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Senator Skips Entire Day At Work Sending Budget Negotiators Scrambling

May 27, 2021

By Terri Jo Neff | Senate President Karen Fann will try one more time this week to pull together the 16 votes needed to pass the budget bills, something she could not do Wednesday when one of the 30 senators did not come to work. The...

House Unexpectedly Rejects Identification Info On Early Ballot Affidavit

May 27, 2021

By Terri Jo Neff | Republicans have touted making changes to Arizona’s election laws since long before the current legislative session began Jan. 11. But only one major election-related bill has been signed by Gov. Doug Ducey so far, and on...

AZ AG Urges Senate Leadership To Oppose Confirmation Of Chipman To Head ATF

May 27, 2021

The Arizona Attorney General's Office has joined 19 other state attorneys general in calling on the U.S. Senate to reject David Chipman’s confirmation as director of the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives...

Budget Strengths, Weaknesses Addressed As Posturing Continues

May 26, 2021

By Terri Jo Neff | In its longest workday of the session, some legislators debated various budget bills late into the evening after 11 bills cleared the Appropriation Committee in each chamber earlier in the day. At stake is how to divvy up...

Budget Bill Strips Secretary Of State Katie Hobbs Of Duties

May 26, 2021

On Tuesday, while hammering out the budget, members of both the Senate and House Appropriations Committees stripped Secretary of State Katie Hobbs of her ability to defend election lawsuits. Hobbs' responsibility for the oversight of the Capitol...

Release Of Budget Spending Plan Triggers Legislative Posturing

May 25, 2021

By Terri Jo Neff | Arizona’s forecasted budget surplus of $1.5 to $2 billion means a lot of potential massaging of the $12.8 billion budget spending plan released Monday after months in negotiations with Gov. Doug Ducey. The surplus also means...

It’s Official: Department Of Interior Approves Tribal-State Gaming Compact Amendment

May 25, 2021

The U.S. Department of Interior has given its approval to the amended tribal-state gaming compact, finalizing an agreement to modernize gaming in Arizona that was signed in April by Governor Doug Ducey and the state’s tribal...

U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Encourages Companies To Promote Vaccines

May 24, 2021

By Terri Jo Neff | The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is providing tips to employers in an effort to use the fact that businesses in many communities are often seen as “trusted sources of information” who can persuade employees and customers to receive...

Questions Raised About Census Method That Estimated Data For Some Households

May 24, 2021

By Terri Jo Neff | Questions remain in the aftermath of the U.S. Census Bureau’s release last month of the 2020 Decennial Census which put Arizona’s official population at nearly 7.16 million. That figure, up more than 746,000 from a decade...

Employers Must Tell OSHA Of Employees’ Adverse Reactions To Mandated Vaccinations

May 23, 2021

By Terri Jo Neff | Business owners thinking of requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment may want to consider the latest advisory from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). According to OSHA, an...

Attorney General Believes Supervisors’ Judicial Appointment Was Unlawful, But Does It Matter?

May 23, 2021

By Terri Jo Neff | The Arizona Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments next month in a case that involves whether the Cochise County Board of Supervisors violated one or more state laws in appointing one of their own to a coveted court position...

Letters Outline Objections To DOJ Comments About Senate Audit

May 22, 2021

By Terri Jo Neff | Four members of the U.S. Congress -including two from Arizona- sent a letter this week to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) criticizing one of its deputies for “unnecessarily” weighing in on the Arizona State Senate’s ongoing...