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Brewer tells Biggs to slow down the pace
Little progress has been made on Gov. Jan Brewer’s agenda for the legislative session, and she’s sending a clear signal that she wants to see some movement on her priorities before she deals with theirs. But the Ninth Floor says Brewer isn’t threatening to dust off the veto stamp.
Public notice bill comes back to life while another dies
The battle over who gets to print public notices continued in the House on Monday, as a bill that had been killed was revived and passed, and another bill went down in flames.
Gun bill advances despite concerns it may be unconstitutional
Sen. Kelli Ward’s bill to prohibit the enforcement of any new federal gun laws in Arizona cleared the Senate Rules Committee despite lawmakers’ strong concerns that the legislation, as written, is unconstitutional.
Legislators walk tightrope on questions of constitutionality
Arizona lawmakers often walk a fine line between passing bills that are legal and enacting ones that turn out to be unconstitutional.
Bills would ban mandatory membership in State Bar, but support lacking
Identical, obscure proposals in each legislative chamber would make a major change to the state’s legal system. And even though they appear to be dead, the question of whether it’s right to force lawyers to join the State Bar of Arizona will likely rise again.
Arizona Senate approves changes to ballot process
Arizona lawmakers want to make it harder for citizens to put issues on the ballot.
Business leaders leave Washington with dim hopes of avoiding sequester, job cuts
A delegation from the Arizona Technology Council came to Washington this week hoping to persuade Congress to stop automatic spending cuts that would hurt state defense contractors and could lead to layoffs.
Arizona panel recommends pension alternative for state
A committee that studied funding issues with Arizona's pension system for public employees is recommending that current and former workers be allowed to move into a 401(k)-style plan as an optional alternative to fixed-benefit pensions.
Few Arizona politicians digging deep for presidential candidates
For those whose role can involve fundraising and who would seem to have more than a passing interest in the outcome of the presidential campaign, few of Arizona’s state and federal elected leaders had made personal campaign contributions to Mitt Romney or Barack Obama through Sept. 30.
Will scandals that forced 4 lawmakers from office influence voters?
Not since the AzScam scandal in 1991 have so many Arizona lawmakers left office amid criminal allegations in a single year.
The current scandals could cast a cloud over the state’s general election. Lawmakers who leave in disgrace tend to discourage cynical voters from going to the polls, pollsters and players from the AzScam bribery scandal said.
Fillmore calls for Crandall’s ouster, despite history of defending disgraced ex-lawmakers
Rep. John Fillmore has defended a former lawmaker who was accused of domestic violence. And he’s asked the courts to be lenient on another legislator who was convicted of defrauding a children’s charity.
But the Apache Junction Republican says his political challenger, Sen. Rich Crandall, should be subject to an ethics trial, removed from his committee chairmanship and ultimately oust[...]
Commission rejects ballot measure for legislative salary hike
Voters routinely reject proposed pay raises for legislators, but for the second election in a row, they won’t have the chance to decide.
