U.S. senators John McCain and Jeff Flake have proposed an amendment to the federal budget that would create a spending-neutral reserve fund to support a zero-tolerance approach to prosecuting illegal border crossers. The motion follows reports that the Arizona U.S. Attorney’s Office plans to stop using a controversial program, called…
Animal-welfare advocates are calling on Governor Doug Ducey to veto a bill that the advocates say weakens the state’s animal-cruelty laws. House Bill 2150, passed by the Arizona Legislature this week, creates a new classification of cruelty toward livestock and poultry, separate from other animals. “HB 2150 simply creates new…
Members of the ACLU, NAACP, and other local activist organizations assembled at the State Capitol minutes after the Arizona Senate passed SB 1445, the controversial bill that prevents police departments from releasing the name of an officer involved in a violent incident for 60 days. The final vote held Tuesday…
A Valley-based company that specializes in cleaning LDS temples and churches will pay at least $250,000 to the federal government for hiring undocumented immigrants, its owner says. Joel Votaw, operating officer and founder of Valley View Building Services, tells New Times the payment will be part of a deal still…
A bill that would put an end to a nearly five-year ban on payday lending is languishing in the Arizona Senate after narrowly slipping through the House with a 31-29 vote. Still, about two dozen legislators, faith leaders, and community activists gathered in a gravel parking lot sandwiched between two…
Arizona lawmakers yesterday rejected another attempt to ban the practice of people collecting others’ election ballots to turn in. Such a practice was utilized by the group Citizens for a Better Arizona during the successful 2012 recall of then-Senate President Russell Pearce. CBA workers collected early-voting ballots from voters who…
An Arizona House committee passed a bill Thursday that would prohibit state agencies and employees from enforcing any new federal “act, law, order, rule or regulation” restricting gun ownership or ammunition. Senate Bill 1330 prevents the federal government from forcing Arizona to use resources and manpower to enforce federal laws,…
The Arizona Senate yesterday passed a bill that creates a new tax break for certain religious groups. A version of the bill, which is being pushed by the notorious Center for Arizona Policy, was vetoed by Governor Jan Brewer after it was passed by lawmakers last year. Now it’s up…
Update 3/17/15 7:30 p.m.: An amendment to SB 1445 passed in the House Wednesday afternoon. The vote was 44 to 13, with three members not voting. (View the full voting breakdown here) Original story follows: Community leaders and members of the ACLU gathered on the capital lawn this morning to…
The Arizona Senate Committee on Rural Affairs and Environment recently advanced three bills and one memorial demanding that all federally owned public lands in Arizona be transferred to the state immediately: • HB 2321 tells the federal government to give up the title to all public lands in Arizona; •…
A bill that would have used $10 million in state funding to build a virtual border fence in Arizona was passed by the state Senate yesterday, but not before the $10 million was stripped from the bill. Republican Senators Bob Worsley and Steve Smith have been trying for a couple…
It took three hours of debate and discussion, but the Arizona House subcommittee on Military Affairs and Public Safety passed SB 1445, the controversial bill allowing the name of an officer involved in a deadly or violent incident to be withheld for 90 days. “This is a very, very important–and…
Arizona lawmakers may form a committee to study hemp as a new major crop in the state. Hemp growing long has been illegal under federal law due to its relation to marijuana plants, even though you can’t get high from hemp. As Congress eases up on hemp restrictions, and could…
Arizona lawmakers are again attempting to clamp down on panhandling. The state’s anti-panhandling law passed in 2013 was struck down in the courts, while former Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a toned-down version of the law last year. Republican Senator John Kavanagh, the sponsor of both of the previous anti-panhandling bill,…
The Arizona House of Representatives yesterday passed a proposal to significantly cut the price of some speeding tickets. On a 40-20 vote, the House voted to pass House Bill 2662, which would expand one of Arizona’s lesser known laws — a ban on the “waste of finite resources.” Currently, the…
Despite the rain, demonstrators took to the state capitol today to protest a proposed tax break for certain religious groups. The bill, pushed by the notorious Center for Arizona Policy, was vetoed by Governor Jan Brewer after it was passed by lawmakers last year. The House of Representatives already passed…
Arizona lawmakers are looking to close a loophole that prevents police from pulling over drivers with a busted taillight. This loophole was realized a few years ago, when a Tucson man beat a DUI charge after the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the state law is ambiguous when it…
An outright ban on photo-radar cameras in Arizona was shot down this week by lawmakers. Senate Bill 1167, the latest of several attempts by some lawmakers to severely restrict or eliminate the photo-radar systems, failed on a preliminary vote in the Senate, with 13 in favor of the ban, and…
Sarah Palin’s new video ad for the Sportsman Channel’s Amazing America show shows the former vice presidential candidate hitchhiking in the middle of the desert. Except as every Phoenician would know, the right-wing celeb is actually in Central Phoenix, at Papago Park…
Arizona lawmakers may prevent police from forcing someone to unlock their phone with a fingerprint without a warrant. A recent court case in Virginia brought up the possibility that there are situations in which police could force someone to unlock their phone with a fingerprint, like with Apple’s TouchID, but…
The Arizona Senate yesterday passed a bill that would significantly delay the release of the identities of officers involved in deadly shootings. Senate Bill 1445 would keep the officer’s identity under wraps for 90 days following any incident “that involves the use of deadly physical force,” and results in the…
Three foreign nationals arrested in Arizona last week are accused of hiding their past membership in an Iran-trained Iraqi militia. A 10-count federal indictment filed on February 18 states that Hadi Assi Mubarak and his two sons, Haidar Hadi Assi Mubarak and Ali Hadi Mubarak, (a.k.a. Jihad Hadi Mubarak), failed…
