To a state senator, nicotine is nicotine regardless of whether the product delivering it is chewed, smoked or inhaled as mist, and all forms should be illegal for minors.

When Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery accused Attorney General Tom Horne of illegally coordinating his campaign with a supposedly independent expenditure group, state law restricted him to seeking civil penalties.

Today I urge our Legislature to expand Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) coverage for the working poor. There is no backup plan. This is it. It is neither a left issue nor a right issue. It is an Arizona issue.

The pledge that for years has been a holy grail of anti-tax conservatism is dwindling in popularity at the Copper Dome.

Only 11 lawmakers, including just one of 17 Republicans in the Senate, have signed the Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Only two of the 14 new Republican lawmakers this session have signed.

A state lawmaker’s plan to save the state money by sending government materials only in English may run afoul of the Civil Rights Act and federal guidelines, and could cost state agencies billions per year in federal dollars.

Saying it would help reduce the risk of wildfires, a state lawmaker is trying again to give cities and towns the authority to ban the sale of sparklers and other fireworks legalized by a 2010 state law.

About the only thing left to chance since voters approved Arizona’s 2002 Indian Gaming Compact has been who wins the money wagered in the state’s casinos.

In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre, the call to address problems with the mental-health system and keep guns from mentally ill people has been as persistent as the talk about restricting firearms.

Maricopa County elections officials don’t want to see a repeat of 2012.

After Election Day, the county had a record number of provisional ballots. For two weeks afterward, they counted votes, including thousands of provisional ballots caused by people who had received early ballots in the mail but chose to vote in person on Election Day instead.

Requiring Arizonans to have their signatures notarized to get on the permanent early ballot list or to receive early ballots would help prevent voter fraud, a state lawmaker contends.