PHOENIX -- Gov. Jan Brewer penned her approval Wednesday to a series of changes in voting laws that Democrats and others say are designed to give her Republican Party an edge in future elections.

While Gov. Jan Brewer and select members of the Arizona Legislature celebrated the signing of the $8.8 billion budget for the 2013/2014 fiscal year on Monday, others were not as happy as plans continue to stop the Medicaid expansion through the ballot box.

Jo Holt filed her 2014 candidacy today for the Arizona State Senate, representing Legislative District 11 on the Democratic ticket.  Jo identifies herself as a moderate pragmatist who will represent the people of her district regardless of their political affiliation, and who will maintain a presence in their local communities.

Surrounded by what could be the new, more moderate legislative majority, Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation Monday to expand Medicaid in Arizona.

U.S. Rep. Ron Barber today joined a strong bipartisan majority of the House in voting to authorize Department of Defense programs and funding that strengthens sexual assault protections for service members, supports security efforts along the Southwest border, provides a pay raise for members of the military and includes robust funding for the Southern Arizona aerospace and defense industries.

Before ending the 151-day session on Thursday, the Arizona Legislature made it where constituents to have to start paying taxes on what they buy from catalogs and on the World Wide Web.

It’s girl’s week out, since nearly 300 high school girls from across Arizona converged on the University of Arizona campus for the 66rd session of The American Legion Auxiliary premier program, Arizona Girls State. This “unique” opportunity is open to girls completing their junior year of high school that meet the necessary qualifications. This year’s session began June 2-8; attending from Pusch Ridge Christian Academy were: Delaney Halvey and Madeline LaMear; from Canyon Del Oro HS; Melissa Silva and Noelle Smith.

PHOENIX -- Rolling handily over most Republicans, the state House voted early today for an $8.8 billion spending plan, including an extensive expansion of the state's Medicaid program.

With all Republicans opposed, a House panel voted Monday to reject the proposal by Gov. Jan Brewer to use federal dollars to expand the state’s Medicaid program.

1. OKLAHOMA BEGINS CLEARING TWISTER DEBRIS

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R – Ariz., visited BASIS Oro Valley on Thursday to discuss issues affecting Arizonans and the nation.

After forming an exploratory committee to consider running for governor, Sen. Al Melvin, R-District 11, is confident that his bold ideas could lead him to the state’s top position in 2014.

Last month my organization, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, launched a statewide campaign to raise awareness of the continuing problem of corporate welfare and special interest handouts being pursued at the state legislature. In particular, we want voters to be informed when their lawmakers are more interested in helping out politically-connected industries and lobbyists than hard-working taxpayers.

The GOP race is becoming a crowded field as Sen. Al Melvin, R-District 11, has announced that he is forming an exploratory committee.

After U.S. Senators voted against a bill that would have increased background check requirements, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wrote the following opinion piece for the New York Times on April 17.

Governor Jan Brewer today established via Executive Order the Governor’s Task Force on Human Trafficking. Among their charges, members will be tasked with identifying opportunities to strengthen Arizona’s current human trafficking statutes, with the ultimate goal of reducing human trafficking and assisting victims of this heinous crime.

Gov. Jan Brewer today signed into law SB 1139, legislation that officially establishes an annual “National Day of the Cowboy” in Arizona.

Those who know me, know that I have worked hard to limit the size of government, balance our state’s budget, and get our state’s economy growing again.  They know that I had signs made up that read “Jobs are Job #1” and had them distributed to my colleagues in the Arizona Legislature. And they know that I have had to battle against liberal candidates and groups every two years as part of this struggle.

Rep. Adam Kwasman, R-District 11, said his number one priority is defeating Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposal to expand Medicaid in Arizona.

Some Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives insist on wasting time on extremist legislation that promotes an ideological agenda focused on undermining the federal government instead of working on what matters most to Arizonans – creating jobs and improving education.

Governor Jan Brewer today appointed Toni Hellon to serve as the Clerk of the Superior Court for Pima County.

This article is in reply to a recent Special to The Explorer written by Jo Holt published in the Feb. 20 issue of the paper. Because Arizona has had two balanced General Fund budgets in a row, our state is ranked number one in the nation for business startups.  We went from 46th to number four in private sector job creation. We are 10th in overall great business climate compared to California which is ranked 50th.  During the past four-year recessionary period, we never let K-12 public school per pupil funding go below $9,000 (federal, state plus local funding). We mortgaged the Senate, House and Executive buildings in order to protect K-12 education funding. The north side of Tucson has four outstanding public school districts in Catalina Foothills, Amphi, Marana and Flowing Wells. We have more charter schools per capita and more school choice than any state. We have open enrollment between public school districts, tuition tax credits and a great home school program.

Every year as federal and state lawmakers start working on the year’s tasks at hand from budgets to amending, defeating or approving new laws, there’s always a list of proposed legislature that makes one raise an eyebrow.

The debate over photo traffic enforcement, better known as photo radar, is definitely not over, as the Arizona Legislature will be considering House Bill 2579, which looks to ban this type of enforcement, in the current session.

Pending voter approval in March, the Marana Wastewater Reclamation Facility could, after years of litigation, become the property of the Town of Marana.