The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is asking for a $2.7 million supplement to the current fiscal year 2015 budget to cover a shortfall and a permanent $4.7 million increase to hire more attorneys to work on child-welfare cases and keep the lawyers they have from fleeing to better paying jobs.

Attorney General Tom Horne filed suit July 3 to stop the Clean Elections Commission from suing him, alleging its actions are a “stunning power grab.”

The internal investigation report that will detail whether employees of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office worked on Tom Horne’s campaign during office hours and with office resources is going to be kept secret.

The Citizens Clean Election Commission voted unanimously to investigate allegations that Tom Horne and his staff are using taxpayer time and resources to run his reelection campaign, which could lead to the embattled attorney general being removed from office

The director of the Citizens Clean Elections Commission said Attorney General Tom Horne’s response to a complaint filed by a former employee didn’t adequately answer allegations that he and his staff campaign on state time, and in some cases lends credence to her allegations.

The leader of the state’s new child-welfare agency proclaimed that a new era of openness and accountability has arrived. But the Attorney General’s Office contends a provision preventing it from giving legal advice could only spur more secrecy.

Both sides claimed victory as a federal judge dismissed the bulk of Margaret “Meg” Hinchey’s retaliation lawsuit against Attorney General Tom Horne and a top aide, but allowed the case to proceed on several allegations.

A judge ruled that the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office lacks to the authority to pursue campaign finance allegations against Tom Horne and a top aide, giving the attorney general at least a temporary reprieve.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge expressed skepticism over the county attorney’s authority to pursue alleged campaign finance violations by Attorney General Tom Horne, putting the future of the case in question as the state’s top law enforcement officer and a key aide prepare to fight the charges in court.

Attorneys representing the State of Arizona and Attorney General Tom Horne’s chief deputy are asking a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit by an investigator in his office alleging that she was targeted for retaliation and discrimination.