Law & Government
Hobbs endorses Arizona Abortion Access Act
With the flourish of a pen on Tuesday morning, Gov. Katie Hobbs declared her support for an initiative that has the potential to enshrine abortion access in the state constitution. Sitting directly in front of the Arizona Pioneer Women Memorial — the only memorial at the state Capitol honoring women — Hobbs added her signature […]
Does Az’s new recount law apply to a Tucson ballot measure?
The Arizona Secretary of State, along with Tucson’s City Attorney, are asking Attorney General Kris Mayes to weigh in on whether a narrowly passed ballot proposition triggers a recount under a newly revised state law. Tucson’s Proposition 413, which was on the Nov. 7 ballot, triples the annual salary of city council members and would […]
Some states act to protect residents from extreme heat — with a new focus on young people
After two years of record-breaking heat that brought a surge of deaths and health emergencies, several states have enacted or are considering measures designed to protect residents — with a new focus on younger people whose vulnerability is rising with the temperatures. Nationally, heat-related deaths rose from about 1,000 in 2018 to 1,722 in 2022 […]
Arizona health officials and trans minors spar over sex markers on birth certificates
The first time Abigail Jensen was pulled over after correcting the sex identifier on her driver’s license, she felt a wave of relief and confidence in her safety. “(I) showed him my driver’s license and everything was fine. There were no problems,” she said. That’s not always the case for transgender people, who face greater […]
More questions than answers on school vouchers as a legislative oversight committee wraps up
Many questions about how Arizona’s school voucher system will impact funding for public schools and the larger state budget remain unanswered after the likely final meeting of a temporary legislative oversight committee. But parents who receive government funding to send their children to private schools or homeschool them through the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program […]
Republicans unveil proposal to address Arizona teacher shortage with $4,000 raises
Arizona teachers could see a $4,000 pay raise in 2025 if a revised version of Prop. 123 championed by Republican lawmakers gets sent to the 2024 ballot and wins voter approval. The “Teacher Pay Fund,” which was unveiled Monday by GOP lawmakers, will be a top priority for the party in the upcoming legislative session. […]
We asked every member of Congress about child care policy. Only 5 Republicans answered.
In September, when billions of dollars in child care funding were about to expire, a Senate subcommittee convened to discuss solutions. It was there that Sen. John Kennedy laid out the partisan tension at the heart of what’s billed as a bipartisan issue. He agreed that child care was an investment in the current and […]
Arizona legislative Democrats are divided on Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The anger, despair, sorrow and division that the escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas has caused is deeply personal to Democratic lawmakers in Arizona who lament the loss of innocent lives but disagree on how to move forward. Rep. Athena Salman, of Tempe, whose father came to the U.S from Palestine, led the […]
Two new Arizona laws would create regular checks on voter citizenship. Will a judge let them stand?
A federal judge will soon decide whether to allow two new Arizona laws to go into effect that would require officials to investigate the citizenship status of all voters who haven’t yet provided proof of citizenship, and to regularly check the voter rolls for noncitizens. An army of voting rights groups, backed by the U.S. […]
Two AZGOP senators appeared on an antisemitic talk show
Republican state Sens. Wendy Rogers and Justine Wadsack appeared on a talk show this week whose hosts have trafficked in antisemitic content. The two Senators appeared on CrossTalk News on Monday, an online talk show hosted by Lauren Witzke and Edward Szall. Witzke and Szall were both fired from a streaming TV network that also […]
Most Americans want health exceptions in abortion bans. Political infighting keeps blocking them.
In early October, an Idaho woman 20 weeks into her pregnancy went to the emergency room after her water broke about five months early. When the water breaks prematurely, an infection can develop and infect the fetus, placenta and other fluids. At that stage of pregnancy, the threat of infection becomes a ticking clock for […]
Patients, advocates describe ‘pure chaos’ in state response to AHCCCS fraud
On May 16, as cameras flashed and tribal leaders looked on, Arizona’s governor and attorney general announced a statewide crackdown on behavioral health providers suspected of defrauding the state’s Medicaid program out of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. Officials revealed the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) had suspended payments to more than […]