Controversy over Capitol’s Sept. 11 memorial rekindles
Arizona's Sept. 11 commemorative memorial is again under fire at the State Capitol. Legislation proposed for consideration by a Senate committee Tuesday would require removal of panels bearing 11 inscriptions that a supporter of the measure said are "offensive" and that detract from the memorial's purpose in honoring those killed and injured in the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Pearce, champion of the individual, takes a nanny-state step
Is it possible that Russell Pearce has a (gasp!) latent liberal side? A man known for his unswerving devotion to individual freedoms, the Arizona Senate president is showing that he can, under certain circumstances, embrace a bit of the nanny state and adopt a little of the collective-bargaining mentality.
To kill Clean Elections, lawmakers who used it must pull trigger
Opponents of Arizona’s Clean Elections system are optimistic about the latest measure to effectively kill public campaign financing in Arizona. The House, where similar measures have died in the past, has a Republican supermajority of legislators elected on promises of fiscal responsibility. Now is the perfect time, they say, to pass a measure they call the “No Taxpayer Subsidies for Political[...]
Senate panel approves $5 million anti-cartel funding for Babeu
The Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday gave its stamp of approval to a proposal that would give Pinal County’s Republican sheriff $5 million to help fight smugglers.
Democrats: Klein’s letter-reading offensive, ignorant
Latino Democrats today said a Republican senator made an “offensive and ignorant” decision when she read a racially tinged letter on the Senate floor during the debate of an immigration bill last week.
Brewer open to further cuts, but needs convincing
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says the spending cuts included in a Republican budget-balancing plan approved by the state Senate go too far.
Senate to vote on abortion selection measure
The Arizona Senate votes Monday on a bill to prohibit abortions sought because of the race or sex of the fetus or the race of a parent.
Census strengthens GOP’s grip: As power shifts, Phoenix and Dems look like losers in Legislature
If Arizona Democrats thought nothing could be worse than the 2010 election results, they might want to hold their collective breath as the Independent Redistricting Commission gets to work.
Senate budget: A bargaining chip?
Despite all the raw emotions it stirred and all the opposition it encountered, the Senate’s budget-slashing and gimmicks-busting proposal isn’t going to be state’s final spending plan.
Its most contentious aspects, more likely than not, will be softened and its most ragged edges smoothed out before it wins support in the House of Representatives and with Gov. Jan Brewer.
Arizona Senate advancing Republican budget plan
The Arizona Senate is advancing a budget plan with spending cuts that majority Republicans say are overdue to fit state spending to state revenue.
Senate may revisit Bundgaard issue Tuesday
Senate Republicans are expected to revisit on Tuesday the issue surrounding calls by some members for Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard to relinquish his leadership position following a physical altercation with his then-girlfriend, Aubry Ballard, last month.