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Dueling bills aim to allow the AZ School for the Deaf and Blind to remain open
Competing bills to allow the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind to remain open were both heard in the state Senate on Wednesday as parents, teachers and former students pushed for lawmakers to keep the school open. The school, which serves some 2,100 students at campuses in Phoenix and Tucson, was created the same […]
Fontes asks court to order Finchem to pay $75,000 for bringing ‘groundless’ election challenge
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes wants Mark Finchem, the Republican Fontes defeated in last year’s election, to pay nearly $75,000 in attorney’s fees for filing what a judge said was a “groundless” lawsuit to overturn the election. Finchem lost by more than 120,000 votes, but still filed an election contest in which the conspiracy-friendly former […]
Hobbs vetoes bill targeting banks that refuse to work with gun makers, NRA
Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have barred the state from working with any firm that “discriminates” against gun manufacturers or the National Rifle Association, a proposal that mirrored a Texas law passed last year. Senate Bill 1096, by Sen. Frank Carroll, R-Sun City West, was nearly identical to a bill passed […]
Antisemitism continued to rise in 2022, with one homicide in Arizona
Note: This story contains descriptions of racism, as do some of the links. The United States saw a rise in antisemitism in 2022 and Arizona continued to see more antisemitic vandalism and more incidents of racism than in some previous years, according to researchers. The Anti-Defamation League released its annual audit of antisemitic incidents that […]
Legislation to reauthorize the Arizona school for deaf and blind children is stalled. No one knows why.
The Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind was created the same year Arizona became a state, but its future is in limbo, as a bill to allow it to operate for the next eight years has been blocked in the Senate in the face of a looming deadline to consider legislation. Legislation reauthorizing the […]
Claiming a First Amendment right to anonymity, lawsuit aims to strike down ‘dark money’ prop
A lawsuit filed in federal court Friday aims to declare the anti-dark money ballot measure that Arizona voters approved last year unconstitutional on grounds that political donors have a First Amendment right to do so anonymously, among other claims. Voters widely approved Proposition 211 last year, with more than 70% of voters choosing to require […]
Arizona Senate passes anti-drag bills
Two anti-drag bills passed the state Senate with GOP support Thursday despite promises from Gov. Katie Hobbs of a future veto and ongoing threats of violence toward the drag community in Arizona. The two bills, sponsored by Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, would target drag shows, despite Kern saying the bills didn’t expressly target drag shows, […]
Bill to protect ‘Big Lie’ lawyers from punishment advances with GOP support
A bill that would punish the State Bar of Arizona and the Arizona Supreme Court if they discipline attorneys for bringing baseless election fraud complaints in Arizona courts has continued to make its way towards becoming law. The bill from Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, prohibits both the State Bar and the Arizona Supreme Court from […]
Arizona agencies possibly exposed in LastPass data breach
Multiple state agencies, including the Arizona Department of Homeland Security and state’s Medicaid provider, may have had their passwords and login credentials exposed in a breach of the popular password management software LastPass. The Arizona Department of Administration confirmed to the Arizona Mirror that the Department of Homeland Security, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment […]
Push to stiffen penalties for damaging utilities advances in Arizona Senate
In the wake of attacks on substations across the nation, a bill at the Arizona legislature would create a new classification for the criminal activity and make those who interfere with a utility liable for the cost of loss of power. The measure, House Bill 2212, allows people who interfere with or prevent the function […]
Republicans push to allow concealed guns onto Arizona school campuses
A trio of GOP gun measures won approval from lawmakers Wednesday, including a measure that would allow people with concealed weapon permits to bring firearms onto Arizona school campuses. The Judiciary Committee in the state House of Representatives passed three bills put forward by pro-gun advocates. The committee is chaired by Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott […]
GOP proposal that would make a fentanyl deaths first-degree murder moves forward
Fentanyl dealers linked to an overdose death could face the death penalty under a Republican proposal that critics say will also sweep up drug addicts and send them to death row. The legislation would expand the state’s first-degree murder statutes to include deaths by fentanyl if the drug is able to be traced back to […]