Democrats, GOP push back against partisan election audits

Ten months after the 2020 presidential election, Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are following Arizona in pushing investigations rooted in the false claim that the election was stolen.... Read more»

Ducey begins plan to equip DPS troopers with body cameras

Gov. Doug Ducey plans to acquire 150 body cameras for the Department of Public Safety, the first step in a larger proposal to equip all state troopers with cameras.... Read more»

My family saw a police car hit a kid on Halloween. Then I learned how NYPD impunity works.

ProPublica Deputy Managing Editor Eric Umansky’s family saw an unmarked NYPD cruiser hit a Black teenager. He tried to find out how it happened, and instead found all of the ways the NYPD is shielded from accountability.... Read more»

Trans-Pacific Partnership

U.S.-backed trade deal could stop the poor from getting life-saving meds

Hundreds of millions of patients around the Pacific rim face losing the chance to use new, cheap generic drugs to treat a host of conditions thanks to the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership. The TPP will be the world’s largest ever trade agreement — and it's being negotiated behind closed doors.... Read more»

FactChecking Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton has announced she will run for president in the 2016 race. Here’s a look back at some of the claims from Clinton that we’ve fact-checked over the years.... Read more»1

Ducey vetoes bill to shield officers’ names after police shootings

Ducey's veto letter said Arizona law already gives police departments the ability to withhold names. It also said the legislation contained "ambiguities" that went beyond the stated goal of protecting officers and their families. ... Read more»

Advocates slam bill to keep officers’ names secret after shootings

Keeping the names of law enforcement officers secret for up to 60 days after the use of deadly force would create a larger divide between citizens and the police force, advocates said Wednesday.... Read more»3

Report gives Arizona a B for gov't spending transparency

Released during Sunshine Week, the annual Following the Money report praises Arizona for providing data about the state's largest economic-development programs through its OpenBooks website. ... Read more»

Bill would let governments deny ‘unduly burdensome’ records requests

Saying local governments are wasting resources responding to public records requests filed by a handful of individuals intent on harassment, a state lawmaker wants to give agencies the power to deny such requests.... Read more»2

Ducey reopens calendar, assault on open meetings slows

Open government advocates found hope late last week after the governor reopened his daily calendar for public inspection and the legislature began discussions to change the language of a bill that allows most state business to be conducted behind closed doors. ... Read more»

Bill to keep officers’ names secret after shootings moves forward

Despite objections from open-government and civil rights activists, a state Senate committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would allow law enforcement agencies to withhold for 90 days the names of officers involved in deadly force incidents.... Read more»1

Comic: Politicomix

SB 1435 a politicians' cover-up?

Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, says Arizona’s open meeting law stifles informal discussions and has introduced a bill requiring that only meetings where action, such as debating or voting, begins to take place be held in public.... Read more»

Bill would 'completely gut' Arizona open meeting law

A lawmaker said Arizona’s open meeting law stifles informal discussions and wants to allow elected boards to talk out of the public eye. The current law requires all meetings that include a quorum of a government body to take place in public. Critics said the proposal would defeat the purpose of transparency laws.... Read more»2