Building a budget that can gain support from the majority of lawmakers in both legislative chambers and get it signed by the governor takes a delicate balance.
Read More »House prepares to rip Senate budget apart, rebuild it from scratch
Capitol Quotes: May 17, 2013
This week's most outstanding quips, gibes and utterances.
Read More »Gov. Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan is sound fiscal management
Gov. Jan Brewer has set as a top priority that the state expand Medicaid to become eligible for a nine-to-one federal match instead of the current two-to-one match.
Senate president vows to block Medicaid expansion plan 
Senate President Andy Biggs said Tuesday he would do “everything I can” to prevent Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposal to expand Medicaid from reaching the Senate floor for a vote.
Read More »Heroes and traitors: Medicaid debate forces lawmakers to take sides on budget 
When discussing the progress made in budget negotiations so far this year, Senate President Andy Biggs reminded the Arizona Capitol Times that patience is a virtue.
Read More »Recall bill soundly defeated in Senate 
A bill to overhaul the recall election process in Arizona to protect Sheriff Joe Arpaio and other elected officials was defeated today in the state Senate. HB2282 failed by a 10-18 vote. It would have created a primary and general election process in the event an elected official is recalled, as opposed to the current non-partisan, winner-take-all election.
Read More »Arizona Legislature closing in on Medicaid vote
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer held the latest in a series of rallies at the Capitol on Thursday to show she has broad support for her proposal to expand Medicaid to about 300,000 more poor Arizonans. And her effort appears to be paying off.
Read More »Brewer tells Biggs to slow down the pace 
Little progress has been made on Gov. Jan Brewer’s agenda for the legislative session, and she’s sending a clear signal that she wants to see some movement on her priorities before she deals with theirs. But the Ninth Floor says Brewer isn’t threatening to dust off the veto stamp.
Read More »It’s curtains for film tax credit bill 
Political realities at the state Capitol have forced the film industry and its allies to abandon the push to create a tax credit program aimed at luring productions to Arizona.
Read More »Democrat’s gun control be will be heard before deadline 
A gun control bill sponsored by a Democrat will go before a state Senate committee on the day before the deadline to hear bills introduced in the chamber.
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