Ron Gould

The Arizona chapter of the League of Conservation Voters released its annual scorecard Thursday, praising legislators in the latest session for being particularly environmentally conscious.

Calling the 48th legislative session "the silver lining session," the LCV said the bills  produced this year "offered hope for conservation efforts in Arizona."

There was a stark difference in overall scores between the state Senate and House. While Democrats fared better than Republicans in both, as is typically the case, GOP senators were not far behind their Democratic colleagues.

Today a group of 15 Arizona legislators hurled the latest volley in the battle between Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and the Arizona Bar Association, writing a letter in support of Thomas and calling for sanctions against the Bar.

"Obviously it is time to curtail the powers and duties of the State Bar," read the letter, which was signed by a group of Republican members of the Arizona House and Senate. The lawmakers said the ABA "is violating the principles of the separation of powers" by attempting disciplinary action against Thomas. Thomas claims that the ethics complaints that have been lodged against him through the Bar are "retaliation" for trying to enforce Proposition 100, which was passed by a large majority of voters in 2006 and denies bail to illegal immigrants.

Thomas filed a complaint against the Arizona Bar Association with the state Supreme Court, which has oversight of the ABA. In the letter, the legislators applauded his move and recommended the Bar's oversight powers be "shifted to the Court or to an independent agency."

CD1 Republican candidate Sydney Hay announced today she has lined up the support of seven state representatives and three state senators, further consolidating her frontrunner status in her primary battle against Preston Korn, her chief rival for the nomination.

The Hay campaign issued a press release saying the legislators have signed a "support pledge" naming her as their pick for the nomination. The list includes state Rep. Bill Konopnicki (R-Safford), state Sen. Jake Flake (R-Snowflake) and state Rep. Andy Tobin (R-Paulden), all of whom had considered running for the seat themselves.

The full list, as given by the Hay campaign, reads:

"Senator Jake Flake and Representative Bill Konopnicki of District 5, Representatives Lucy Mason and Andy Tobin of District 1, Senator Ron Gould and Representatives Nancy McLain and Trish Groe of District 3, and Senator Jack Harper and Representatives Judy Burges and Tom Boone of District 4."

PHOENIX - From the lawn of the Arizona Capitol today, Arizona Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen announced that Yes on Proposition 200, a group he formerly chaired, has filed papers in Arizona Superior Court seeking to force Gov. Janet Napolitano to "direct all state agencies to apply Section 6" of the law "to all of the relevant public benefits," which they claim the governor has not done.  read more »

Former Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert has picked up the support of some prominent elected officials in his primary bid to run against CD5 Democratic Congressman Harry Mitchell.  read more »