Shope to carry Sanctuary City bill at Ducey’s behest
A Republican lawmaker from Coolidge will carry the water for the governor’s forthcoming effort to enshrine a ban on so-called sanctuary cities in the state Constitution.
Legislature 2020: How to spend surplus of money
State lawmakers return to the Capitol Monday to deal with something they appear to have plenty: Money and who gets it.
House Code of Conduct should include funds for time-out chairs
Name calling. Bullying. Making faces. Walking out of a room mid-conversation. Refusal to listen. Playground behavior among 10 year olds? No. This is what happened daily during the 54th Legislature First Regular Session.
2nd group launches bid to legalize recreational pot
A new cannabis group that formed to oppose a 2020 marijuana ballot initiative to legalize recreational use launched its own competing effort November 13 with plans to have legislators send it to the voters in lieu of collecting signatures.
GOP lawmaker seeks AG opinion on smoking, vaping age regulation
A key House Republican leader is trying to get Attorney General Mark Brnovich to curb efforts by some cities and towns to raise the age of smoking and vaping to 21.
Court allows minor league players to sue for minimum wage violations
A federal appeals court has given a key victory to players on minor league baseball teams the right to sue to be paid the minimum wage while they're in spring training in Arizona.
The Breakdown: Between the lines
One Democratic lawmaker wants to spend 2020 tackling a unique form of gerrymandering, and argues that inmates in Arizona prisoners shouldn’t count towards the population of the legislative district that the prison is drawn in.
Lawmaker’s long-shot effort to end ‘prison gerrymandering’
About one-third of Arizona’s roughly 42,000 prisoners are housed in a single legislative district.
Democrat with little political experience becomes most effective in 2019
But even with the 17-13 split in the Senate, the 31-29 split in the House, the Democrat who accomplished the most during the First Regular Session of the 54th Legislature is the one who was criticized for her lack of political experience during the campaign – and she wasn’t even a lawmaker.
Session Wrap with Charlene Fernandez
House Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez came into the 2019 legislative session hopeful that the 31-29 split in the chamber would lead to more opportunities for her Democratic colleagues.
Senate plans to start budget talks around Labor Day
Republicans in the state Senate — and possibly the House — plan to start drafting next year’s budget shortly after Labor Day and have a proposal ready by the end of the year
Hoffman’s early days in office calm compared to predecessors
Arizona’s current school’s chief has many differences compared to her two predecessors.