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Dreaming up immigration nightmares for a price
Did you know that the DREAM Act, which would grant resident status and form a path to citizenship for illegal alien students who want to go to college or enter the military, is a full-blown nightmare? Did you know it’s the greatest threat to the nation’s sovereignty, national security and economic future? Me, either.
Supreme Court OKs sanctions law — is SB1070 next?
The nation’s highest court has determined there is room for states to enforce federal immigration laws regarding employment, a ruling that proponents and critics are now parsing for any indication on how the Supreme Court will view SB1070.
Fit to be tied: Republican lawmakers say Prop. 105 is too restrictive
The chorus of lawmakers calling for an overhaul of the Voter Protection Act quieted to a low murmur in 2011, but supporters say the dormant issue will be back on the Legislature’s agenda next year.
Several Republican legislators said they will revive their plans to change Proposition 105, the 1998 ballot measure that strictly limits the Legislature’s ability to tamper with voter-appro[...]
Employer sanctions stands up to high court scrutiny
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld an Arizona law that allows the state to suspend or revoke the business licenses of companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants, paving the way for other states to establish similar systems.
Good news on Arizona unemployment equals bad news
Gov. Jan Brewer wants legislators to act in special session to prevent a cutoff of 20 weeks of extended unemployment benefits that are now at risk because Arizona's unemployment rate has dropped.
Is he really bulletproof?
The Fiesta Bowl scandal has affected more than a dozen lawmakers, and even Brewer, but the public outcry has so far hit Pearce the hardest.
Brewer, leadership meet, but no word on special session
Gov. Jan Brewer, Senate President Russell Pearce and House Speaker Andy Tobin met for an hour Tuesday to discuss some of the biggest issues facing the state during the legislative off-session, but made no decisions on calling lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session.
Pearce recall drive may use entire petition period
A leader of a recall campaign targeting Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce says the effort may use all the time possible to collect voter signatures prior to a May 31 deadline to submit petitions.
In an extremely busy year, Senate passes more bills than House
When Senate leaders boast that this is the most fruitful session in years, they have the hard evidence to back up their claim.
Despite being half the size of the House of Representatives, the Senate approved 117 more pieces of legislation than the House sent to them.
Lawmakers’ voting participation remains high in shorter session
Records from the past three legislative sessions point to a simple truism of the citizen-legislature model: The shorter the session, the better the attendance.
By keeping a 100-day session — the length prescribed by legislative rules — 27 of the Legislature’s 90 members voted on every bill that was brought to the floor, and only one lawmaker missed more than 20 percent of floor vo[...]
Freshman Rep. Carter leads batting averages with 4-of-4 bills passed and signed
Based on legislative batting averages — or the ratio of bills introduced to bills passed by the Legislature — rookie lawmakers were able to secure a few MVP trophies this year.
UpClose with Russell Pearce: Recognizes he’s not ‘a party of one,’ can’t do whatever he wants
If you’re looking for proof of how much more conservative the Senate emerged after last year’s election, look no further than the selection of Sen. Russell Pearce, a Republican from Mesa, as the chamber’s leader.
Pearce is often perceived as unmovable, uncompromising, even single-minded — traits that may be good or bad, depending on which side of the aisle you’re sitting. Many[...]
