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After an acrimonious, and at times openly hostile debate, the Arizona Senate approved a bill that would continue the existence of the Arizona School for the Blind and Deaf for the next four years. Read more»

The bills likely violate multiple amendments in the Bill of Rights as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to the House rules attorney.

An Arizona House rules attorney flagged two bills aimed at quashing diversity efforts and regulating gender expression in public institutions as potential constitutional violations, but the House committee on rules recommended passage in a Republican-led vote on party lines. Read more»

Academy Award winner, Arizona native and deaf actor Troy Kotsur testifies before the Senate Government Committee on March 29, 2023, urging lawmakers to continue the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind for eight years, as Sen. Jake Hoffman listens.

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. Read more»

Former Tempe Police Chief Jeffrey Glover speaks to the Senate Nomination Committee on March 20, before the committee gave him a recommendation for approval before the full Senate.

The Arizona Senate Director Nominations Committee endorsed former Tempe Police Chief Jeffrey Glover, Gov. Katie Hobbs’ pick to lead the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Read more»

The measure was approved by the state Senate with only Republican support on a vote of 16-13, but is unlikely to make it past Gov. Katie Hobbs.

Republican lawmakers advanced a measure that would put Arizona teachers behind bars if they so much as recommend a book to students that is considered too “sexually explicit,” after claiming schools all over Arizona are “sexualizing” students. Read more»

Elizabeth Alvarado-Thorson, Gov. Katie Hobbs’ nominee for director of the Arizona Department of Administration, testifies in front of the Senate Nominations Committee on Feb. 20.

The confirmation of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ pick to lead the state’s largest agency stalled after Republican Jake Hoffman said that the nominee didn’t speak “honestly and truthfully” to the state newly formed Senate Director Nominations Committee. Read more»

A drag artist performs on the stage at Phoenix Pride Festival 2011.

Drag artists who perform in front of children would be forced to register as sex offenders and face a minimum of 10 years in prison, under the latest measure Arizona Republican lawmakers have advanced in their vendetta against drag performers. Read more»

Dr. Theresa Cullen's nomination to run Arizona Department of Health Services got scuttled by the state Senate. Her high crime was doing her job right.

None of the Democrats saw an upside in forcing Arizona Republicans to go on the record as saying no public health leaders should ever take public health actions during a public health emergency. Read more»

Dr. Theresa Cullen, director of the Pima County Health Department, outside of the Abrams Public Health Center.

Despite a "mountain of expertise," Dr. Theresa Cullen will not lead the Arizona Department of Health Services after Gov. Hobbs withdrew her nomination Tuesday. Cullen was blasted by Republican legislators for measures Pima County took during the COVID pandemic. Read more»

The Republican-led "skinny budget" passed its final hurdle Monday in the Arizona House of Representatives after a brief roadblock last week when a Republican unexpectedly stymied efforts by the GOP majority to pass a spending package that is doomed for Gov. Katie Hobbs' veto stamp. Read more»

Dr. Theresa Cullen, director of the Pima County Health Department, at a vaccination site in May 2021.

After a long and often contentious hearing, the Arizona Senate’s newly created Committee on Director Nominations gave a recommendation to one of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ appointees but rejected Dr. Theresa Cullen over disagreements with public health policies. Read more»

Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne urged lawmakers to lift the cap, warning that an already dire teacher shortage would be worsened if schools are forced to lay off staff towards the end of the year. 

Lawmakers on Wednesday waived a school spending limit that would have forced schools to cut $1.4 billion from their budgets next month, amid vehement resistance from some Republicans. Read more»

Rep. Liz Harris, R-Chandler, at a Jan. 26, 2023, press conference.

The Republican-led effort to pass a "skinny budget" has hit a momentary roadblock in the Arizona House of Representatives, where a sole Republican's refusal to vote for the spending package doomed the budget. Read more»

A voter drops a ballot at the Maricopa County ballot drop box outside the county juvenile court, where several intimidation incidents were reported.

Tempers flared at a Arizona Senate election committee meeting after Democrats accused Republicans of pushing election conspiracy theories that are reducing the public’s faith in election integrity. Read more»

The special committee will review Hobbs’ appointments and then make recommendations to the Senate on what action to take. This is a novel approach: Throughout Arizona’s history, executive nominees have been reviewed by the Senate’s regular standing committees.

Republicans moved to create a new committee Thursday that aims to “evaluate executive nominations,” setting the stage for a major political battle between Gov. Katie Hobbs and Senate Republicans. Read more»

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