyist.
Petersen asks Brnovich to probe Bisbee’s plastic bags ban
Sen. Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, has filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office and asked if the City of Bisbee’s ban on single-use plastic bags violates state laws.
Passage of election consolidation – from the Capitol to the courthouse
Republicans who pushed for Senate Bill 1152 intending to spark a lawsuit over consolidated elections will likely get their wish.
New session, old story – cities, counties fend off Legislature’s reach
The League of Arizona Cities and Towns and the Arizona Association of Counties fended off a bonding plan that would have allowed the state’s three public universities to keep the sales taxes they ordinarily would have paid to the state, cities and counties.