Parker-Mason GOP Corp Comm slate: ‘Ratepayer advocates’
The Republican primary race for the Arizona Corporation Commission became competitive last month, when former state lawmaker Lucy Mason announced she and former Paradise Valley mayor Vernon Parker would run on a slate for the two nominations.
Vernon Parker makes Corp Comm candidacy official
Former Paradise Valley mayor and two-time Republican congressional candidate Vernon Parker today filed paperwork to run for the Arizona Corporation Commission, despite having raised more than $400,000 in 2013 to run against U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona’s 9th Congressional District.
Energy-efficiency bills targeting state buildings likely going nowhere
Four bills were proposed by Democrats during the 2010 legislative session that would have revised energy-reduction deadlines and created new standards for energy consumption in state buildings, but none of them have received committee approval and appear dead for now.
State agencies, universities ignore energy-reduction law
Back in 2003, lawmakers passed a law that required state agencies and universities to reduce their energy consumption by 10 percent by the end of 2008. The legislation had overwhelming bipartisan support, but the results were disappointing.
UpClose with Lucy Mason
If you ask anyone who has worked on an issue with Rep. Lucy Mason, they'll say she is persistent and tenacious and every other synonym that "Roget's Thesaurus" lists to describe those who never give up. The Prescott Republican is in her final term, and her tenure in the Legislature has been one of the wildest.
Hostile amendment slows House passage of budget bill
The fate of a bill that would delay payments to schools and universities as a deficit-closing gimmick is in question after the House of Representatives amended the measure, linking its enactment to a jobs creation and business tax cut bill that is stalled in the Senate.
Anti-photo enforcement bills advance in committee
Two bills targeting the state's photo enforcement system advanced on a partisan vote after an exhaustive committee hearing in the House on Jan. 21.
Long session led to many missed votes
The Arizona House of Representatives held 382 floor votes during the 2009 regular session, which stretched into July as lawmakers struggled with the budget deficit. Rep. Rich Crandall, a Mesa Republican, didn't participate in 254 of them, nearly two-thirds of the total.
Will legislative PACs be used to corral votes?
A pair of political committees created by top legislative Republicans will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend in next year's elections, which is causing some to wonder if it's appropriate for them to wield that kind of power.
Lawmaker, experts push idea of competition to provide electricity in Arizona
Opening Arizona to competition by companies providing electricity could lower rates and give providers more incentive to act wisely when considering investments on infrastructure, experts told a group of state lawmakers Nov. 12.
Capitol Quotes 9/18
"Give me a break. You've been around long enough to know that people, sometimes after six months that they're on the Ninth Floor, they're on their way." - Gov. Jan Brewer, dismissing the notion the recent departures of deputy chiefs of staff Tom Manos and Brian McNeil are signs that her administration is in trouble.
13 House members will be looking for new jobs
There are 13 legislators in the House of Representatives who can hear the hoof-beats of term limits fast approaching, and their plans after the forced exit from the chamber range from possible runs for higher office to recapturing memories from youth.