Gov. Doug Ducey today signed legislation mandating two recess periods a day for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. And youngsters in half-day kindergarten programs will get at least one break.

Before she voted on a bill requiring elementary school students in Arizona to receive at least 50 minutes of recess per day, Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita faced intense pressure from a team of lobbyists hounding her day and night.

A legislative panel unanimously approved a bill to make schools provide students with least 50 minutes of recess per day.

In the first week of the 2017 legislative session, lawmakers have already introduced hundreds of bills on topics ranging from the mundane to the life-or-death.

When Congress returns today from a five-week vacation, its members had better be rested. They face a laundry list of issues, ranging from a vote on the Iran nuclear deal to a possible Planned Parenthood funding fight to gun control – not to mention the “elephant in the room,” passage of a federal budget by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown.