Welcome to the fourth episode of Prickly, a podcast from KJZZ’s Politics Desk. Subscribe here or wherever you get your podcasts, and don’t forget to subscribe to the Prickly newsletter.
The Arizona Legislature adjourned for the year on June 14, ending a contentious legislative session that featured high-profile fights over abortion, the border and the state budget.
Lawmakers adjourned shortly after passing a budget with some bipartisan support — and opposition — that was later signed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. That budget included broad budget cuts to state agency budgets, investments in the state's water supply and other areas to offset a projected $1.3 billion budget deficit over the next two years.
Reporters Camryn Sanchez and Wayne Schutsky break down how lawmakers felt about that budget and other highlights from the session, including a broad border ballot measure sent to voters by Republican legislators and the repeal of Arizona's territorial-era, near-total abortion ban.
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Every two years in January, after voters statewide cast ballots in November, members of the Republican and Democratic parties hold their own elections for their party leaders. Those party chairs will set the tone for their respective parties for the next two years.
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A new year means a new legislative session for Arizona lawmakers returning to the Capitol in Phoenix. Political editor Ben Giles catches up with field correspondents Camryn Sanchez and Wayne Schutsky for a debrief on the topics and issues — some prickly — that will likely dominate debate this year.
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Political correspondents Camryn Sanchez and Wayne Schutsky dig into both sides’ perspective on the issue and the politics that could motivate lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session next month.
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The Arizona secretary of state officially certified the results of July's primary elections, meaning Arizonans now know the candidates who will be running in the handful of competitive legislative races that will determine which party controls the Arizona House and Senate next year.