Protecting children from their opportunistic social influencer parents
A new law in Illinois will require parent social media influencers to set aside money for their children, under age 16, who appear in the parents’ vlogs. Sounds like a good intentioned law, right? Well, it’s a bit complex.
State GOP not giving up attempts to evade sanctions tied to lawsuit
They've lost big in court. Twice. But the Arizona Republican Party isn't giving up its efforts to evade sanctions for filing what judges have called a baseless and politically motivated lawsuit attacking election processes Maricopa County used during the November 2020 election that saw then-President Donald Trump go down in defeat.
Republicans are protecting the Arizona we love
When you think of Arizona, you can’t help but think of freedom. Freedom to keep the money you earn. Freedom to send your kids to the school you want. Freedom to start a business without layers of red tape. And freedom to work – our licensing reform has become a national model.
Prescott Valley takes water reform into its own hands
The town of Prescott Valley adopted a policy that is not strictly legal: requiring all types of housing developments to provide proof their projects will have water.
ESA program added almost 50,000 students in the past year, state reports
The state added nearly 12,000 students to the Empowerment Scholarship Account program in the last quarter, bringing total enrollment to 61,689 at the end of June and renewing debates about the costs and benefits of the program.
Toma and Petersen claim doctors have no legal right to challenge abortion ban
Arizona's top two Republican lawmakers say doctors have no legal right to challenge a 2021 ban the GOP-controlled Legislature enacted on abortions due to fetal abnormalities because they aren't saying they intend to violate it.
Effort to regulate short-term rentals will resume
Stakeholders and lawmakers say that they will renew efforts in the next legislative session to increase municipalities’ ability to restrict short-term rentals to increase the amount of long-term rental properties and for-sale residential properties.
Sierra Club report card lauds environmental funding, laments climate inaction
The Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter Wednesday released its fall 2023 Environmental Report Card for the Arizona Legislature and governor, and though the organization gave a majority of the state’s legislators negative marks for climate inaction, it praised the state budget’s climate initiatives.
Attempts to curtail universal ESA program fail
In the first legislative session following the universal expansion of the Empowerment Scholarship Account program, attempts to curtail or enact further oversight for the program fell flat.
Getting a bill passed takes ‘compromise’ and persistence
After a record number of vetoes from a governor during the 2023 legislative session, Republicans saw a fewer volume of the amount of bills signed than in recent years.
Lawmakers had high attendance on fewer days
This session, lawmakers had very good attendance records, but only came to work a fraction of the time the Legislature was technically in session.
Under Hobbs, Dems struggle to get bills advanced, signed
The 2023 legislative session was comprised similarly to the previous two, with all three having narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate.