With Kari Lake’s legal complaint alleging systematic signature verification failures in Maricopa County remanded by the Arizona Supreme Court to trial court, closer examination of the signature verification software used by the county reveals a strikingly low threshold for signatures to qualify as “high-confidence” matches.
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Arizona State Senator Janae Shamp (R-Surprise) released a statement Thursday stating her disappointment with Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), who vetoed her Senate Bill (SB) aiming to ensure health professionals can get religious exemption from taking a vaccine.
“I spent my entire career as a nurse, being an advocate for my patients and ensuring that their beliefs are respected and protected,” said Shamp. “The reason I’m here at the Senate, is because I was fired from my job as a nurse after refusing to get the experimental COVID-19 vaccine. My top priority is this bill because during the pandemic, Americans’ medical freedoms were taken from them, myself included. For me, the Governor’s veto is personal.”
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The city of Phoenix (COP) filed a lawsuit against the city of Tempe (COT), attempting to restrict residential development in a proposed entertainment district the city is planning to develop near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PSHIA).
“The City of Phoenix, which owns and operates Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, is suing Tempe for breach of contract, asking the court to rescind Tempe’s recent zoning and land use changes and prohibit future residential uses in an area that the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] says is incompatible with residential development,” according to a statement from PSHIA.
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Social media platforms that choose to suspend or ban candidates for office would face tens of thousands – or hundreds of thousands – of dollars a day in fines under legislation working its way through the Legislature.
The House Commerce Committee on Tuesday approved Senate Bill 1106 along party lines. The bill defines how a social media suspends, bans or reduces the exposure of an account. This is also referred to as “shadowbanning.”
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Two bills passed through the House Commerce Committee Tuesday with bipartisan support, Senate Bills (SB) 1161 & 1163, aiming to provide zoning reform to Arizona so more affordable housing can be made available.
“Big wins yesterday getting 1161 and 1163 out of House Commerce 7-3 for each bill. This is bipartisanship! R’s and D’s understand we need zoning reform in AZ,” tweeted State Senator Steve Kaiser (R-Phoenix).
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Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has released a statement in response to a Manhattan grand jury voting to indict former President Donald Trump over his alleged role in a payment to Stormy Daniels in 2016.
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The Arizona State Senate passed more legislation Tuesday aimed at strengthening Arizona’s elections, starting with House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 2033, sponsored by State Representative Austin Smith (R-Suprise).
“Thank you to the @AZSenateGOP for voting out HCR2033. A bigger thank you to all the grassroots activists who worked so hard to make this happen. Very grateful for you all,” Smith tweeted. “This constitutional referral to protect our party primaries and girding us against radical experimental election systems that disenfranchise voters such as ‘ranked choice voting.'”
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Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne released a study Tuesday demonstrating that school districts that put a higher percentage of their budget into the classroom and teacher salaries perform better academically.
“No school can be better than the quality of the teachers in the classroom,” Horne stated. “The surrounding states pay more, and we lose good teachers to those states. We cannot afford to let this go on.”
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The Scottsdale City Council voted 4-3 last week to convert two driving lanes in Scottsdale’s Old Town entertainment district to bicycle lanes. Along 68th Street from Indian School Road south to Thomas Road, one lane each way will become bicycle lanes, leaving only one lane each way on the busy street available for vehicles.
Scottsdale City Councilmember Barry Graham, who lives in South Scottsdale near Old Town and opposed the March 21 vote, tweeted, “On Tuesday, Scottsdale City Council voted (4-3) to eliminate 2 lanes from one of your major streets in south Scottsdale. I tried to find a compromise that preserved the car lanes. Unfortunately, councilmembers made the issue about what they want — not what you want.”
Read MoreMaricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (R) announced Monday that four individuals responsible for the 2022 armed robbery of an Arizona jewelry store had been sentenced to prison.
“The victims in this case lived through terrifying moments as they feared for their lives at the hands of criminals,” said Mitchell. “Our office was relentless in the pursuit of justice for those nine individuals inside the store; the money and jewelry taken were recovered.”
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Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs’ press secretary Josselyn Berry resigned Tuesday evening after outrage over a now-deleted tweet threatening to use violence against those who disagree with promoting transgenderism. Coming less than 12 hours after a transgender fatally shot students and staff at a Christian elementary school she used to attend in Tennessee, the Arizona Freedom Caucus led the call for her to resign.
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Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs announced shortly after entering office in January that she would eliminate the Border Strike Force (BSF) that former Governor Doug Ducey created in 2015, sparking outrage from Republican lawmakers concerned about rising crime and violence related to Arizona’s porous border with Mexico. Hobbs said as part of her budget, she would reroute the funding for the BSF elsewhere.
“In the same manner that Joe Biden has destroyed our country with his welcomed support for the prolonged lawlessness and drug crisis along our southern border, Katie Hobbs is destroying Arizona in three short months since taking office by her reckless dismantling of the Border Strike Task Force,” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09) told Fox News. “Countless more people will die from Hobbs’ open border policies.”
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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) announced several legislative actions on Tuesday, including the veto of Senate Bill (SB) 1063, sponsored by State Sen. Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu), which would have prevented Arizona municipalities from enforcing a tax on groceries.
“This veto is a disgraceful windfall for cities and an absolute gouge for families,” said Majority Leader Borrelli. “We’re not only paying inflated prices to feed our families, but we’re also paying more in taxes as the cost of food rises. Food is not a luxury; it is a necessity. A tax on our groceries is regressive and hurts everyone.”
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The Maricopa County Superior Court made a preliminary order Monday regarding the lawsuit against Phoenix by city residents alleging that it was creating a public nuisance by not cleaning up “the Zone,” a massive homeless encampment near downtown. Judge Scott Blaney ruled in the resident’s favor, ordering the city to clean up.
“Today’s ruling offers hope not just for the homeless themselves—who, after all, don’t deserve to be left in a ghettoized section of the city’s roads—but to the ignored small-business owners in the area, who are forced to try to earn a living in the midst of such chaos,” wrote Timothy Sandefur, Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Goldwater Institute (GI), who previously filed an amicus brief in this case.
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As more foreign nationals are caught attempting to illegally enter Florida and are repatriated to their country or port of origin, a new method to bypass law enforcement efforts by sea is underway by air: hang gliders.
On Saturday, two Cuban nationals landed at the Key West International Airport using a powered hang glider. They were taken into custody by Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who then turned them over to U.S. Border Patrol. No injuries were reported, the sheriff’s office said.
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Another technology manufacturing company is deciding to make its mark in Arizona.
LG Energy Solution will be investing $5.5 billion to start battery plants in Queen Creek, a town on the southeast outskirts of the Phoenix Metropolitan area.
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Teacher pay in Arizona has become a hot-button issue, with both Democrats and Republicans proposing increases but not supporting the alternative. Meanwhile, teacher’s unions are demanding a spending hike worth more than both parties’ plans.
Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, has introduced H.B. 2800 – seeking to increase the salary of teachers statewide by $10,000 by 2025. The bill would cost taxpayers $1.1 billion over two years but it makes Arizona’s average teacher pay the fourth-highest in the nation.
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Arizona State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) told The Arizona Sun Times that the State Legislature is trying to find an immediate solution to the water supply issues in the unincorporated Rio Verde Foothills (RVF) area. He called for all members of the State Legislature to come together, put politics aside, and pass a solution for the people who desperately need one.
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AmericaPack and EZAZ, two of the main conservative grassroots organizations in Arizona, are pairing up to “flip Arizona solid red.” EZAZ’s Merissa Hamilton spoke to a large group of AmericaPack supporters Friday evening about the “Arizona Rescue Mission” the groups have crafted to get more voters voting Republican and running for office. State Rep. Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) and State Rep. Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale) provided updates on the Arizona Legislature, and a Phoenix Police Department (PPD) sergeant talked about the lack of patrol officers within the PPD.
Hamilton told the attendees about the new grassroots project, “[This is] so that we have the infrastructure built so that when the election cycle comes around next time, not only will this room be filled, but it will be filled with new faces with people that have not been as involved … and it will be because of us.”
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A Senate bill (SB) from Arizona State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson), which aims to provide better protections for children with disabilities and allow parents to retain custody without enduring lengthy and potentially expensive legal processes, passed through the Senate Tuesday.
“This is a human bill, not a partisan bill, and something needs to be done to address this gross abuse of power. It’s time to put the onus of the process in the hands of the one state agency intimately involved in the parents’ and children’s lives, DDD [Division of Developmental Disabilities],” Wadsack said in a statement released Monday promoting the bill.
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Gov. Katie Hobbs and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visited the border community of Nogales, Arizona, to discuss border security and humanitarian efforts. This is Hobbs’ third visit to the border in her 100 days in office. The visit follows a series of gubernatorial hearings last week on the effects of the potential repeal of Title 42. The policy was enacted during COVID-19 as a means of curbing border crossings. If repealed on May 11, it could result in a record number of migrants entering the U.S., legal or otherwise.
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The Arizona State House passed Senate Bill (SB) 1063 by State Sen. Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu), which aims to eliminate the grocery tax across the state, sending it off to the governor’s desk for a final decision.
“At a time when thousands of Arizonans are already struggling to make ends meet, government shouldn’t be contributing to higher costs for basic necessities like food,” said State Rep. Matt Gress (R-Phoenix) following his vote in the bill’s favor. “With Arizonans facing one of the highest inflation rates in the nation, I’ll never stop fighting to lower costs for families, seniors, and our most hard-hit fellow citizens.”
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After deliberating on whether to accept Kari Lake’s appeal of the dismissal of her election challenge in Arizona’s gubernatorial race, the Arizona Supreme Court issued an order on Wednesday that remanded the part of the case regarding Maricopa County’s signature verification process back to the trial court judge, and dismissed the other parts.
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During a Zoom call earlier this month with federal government finance officials, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) called for censorship of unfavorable remarks on social media. He was referring to posts raising alarm about the financial stability of banks after the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which resulted in long lines of customers attempting to take their money out and the Biden administration stepping in to guarantee deposits of over $250,000, amounts the law doesn’t insure.
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The Arizona District of the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday that Mexican resident Juan Alfonso Torres-Rodriguez, 27, has been charged with possessing over one million fentanyl pills with an intent to sell them in the state.
According to the DOJ’s report, officials witnessed Torres-Rodriguez participating in a drug transaction in early March. From there, authorities searched his residency and vehicle to discover approximately 108 kilograms of fentanyl.
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The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Wednesday to send a piece of former GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s election lawsuit back to trial court to examine whether or not Maricopa County followed signature verification policies in 2022.
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Arizona State Senator J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler) shared in his weekly update to constituents that his bill, aimed at ensuring school districts comply with the state transparency laws, is moving along through the Legislature.
“Given the importance of having transparency with such a critical topic as teacher pay, I sponsored a bill (SB 1599) that would add some teeth to the law and instruct the Arizona Department of Education to engage if a school district is not in compliance. The bill has passed the Senate and is poised for a House Floor vote,” Mesnard said.
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A Senate bill (SB) from State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) passed through the Senate Tuesday to protect Arizona’s National Guard from being deployed into active combat unless there is a declaration of war.
“If the president wants to use the Arizona national guard to fight wars halfway across the world, then it can only be done after a majority of the people’s representatives vote to send them there,” Rogers said on the Senate Floor. “If Congress refuses to vote, then it’s a war the Arizona National Guard should not be fighting.”
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The School Social Work Association of Arizona (SSWAAZ) held its annual conference earlier this month in Glendale for teachers and administration in K-12. The March 2 event focused on implementing Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools.
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Hundreds of new affordable housing units are slated to be built in Glendale as part of a $120 million project.
Maricopa County officials announced that the project would break ground on Friday and be completed in two phases.
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Republican Kari Lake released a statement Monday, bashing Arizona Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) after a report surfaced that he was involved in creating a bank aimed at helping the Hispanic community, which ultimately fell through and took money from some Latinos.
“These troubling revelations should be concerning to every single voter in Arizona. Ruben is just another corrupt politician looking to line his own pockets at the expense of everyday Arizonans. Despite being a Bernie-worshiping socialist, Ruben will always put his own financial interests first. Arizona deserves better than a craven man willing to sell out his constituents at a moment’s notice for an easy buck. I believe Arizonans are ready for a new generation of citizen leaders who are ready to work for the people,” Lake said in an email to the press.
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The Arizona Supreme Court is holding a private conference on Tuesday to discuss whether to accept Kari Lake’s appeal of lower courts dismissing her lawsuit contesting her loss of the gubernatorial race. In addition to her initial petition for review, Lake filed a reply to the defendants’ responses to her petition, and The Gavel Project’s Ryan Heath filed his own amicus curiae brief supporting her.
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Arizona State Rep. Austin Smith (R-Suprise) announced Friday that he had sent a letter to the office of Attorney General Kris Mayes (D), asking for her commitment to further investigate the water situation for the Rio Verde Foothills (RVF) area residents.
“I sent a letter to Kris Mayes asking if she will be investigating the root cause of the water crisis in the Rio Verde Foothills. This affects every Arizonan and our water future,” Smith shared.
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The grassroots advocacy organization Americans for Prosperity (AFP) filed a lawsuit in the Arizona District Court Friday in opposition to Arizona’s newly enacted “dark money” law, alleging that it presents possible first amendment violations.
“The First Amendment safeguards the right of individuals to donate to private advocacy organizations without undue risk that they will be subjected to their identities being disclosed or other chilling by the government,” according to the complaint.
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New Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued a press release last month criticizing her predecessor, Republican Mark Brnovich, for disagreeing with two of his employees on whether there was election fraud in the 2020 midterm election. As a result of her press release, 17 people filed bar complaints against him, including Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Jennifer Wright, who served as the Arizona Attorney General Office’s (AGO) Election Integrity Unit (EIU) civil attorney, denounced Mayes for the move, and is asking the Arizona Supreme Court to look into whether Mayes violated ethics rules by releasing attorney-client privileged work to the public.
In a March 13 letter addressed to Justice Bill Montgomery as the chair of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Task Force on Ethics Rules Governing the State Attorney General, County Attorneys, and Other Public Lawyers, Wright referenced Mayes’ position on the task force, and said, “I encourage the Task Force to inquire as to what Rule of Professional Conduct Ms. Mayes relied upon to justify waiving her predecessor’s attorney-client privilege and publicly releasing privileged materials.”
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Arizona State Senator John Kavanaugh (R-Fountain Hills), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told The Arizona Sun Times Friday that attempts to work with Democrats on a state budget have not received necessary responses.
“This year, nobody is going to be able to claim that we shut them out,” Kavanaugh said in a phone interview.
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The Arizona Senate Majority Caucus announced Thursday that two Senate Bills (SBs) from Sen. Anthony Kern (R-Glendale) aimed at regulating sexually explicit performances, so minors are not exposed to them passed through the floor despite receiving no Democrat support.
“Senate Democrats don’t seem to have a problem with children being exposed to sexually explicit adult performances. If they did, they would have voted in support of these two bills. Instead, all Senate Democrats voted against protecting our Arizona kids,” the caucus tweeted.
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Rasmussen Reports and College Republicans United issued the results of a type of “late exit” poll on Friday, revealing that likely Arizona voters said they voted for former Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake over Governor Katie Hobbs 51 percent to 43 percent.
Also, the poll found these likely Arizona voters voted for Abe Hamadeh and Mark Finchem over their Democratic opponents who won those respective state races.
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As concerns grow that Arizona and neighboring states may be facing a water shortage due to one of the worst droughts in history, solutions are being proposed in the Arizona Legislature and by water experts.
The Goldwater Institute issued a report on March 15 in conjunction with the Environment Research Center (PERC), outlining reforms in four specific policy areas to deal with the problem. The report asserts that these proposals would not “require a dramatic expansion of the role of government.”
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The Arizona Legislature has several new members this year, including conservatives who are sticking to the platforms they got elected on. The Arizona Republican Assembly (AZRA) released ratings this week of how the legislators are performing so far this year and said their expectations that it would be “the most conservative Republican Caucus in memory” are proving to be accurate. State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) scored the highest, 98.5.
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Overall median property values increased in Maricopa County, with manufactured homes particularly seeing an uptick in worth.
A swath of property owners in the county were mailed their Notices of Value for the 2024 tax year at the end of February. These assessments help determine the taxable Limited Property Value.
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Arizona State Representative Matt Gress (R-Phoenix) announced Wednesday that House Bill (HB) 2502, aimed at providing more options for a mother to receive child support, had passed the House.
“My mom received child support for 2 of her 4 kids. It helped our family immensely: groceries, gas, utilities, clothes,” Gress tweeted. “This week, the Arizona House passed #HB2502, which will make parents who owe child support, primarily fathers, pay their FAIR SHARE from the date of pregnancy.”
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Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) announced they are fighting back against Gov. Katie Hobbs’s (D) opposition to executing death row inmate Aaron Gunches.
“Governor Hobbs’ unilateral decision to defy a court order is lawless and should not be tolerated by the Judiciary,” said Toma in a statement emailed to the Arizona Sun Times. “We filed this amicus brief because the Governor is not above the law and simply cannot choose which statutes or court orders to follow. Moreover, I’m proud to stand with the victims in this case. Governor Hobbs’ actions have been a flagrant insult to the Price family, denying them of their legal rights as crime victims, and of the justice they are very much due.”
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The Arizona District of the Department of Justice announced Tuesday that Tucson resident Jose Antonio Cota, 33, has been sentenced to jail time for attempting to smuggle fentanyl into the state.
“Cota pleaded guilty to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl in April 2022,” according to the release from the DOJ. “In August 2020, Cota was a passenger in a commercial shuttle van when it stopped for a routine immigration inspection at a Border Patrol checkpoint near Amado, Arizona.”
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Democrat Kevin Robinson will replace Republican Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio in District 6, and Democrat Kesha Hodge Washington unseated incumbent Councilman Carlos Garcia following a runoff election on Tuesday.
Republican Sam Stone, who was up against former police officer Robinson, quickly conceded after seeing the results at his election night party in north Phoenix. Stone worked for DiCiccio and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
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The Arizona Freedom Caucus (AFC) released a statement Tuesday, allowing several members to speak out against Ranked Choice Voting (RVC) in Arizona and promote two bills that would prohibit it in the state.
“RCV may not always result in the candidate with the most first-choice votes winning the election,” said AFC Member Senator Anthony Kern (R-Glendale). “I am aware that there are groups in Arizona advocating for RCV, but this will only lead to chaos, and we must ensure that our constituents have easy and fair access to the ballot box.”
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Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (R) filed an amicus curiae brief to the Arizona Supreme Court (ASC) Tuesday, stating her belief that Governor Katie Hobbs cannot refuse to execute death row inmate Aaron Gunches, 51.
“As County Attorney, I took an oath to uphold the US Constitution and the constitution and laws of the State of Arizona. These recognize that both the victim and the accused have rights. Our brief recognizes and supports the right of victims to a ‘prompt and final conclusion of the case,'” Mitchell said regarding the filing.
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Arizona State House announced Monday that Rep. David Cook (R-Globe) is attempting to work with Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) to improve the Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC) and the state’s foreign trade capabilities.
“As we continue to build on a global economy, we look at strengthening partnerships with Mexico and Arizona to better our regions for the world markets in the 4th Industrial Revolution of the 21st Century,” Cook wrote in a letter to Hobbs. “It is our common interest to further promote our close friendship with Mexico and its states and to adapt to current global paradigm shifts.”
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The University of Arizona proposed a 3% increase in tuition for all incoming resident undergraduate students, effective in the 2023-24 academic year. Out-of-state incoming students will experience a 4% increase in tuition.
Current students will not be affected by the change, thanks to the Guaranteed Tuition Program, which started in 2014. The program ensures that all undergrad degree-seeking students will pay the same tuition and fees throughout their time at the university.
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Washington Elementary School District No. 6 (WESD) in Glendale terminated the contract of Arizona Christian University (ACU) to provide student teachers last month, despite an ongoing teacher shortage, citing the religious tenets of the university as the reason. In response, The Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on behalf of the ACU on March 9, demanding multiple types of damages, including punitive.
The suit alleges a violation of the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment. It asserts that “Arizona Christian and its students do not share religious messages and beliefs within its student teacher programs with local public Schools.”
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