State Capitol News

Phoenix, AZ – It's on our license plates, in tourism brochures and even on
signs welcoming visitors to Arizona. But state historian Marshall
Trimble said it was only after being queried by a school girl
that he discovered that Arizona is not the Grand Canyon State --
at least not officially. Trimble told members of the House
Government Committee he promised the girl he would remedy that.

Phoenix, AZ – Lobbyists were counting on the votes of not just Republicans but
also that of Democrat Cloves Campbell. He had previously
indicated he might be willing to continue the special law that
allows lenders to charge what amounts to an annual rate of 400
percent on two week loans. Campbell said that's too high. But he
also said the lenders didn't care about -- and only wanted to
take money from -- his largely minority constituency until they
needed his vote.

Phoenix, AZ – The proposal by House Speaker Kirk Adams is based on the
philosophy that at least part of the reason Arizona's economy has
been hit so hard is that it lacks diversity. Much of what has
driven the state has been growth -- people moving here -- which
fueled the construction industry. And when the real estate bubble
burst, so did that base. Adams said the elements of the bill are
based on an economic study he commissioned.

Phoenix, AZ – Goddard formed an exploratory committee in November, saying he
believes he could provide better leadership than Jan Brewer. But
he sidestepped questions at that time of exactly what he would do
different than the incumbent to deal with the state's deficit.

(Specific proposals are going to have to wait until I become a
candidate, if I make that decision. I'm very disturbed and I
don't deny we have a serious challenge ahead of us.)

Phoenix, AZ – The high court said federal laws limiting how corporations and
unions can spend money to convince voters to support one
candidate or oppose another violate the First Amendment. State
elections director Amy Bjelland that makes Arizona's similar laws
unenforceable. Jim Haynes of the Behavior Research Center said
many corporations will stay out of races for fear of offending
customers or shareholders, concerns unions won't have. But
Rebekah Friend of the state AFL-CIO disagreed.

Phoenix, AZ – On one hand, retail employment went up by 2,000 over November.
But that's to be expected this time of year as merchants hire
seasonal help. The better indicator is the fact that overall
retail employment in Arizona last month was 15,000 less than a
year earlier. Aruna Murthi, the director of economic analysis for
the Department of Commerce, said that is not surprising.

(We are experiencing a recession that we have never seen before.
So it was way deeper than any of the past recession.)

Phoenix, AZ – Sen. Albert Hale said he was alarmed last October when three
people died in Sedona after a commercial self-help guru conducted
what was billed as a Native American sweat lodge ceremony.

(That's not the way we practice that ceremony. As you know, the
ceremony was done with nearly 60 people in a large structure that
was covered with tarp and plastic.)