Well before the controversy over Senate Bill 1062, there were complaints that Center for Arizona Policy lobbyist Cathi Herrod’s power at the Capitol essentially made her an unelected lawmaker.In recent weeks, activists have protested at Herrod’s office, complaining that it certainly appears that Herrod, an unelected lobbyist, has too much…
The Arizona Democratic Party is publicly calling for state Treasurer Doug Ducey to fire lobbyist Cathi Herrod as a policy adviser for Ducey’s gubernatorial campaign.Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, has become a popular target for local lefties recently because of her push for passage of controversial Senate…
The Arizona House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday to allow the state health department to conduct warrantless searches of abortion clinics, among other things.This comes less than a week after Governor Jan Brewer vetoed Senate Bill 1062, pointing out that it had nothing to do with her legislative priorities,…
On Wednesday evening, Governor Jan Brewer vetoed Senate Bill 1062, pointing out that it had nothing to do with her legislative priorities, like passing a budget and fixing Child Protective Services.By Thursday afternoon, members of the Arizona House of Representatives were back to discussing and advancing bills pushed by the…
Governor Jan Brewer signed the repeal of last year’s House Bill 2305, a bill that made several controversial changes to the elections process in Arizona.After a coalition of non-Republican groups quickly gathered enough signatures to put the issue to voters after the bill’s passage last year, the Republican majority decided…
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…
