A bill that would all but destroy the public’s ability to receive public records critical of the government has been approved by a State House committee. The bill, HB 2419, sponsored by Representative David Stevens, a Republican from Sierra Vista, would allow government agencies to charge $20 an hour for…
In yet another embarrassing interview for Arizona, State Senator Steve Pierce defended SB 1062 on Fox News while urging its veto, and he openly worried about “bad publicity” for the state. Pierce, a Republican from Prescott, was interviewed by anchor Martha MacCallum and said the intent of the bill had…
With all the hubbub over Arizona’s Senate Bill 1062, you might be saying to yourself, “Self, don’t these lawmakers have anything better to do?”The answer to that lies in the fact that the senate voted on, and approved, a bill yesterday to recognize gold and silver as legal tender in…
If you’ve got your undies in a bunch over the possible passage of Senate Bill 1062, then you should see what other bills the organization behind 1062 is pushing.That’s the Christian Right group Center for Arizona Policy. (You may have seen the organization’s president Cathi Herrod on CNN recently, doing…
The clock is ticking … and many are waiting to see whether Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will sign into law the so-called “Religious Freedom” bill. The measure, SB 1062, aims to give expanded protection to business owners who refuse to provide goods or services in situations or to individuals that…
Arizona legislators have proposed regulations for ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, which would help legitimize their operations in the state.The system of using an app to find a ride from a private driver might sound like a taxi service, but these companies aren’t registered with the state as taxi…
Governor Jan Brewer has just been handed a gem of an opportunity: The ability to look good in the eyes of liberals by rejecting a bill widely seen as blatantly discriminatory, while retaining her conservative base. Or in the alternative, the chance to win wider support from conservatives. Either way,…
The Arizona House of Representatives passed the anti-LGBT “religious freedom” bill, which now heads to Governor Jan Brewer for her approval.Despite House Democrats putting up a strong fight against the bill, just three of their colleagues on the other side of the aisle voted against the bill, which the rest…
The sponsor of Arizona’s controversial Senate Bill 1062, Republican Senator Steve Yarbrough, insists his bill is not a license for businesses to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.Through a bit of trolling, a pair of Democratic senators set out to prove the bill — which has since passed…
Ed Zuercher, a longtime city of Phoenix employee, has been selected as new city manager.Zuercher had been acting city manager since David Cavazos left the post to take the city manager’s position in Santa Ana, California, in October…
Arizona bureaucrats could earn cash by stalling requests for public records under an amended bill sponsored by a Republican state lawmaker. More ominously, the proposal by Representative David Stevens, a Republican from Sierra Vista, has the potential to destroy Arizona’s stellar open-records law by making the cost of obtaining records…
A bill that had Arizona librarians warning of drastic budget cuts has been amended in the libraries’ favor.In its original form, House Bill 2379, proposed by Republican Representative Justin Olson, would put a cap on property-tax increases by “special districts” around the state, which includes county library districts…
Arizona’s Senate Judiciary Committee voted against a bill that would allow industrial hemp farming in the state.Hemp farming is illegal in most states, despite the fact that smoking the plant, which is related to marijuana plants, won’t get you stoned…
Proposals for a border fence are nothing new in Arizona, but Republican state Senator Bob Worsley’s call for a “virtual border fence” is a bit different.Worsley explained the system in a committee hearing Monday, saying the public would be able to monitor the images collected by these devices with infrared…
Arizona Senate President is pushing for an external audit of Child Protective Services.The proposed audit is just the latest attempt at reforming the agency, which simply shelved thousands of allegations of child abuse and neglect because of large caseloads…
Despite what the state Republican party says, not every Republican voter in Arizona is grabbing a torch and pitchfork to go after U.S. Senator John McCain.Although the state GOP censured McCain last month, poll results released today suggest that Republicans don’t hate McCain all that much…
The city of Phoenix announced the names of the four finalists for the job of city manager.Two of them are veterans of Phoenix City Hall, while the other two are out-of-towners…
A controversial bill that would separate livestock abuse from other forms of animal cruelty moved through the House Agriculture and Water Committee Tuesday.House Bill 2587 has generated backlash from organizations ranging from animal-rights groups to Sheriff Joe Arpaio since its introduction. At the public hearing, private citizens and representatives from…
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made headlines Tuesday by calling on states to repeal laws that keep felons from voting after they’ve finished their sentences.One Arizona Democrat already introduced a related proposal several weeks ago, but it hasn’t seen any action at the Legislature…
An Arizona bill aimed at nullifying federal gun laws passed its first test Monday, as it was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.The “Arizona Second Amendment Preservation Act,” introduced by Republican Senator Kelli Ward, would ban state agencies from enforcing federal gun laws or helping any federal agency enforce federal…
The Arizona House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would make it a felony to share someone else’s nude pictures without his or her permission.Although the lawmakers on the panel were generally supportive of the concept of House Bill 2515, there were a lot of concerns, like who exactly would…
Kratom probably won’t be added to Arizona’s list of banned drugs after all.Kratom, an herb with painkilling properties, has been for sale legally in certain stores around Phoenix for several years now, but the annual proposed update of Arizona’s banned-drugs list originally included two substances found exclusively in the kratom…
