Republican leaders and Gov. Jan Brewer might have reached a tentative budget agreement, but they don't have the votes, for now at least, to get it to her. That became apparent when the Senate adjourned tonight without hearing the budget in Approps.

The president of the Arizona Senate has removed Thayer Verschoor from his leadership position, replacing him with a freshman lawmaker. Sen. Steve Pierce, a lawmaker from Prescott, was appointed July 8 to replace Verschoor as Senate President pro tempore, as well as on the six-member Senate Rules Committee.

Gov. Jan Brewer praised lawmakers for their swift and bipartisan work in passing four new budget bills on the first day of the special session, and she credited her vetoes of the previous budget as the force that pushed them together.

The Arizona Legislature voted unanimously July 6 to pass four bills, one of which would restore funding to public education and add another approximately $400 million to schools. The measures garnered bipartisan support, passing unanimously, first in the House and then in the Senate.

Most Arizona senators will be present for the opening of the special session on July 6, according to staff members in their Senate offices. A handful will probably be absent, including senators Meg Burton Cahill of Tempe and Richard Miranda of Tolleson.

As the last day of the 2009 fiscal year was winding down without a budget in place, political onlookers who have spent a few years at the Capitol started to wonder: Will the Senate stop the clock before midnight of June 30 to hide the fact that the new fiscal year has started?

Lawmakers approved two measures on the final days of this year's session that aim to allow gun owners to carry firearms in restaurants and bars and to store firearms in vehicles parked on private lots.

The budget deal reached by legislative leaders and Gov. Jan Brewer took one step closer to getting a full vote by the Senate.

A state Senate committee has resurrected a measure banning photo enforcement cameras on Arizona highways. The measure was tacked on to a transportation bill that would make it easier for the state to create toll roads. The package passed a ...

Although nearly every level of state government is facing a spending cut as the state grapples with a more than $3 billion deficit, those responsible for crafting the budget didn't think the time was right to give themselves a haircut.