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From Austin to New Orleans, lawmakers travel at the expense of lobbyists
Travel and lodging account for 12 percent of the money spent in lobbyist expenditure reports that include a beneficiary name from 2011 to 2012.
Capitol Quotes: April 19, 2013
The most outstanding quips, gibes and utterances from Arizona's political scene this week.
Definition of lobbyist hard to pin down
Even the question of who is a lobbyist is debatable, thanks to wide-ranging exemptions in the laws governing who is required to register as a lobbyist. Those exemptions cover everyone from John Q. Public to, arguably, one of the state’s most powerful public policy groups: The Goldwater Institute.
Mayo Clinic backs Brewer; Scottsdale Healthcare on the fence
One of two hospitals that held out support for Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan out of concerns the proposed hospital tax would cost more than they would get back is officially on board.
If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad…
One lobbyist pushing for the AHCCCS expansion told our reporter today that GOP lawmakers will eventually “become more and more comfortable with the idea that they don’t need to be afraid of the PCs,” but said that the effort could be hastened if the business community stepped up to the plate in a bigger way
Senate kills anti-union bill – three times
Reversing its stance just a year ago, the Senate today rejected – three times – a proposal to prohibit automatic paycheck deductions for union dues.
Biker profiling bill hits a snag
A bill to prevent police from profiling motorcyclists as outlaw bikers hit a snag this week when a Democratic lawmaker introduced changes that included allowing police officers to stop bikers wearing “hate symbols.’’
Brewer, AHCCCS expansion advocates tout general fund benefits
On its face, the Arizona Board of Regents and the universities they govern have little, if anything, to do with the state’s Medicaid program or Gov. Jan Brewer’s plans to expand it in accordance with the federal Affordable Care Act.
Lawmakers question putting children into isolation rooms
After the approach was compared to prison scenes in the movie “Cool Hand Luke,” a Mesa lawmaker took the first step Monday toward ending the practice of placing unruly schoolchildren in isolation rooms.
Authorities resolve unanswered question in Arredondo case
Ever since former Rep. Ben Arredondo was indicted in May in a bribery sting, the question of what prompted the FBI to investigate him had been left unanswered by the federal agency or the Department of Justice.
Ex-Fiesta Bowl lobbyist agrees to help in probe
A former Fiesta Bowl lobbyist who pleaded guilty to failing to disclose costs from a 2008 trip that sent nine lawmakers to Boston has agreed to cooperate with investigators and testify in grand-jury proceedings and in any possible trials.
Adams, Salmon spar over veracity of ‘Obamacare’ ad
If Republicans are united in anything, it’s an overwhelming hatred of Obamacare. And it’s that raw emotion that former Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams hopes to tap into with an accusation that his opponent, former Congressman Matt Salmon, lobbied to pass the landmark health care overhaul legislation.
