Center Square News

(The Center Square) - Arizona recently reached a settlement, requiring the former owners and operators of an assisted living home in Mesa to pay $100,000 in civil penalties.

On top of the fine, the settlement prevents Gary Langendoen, Tracy Langendoen, or any of the companies the Langendoens own, from administering health care services to Arizona seniors.

State Attorney General Kris Mayes originally filed the lawsuit against the Langendoens in 2024 after Heritage Village was accused of violating Arizona laws, including the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and the Adult Protective Services Act.

The APSA allows Mayes to sue to prevent the abuse, mistreatment and exploitation of vulnerable adults.

Mayes said she sued the assisted living home “to make sure that the people responsible for Heritage Village horror stories can never again put Arizona’s elderly at risk of serious injury or death.”

“This settlement achieves that goal. But we still have plenty of work ahead of us in this case and others,” she said, answering The Center Square's questions by email.

In 2024, Heritage Village faced numerous issues, including residents experiencing violence and sexual assault by other residents or staff, according to a news release from Mayes' office.

When Mayes filed the lawsuit, Heritage Village was about to go out of business. However, when the receiver got involved with the facility, Heritage Village made improvements and remained open.

Heritage Village sold to new owners last year, according to Mayes' office.

“Although Heritage Village is gone forever, the facility itself is still going strong under new management,” Mayes said. “My office has not received any consumer complaints about the former Heritage Village since the new owners took control.”

Mayes told The Center Square that she “will pursue all facility operators and caregivers who refuse to comply with the laws and regulations that protect our most vulnerable citizens.”

As part of the settlement, the defendants disputed the claims and admitted “no liability or wrongdoing with respect to events at the Heritage Village facility.”

The Center Square attempted to contact Heritage Village, but it did not respond before press time.

Earlier this month, Mayes announced a settlement with Brookhaven and its owners, Levi and Holly Walker, after numerous failures to comply with door-alarm requirements at the assisted living home.

In 2024, a resident at Brookhaven named Robert Pollmann, who suffered from dementia-related wandering, walked out the front door of Brookhaven without the door alarm going off. Pollman was found two days later dead.

Pollmann’s daughter sued Brookhaven, and Arizona acted as an intervenor in the case.

The settlement required the Walkers to divest from Brookhaven.

(The Center Square) - Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, introduced two bills that attempt to reform the state-managed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The first bill Kavanagh introduced, Senate Bill 1331, seeks to add a work requirement for receiving federal food stamps. The rule would apply to people under 60 who can work.

People capable of working but who won’t work shouldn’t have “their food paid for by people who work,” Kavanagh told The Center Square this week.

Kavanagh said he doesn’t mind helping people who are not able to work. He added that his bill has many exceptions for people who fit this criteria.

SB 1331 provides exemptions for people who meet federal work registration rules through Social Security or a federal-state unemployment system. Caregivers who care for a child under 6 or an incapacitated person would also be exempt from this bill.

Students, substance abuse treatment participants and people working more than 30 hours would be exempt as well.

The second bill, SB 1333, attempts to reduce Arizona’s SNAP payment error rate.

In July 2025, Congress passed H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which changed how states administer the SNAP program. H.R. 1 adjusted federal rules to say any state that has a SNAP payment error rate above 6% will have to enter a cost-sharing program with the federal government.

States have until the fiscal year 2027-2028 to get their payment error rate below 6%.

If Arizona doesn’t bring its SNAP payment error rate down, it will cost the state a “fortune” due to administrative costs, Kavanagh stated.

Glenn Farley, the Common Sense Institute Arizona’s director of policy and research, previously told The Center Square that if Arizona doesn’t get its payment error rate under control, the state could end up paying between $150 million and $200 million from its general fund in fiscal year 2028.

He added that Arizona’s payment error rate was around 10%.

The goal of SB 1333 is to have Arizona’s SNAP error rate below 3% by 2030. Kavanagh stated this goal is doable, saying the “timeframe is generous.”

To lower the error rate, Arizona will need to review its record-collection systems and verify the accuracy of the information in those systems to ensure the state isn’t overpaying people, he said.

According to Kavanagh, these two bills are meant to help Arizona avoid the penalties that would apply if it doesn’t comply with federal changes to SNAP in the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Kavanagh told The Center Square he was unsure whether Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs would sign both bills. Republicans hold majorities in both the Arizona Senate and House, but lack enough seats to override vetoes.

In addition to these two bills, other Republican state senators are also seeking to tackle waste, fraud and abuse in Arizona.

Sen. Mark Finchem, R-Tucson, introduced SB 1036, which tightens unemployment benefit rules by mandating weekly job-search activities, requiring reporting and implementing extensive fraud checks using state and federal databases.

Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, introduced SB 1308, which creates a Foreign Adversary Fraud Office in the state attorney general’s office.

The new office will pursue consumer fraud involving foreign adversary technology and safeguard critical infrastructure.

(The Center Square) - Arizona state Sen. Shawnna Bolick, R-Deer Valley, has introduced a bill to crack down on illegal vapes.

Senate Bill 1367 allows state agencies to track the origin of vaping products, capture illegal shipments and shut down retailers violating state law.

Bolick told The Center Square her legislation is an “anti-smuggling bill,” noting transnational organizations are behind bringing illegal vapes into America. She said these organizations have ties to Mexico, China and Russia.

Illegal vapes are being smuggled through ports of entry, Bolick said.

Nearly all of these vapes are coming from China, she noted, adding that these products “are labeled not for sale in China.”

SB 1397 requires interstate vape wholesalers to show proper documentation to the Arizona Department of Revenue. If wholesalers fail to do this, their products could be confiscated and destroyed.

Vape product manufacturers will need to obtain a state license to sell their products in Arizona, SB 1397 states. Unlicensed manufacturers caught selling their vape products in Arizona could face up to a $10,000 fine.

Justin Harris, vice president of the Border Security Alliance, said Arizona law enforcement must have the “ability to close the vape loophole and stop the smuggling of illegal Chinese vape products” into America.

"I applaud the senator's legislation and look forward to having the governor sign this into law," he said.

The bill also would prevent vape products from looking like cartoons, toys, video games or smartphones.

And under SB 1397, vape products would not be allowed on school grounds, school buses or school events.

Illegal vapes are being targeted toward Arizona’s youth, Bolick noted.

Such vapes in Arizona have been an issue for a while, she explained, adding that she has been working on this topic since she was a state representative. Bolick said she introduced a similar bill in 2024, but it didn't pass.

The senator noted her bill’s intent is not to go after all vape products, because they serve a purpose.

The problem of illegal vapes reportedly is getting worse because the people making them are becoming “more sophisticated” with them., Bolick said.

A 2024 study found nearly 90% of America’s vape market is full of illegal products.

In May, the federal government seized almost $34 million worth of illegal vapes in Chicago.

Four months later, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it seized 2.1 million illicit vaping products across numerous states, including Arizona.

Attorney General Pam Bondi called the products “dangerous.”

(The Center Square) - A new poll shows the top five most electable leaders in Arizona are a mix of Republicans and Democrats.

Noble Predictive Insights recently released its power rankings of Arizona's popular political figures.

Arizona registered voters chose U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, as the top political candidate in the state, according to the survey. Right behind him were Republican congressional candidate Jay Feely, who was an NFL kicker, and Ruben Gallego’s ex-wife, Kate Gallego, who is the Democratic Phoenix mayor.

Mike Noble, NPI’s CEO, told The Center Square that Gallegos have “done a good job navigating Arizona politics.”

Ruben Gallego has positioned himself well, Noble said, adding that Kate Gallego has “done a good job as Phoenix mayor."

Both Gallegos have avoided controversies, Noble said.

Ruben Gallego, a former U.S. House member, started his six-year term in the Senate in 2025.

Feely, the football player-turned-candidate, has strong name identification and net favorability, as well as strong scores in the demographic and experience categories, Noble said.

Rounding out the top five were Republican Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee and Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.

When the power rankings expanded to the top 10, they became dominated by Democrats, Noble noted. People ranked sixth through 10 were all Democrats. This means 70% of the top 10 rankings were Democrats.

“Democrats have a deeper bench than Republicans in the state that Republicans used to dominate five years ago,” Noble noted.

In 10th place was Gov. Katie Hobbs. In a previous NPI poll, the Democratic governor’s favorability ranking dropped by 5 points from February 2025 to December 2025.

According to Noble, Hobbs’ ranking is a “decent number,” but shows she “might have a little work to do” as she seeks reelection this year.

The power rankings show Hobbs ranks well ahead of her potential opponents. Hobbs will face the winner of the Republican primary in the Nov. 3 general election.

Noble described U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Scottsdale, ranking as being in the “middle of the pack,” whereas fellow Republican Karrin Taylor Robson and U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, scored in the bottom 10 of 50 candidates.

Among Republican respondents, Biggs and Schweikert scored much higher than Taylor Robson.

In the Republican-registered voter power rankings, Biggs ranked sixth and Schweikert ranked seventh, while Taylor Robson ranked 17th, Noble said.

Biggs and Schweikert “look a little stronger with the Republican primary than” Taylor Robson, Noble noted.

Among Republican-registered Arizona voters, the top political candidates were former Gov. Doug Ducey, former Senate candidate Kari Lake and Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk, the widow of assassinated conservative leader Charlie Kirk.

For Democratic-registered Arizona voters, Hobbs came in first, followed by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, and Ruben Gallego.

Also, Gallego came in first among independent Arizona registered voters. Next were Kelly and Hobbs.

In the NPI’s “Demographic and Experience Score,” the top three rankings were Fontes, Phoenix City Councilmember Carlos Garcia and Yee.

These rankings factored in name identification, net favorability and demographic experience, which is someone’s resume, Noble said.

Fontes, Garcia and Yee are “very electable” in the future, Noble said.

NPI’s poll had an error rate of ±3.08 %.

(The Center Square) - Arizona ranks second in the nation in education freedom, according to a new index.

The American Legislative Exchange Council released its index last week, highlighting the states with the most education freedom.

Florida beat out Arizona for the top spot.

The Sunshine State received a score of 94.37, earning an “A+.” Arizona got a score of 89.12, obtaining an “A” grade.

The other states to round out the top five were Arkansas, Iowa and West Virginia.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said his state deserves to be No. 1.

“Our Empowerment Scholarship Account program is incredibly successful. We have grown from 11,000 students when I took office in 2023 to more than 100,000 now," Horne told The Center Square in an email. "On school choice, we give more freedom than any other state, including Florida.”

“The entire nation looks to our Empowerment Scholarship Program and its Director, John Ward, for guidance on how to implement scholarship programs,” he added.

In fiscal year 2026, Arizona will spend $10 billion on K-12 spending, including $1 billion on its universal school choice program.

Andrew Handel, ALEC’s director of education and workforce development task force, said the index covered five categories: student-centered funding, charter schools, home schools, virtual schools and open enrollment.

Student-centered funding accounted for 40% of the overall score a state received, he explained, adding that the other four categories accounted for 15%.

Arizona scored “top marks” in the student-centered funding, charter schools and open enrollment categories, Handel told The Center Square.

The state received an A in all these categories.

According to the report, Arizona needs to improve on homeschooling and virtual schools.

Handel described Arizona’s homeschool laws as “really strong,” but noted that the state still requires students to be taught certain subjects.

“From an education freedom perspective, it’s best that subjects aren’t mandated [and] we’re trusting parents and putting them in charge and empowering them to decide what they’re going to teach their kids when they’re homeschooling,” he said.

Handel said numerous states, including Florida, have created “repositories of virtual courses” for parents and school districts to use.

These repositories are a “really good way to help make those courses more accessible,” Handel said.

He added that virtual repositories are helpful for rural school districts “who might not have the resources to offer virtual classes.”

Arizona does not have a virtual repository, he noted.

Historically, Arizona has always ranked high in ALEC’s education freedom rankings.

Last year, Arizona came in second, with only Florida beating the state.

“Arizona’s always been on the cutting edge of education freedom,” Handel said.

(The Center Square) - A new report found Phoenix’s inflation rate increased over the last four months.

Common Sense Institute Arizona released a report earlier in January showing that Phoenix’s inflation increased from 1.4% in August to 2.2% in December.

Zachary Milne, a senior economist for CSI Arizona, told The Center Square the main drivers of the inflation increase were energy and medical costs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that energy costs rose 4.2% from December 2024 to December 2025, while medical costs rose 7.4% over the same period.

Despite this increase in inflation, Milne said people shouldn’t view it as a huge spike but rather as inflation returning to normal levels in the city.

Compared to the national inflation rate in December, Phoenix’s inflation rate ranks 0.5 percentage point below it.

Milne said the cost of shelter is “depressing inflation” rates in Phoenix, compared to a couple of years ago, when it was one of the main drivers of it. The report said shelter prices were below 1% from February 2025 to December 2025.

The CSI report found Phoenix’s inflation rate increased by 29% from December 2019 to December 2025, resulting in average monthly Arizona household costs rising by $1,441.

Milne noted Phoenix had an inflation rate about 3% higher than the national rate during this period.

Shelter costs led to higher inflation in Phoenix during this period, the senior economist stated.

When shelter costs are not factored in, Phoenix’s inflation grew only 21.4% compared to the national average of 23.5%, he explained.

According to Zillow, the average cost of a Phoenix home in December 2019 was $264,568. Six years later, an average Phoenix home cost $402,796. This shows Phoenix home prices have increased by $138,228, totaling a 52% increase in the average home price.

Phoenix has the eighth-lowest inflation for metro areas in America, the CSI report showed. It noted this is a change from 2022-2023, when the city had one of America’s highest rates.

In 2022, Phoenix’s inflation was 11.5%, and one year later it fell to 5.2%.

Going forward, Milne said he expects Phoenix’s inflation to remain around 2%.

(The Center Square) - Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, called on Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes to resign after she said people who feel they are in danger are legally allowed to shoot masked federal law enforcement officers.

Mayes made these comments in an interview with 12News, where she said, “We have a Stand Your Ground law that says that if you reasonably believe that your life is in danger and you’re in your house or your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force.”

Mayes told the news outlet she was not advocating for shooting law enforcement. However, she asked, “How do you know they're a peace officer? That's the key … If you're being attacked by someone who is not identified as a peace officer, how do you know?”

Kavanagh told The Center Square that Mayes’ comments about people being able to legally “shoot law enforcement officers if their faces are covered and they’re wearing non-traditional SWAT-type uniforms is false.”

He added that this comment by the attorney general was “irresponsible and incendiary.”

Her comments are “putting the lives of federal and local law enforcement officers engaged in such dangerous work at risk,” the state senator explained.

“She needs to recant her statement and resign in disgrace,” Kavanagh said.

“Kris Mayes is the chief law enforcement officer of the state of Arizona. She has just given drug cartel members [and] dangerous criminals a license to kill cops,” he noted.

Kavanagh said if cartel members or dangerous criminals kill a cop, they will use the attorney general’s comments as a “defense.”

“ I don't want to see the chief law enforcement officer of Arizona as the star witness for the defense in a gang banger or drug cartel member's murder trial when they kill a cop,” Kavanagh told The Center Square.

According to Kavanagh, Democrats have “become so insanely anti-immigration enforcement that they’ll demonize immigration officers at every chance they get.”

He described federal law enforcement officers as “sworn officers who took an oath to enforce the immigration law that is law of the land.”

America’s immigration laws are democratic laws “that need to be enforced,” Kavanagh explained.

“President Trump got elected because he said he would enforce [immigration laws], and the Democrats lost because they opened our border,” he told The Center Square.

Besides Kavanagh, U.S. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Surprise, condemned Mayes' statement.

“Kris Mayes’ comments justifying the murder of our ICE agents were reprehensible but entirely predictable. This is the natural consequence of elevating a far-left political activist to Arizona’s top law enforcement position,” he noted.

Hamadeh said nothing in Arizona’s Stand Your Ground Law gives citizens the right to use lethal force against law enforcement.

Arizona Police Association Executive Director Joe Clure, an organization that represents more than 12,000 police officers, said law enforcement “is inherently dangerous work,” but Mayes’ recent comments “have the potential to make it even more dangerous.”

“ICE agents are sworn federal law enforcement officers carrying out the lawful duties of the federal government. Publicly speculating about how someone might legally justify shooting an ICE agent sends a dangerous and irresponsible message, particularly in an already tense and polarized environment,” Clure said.

“Words from elected officials matter. It only takes one unstable individual to interpret such commentary as permission or encouragement to use deadly force against police officers,” he added.

In a video on Sunday, Mayes said the "idea that [she] would want the life of any member of law enforcement put in danger is wrong and offensive."

"It is an outright lie," she added.

Mayes said state residents do "not want masked agents entering their homes without warrants." She called these actions "un-American" and threatening to "the rights and safety of everyone in our state."

“ICE’s behavior is destroying the public’s trust in law enforcement and putting every American, including local law enforcement, in danger. It will take years, if not decades, to undo the damage that has been done over the past 12 months,” Mayes noted.

The Center Square reached out to Mayes’ office for comment, but it did not respond before press time.

But Arizona Senate Democrats voiced their support for Mayes in a statement.

"Violence and chaos are not welcome in Arizona," the Democrats said. "Attorney General Kris Mayes knows this, and she's fighting to protect Arizonans in a new political reality where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is increasingly comfortable violating the civil rights of U.S. Citizens and those here legally. This is about public safety, and Attorney Mayes is right. We are unfortunately likely to experience a tragedy in Arizona if the ICE enforcement actions continue as they have been."

"The Attorney General was describing our new legal reality – not encouraging anyone to harm law enforcement," the Senate Democrats continued. "She was warning that unconstitutional and irresponsible procedures can create tragic events and that no one should have to guess whether the armed person breaking in their door is a criminal or a peace officer."

(The Center Square) - Gov. Katie Hobbs’ budget proposal continues the “trend of large increases in general fund expenditures” Arizona has seen in recent years, according to Glenn Farley, research and policy director at Commons Sense Institute Arizona.

Last week, Hobbs unveiled her budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, totaling $17.7 billion. Her proposal is $100 million more than the Arizona Legislature passed last year, at $17.6 billion.

Farley told The Center Square that caseload and formula funding saw the largest increases in Hobbs’ budget proposal, which includes Arizona’s Medicaid program, the K-12 program and other health care programs such as the Department of Economic Security.

“This budget continues the trend of massive increases, really historically unprecedented increases in the state’s Medicaid-funded disability program run out of DES,” he explained.

Normally, the biggest caseloads came from the Arizona Department of Education and the state’s Medicaid program, Farley said. However, in this budget, the biggest caseload increase is for the DES disability program.

Arizona has a population of people who need home-based care because of their disabilities, so the state adjusted how care is “subsidized” by its Medicaid-funded program at DES to “enable more home-based services by home-based providers,” the research director stated.

The budget proposal noted 62,000 Arizonans qualify for this program.

Hobbs’ budget gives an extra $128.1 million from the general fund and another $271.9 million to the Department Long Term Care System Fund in fiscal year 2026.

For fiscal year 2027, the budget proposal plans to give DES in ongoing funds an additional $298.8 million from the general fund and another $673 million in the DLTCSF.

Hobbs’ budgets have relied on one-time funding instead of ongoing funding, Farley noted

To align with federal changes, Hobbs’ current proposal mirrors some provisions of HR 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

According to Farley, the two biggest changes HR 1 made were to federal income taxes and to the cost growth in Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs.

The federal government is attempting to restrain cost growth in these programs by “increasing the administrative responsibilities on the states,” he told The Center Square.

Hobbs’ budget conforms to those changes, Farley explained.

Earlier this month, the Arizona Republicans introduced a tax plan estimated to save Arizonans $1.1 billion over the next three years. However, Hobbs vetoed the bill.

Farley, who worked in the Ducey administration in Arizona for eight years, said during that time, state budgets were typically signed in March or April.

But he noted that under Hobbs, that has been pushed out to May or June.

According to Farley, the volume of tax code changes this year exceeds that in a typical year.

Farley said the changes “are very significant,” noting the federal government made a large change to the adjusted gross income and added new subtractions, deductions and exceptions for the tax code.

”The result is if you file your taxes based on one assumption in February and March, and what the state ultimately passes in April, May or June is very different. You have a lot of taxpayers amending their returns, and the amendments could be very significant,” he explained.

(The Center Square) - A new bill would ban gender transition procedures for Arizona minors.

State Sen. Mark Finchem, R-Prescott, introduced Senate Bill 1095, which would prevent anyone under age 18 from undergoing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone treatments or any procedure that alters someone’s gender.

All the bill does is push these procedures until someone is an adult, Finchem told The Center Square.

“Adolescence can be a very confusing time for some kids," the senator said. "I want to make sure we are giving our youth time to work through whatever their issue might be before they make a permanent change in their life because it can’t be undone."

According to a 2025 University of California, Los Angeles Law School study, Arizona has 15,700 people between the ages of 13 and 17 who identify as transgender.

SB 1095 would limit taxpayer funds from being used to fund gender transition procedures for minors. Furthermore, the bill would also prevent Arizona’s Medicaid program from reimbursing or covering gender transition procedures.

The legislation provides the ability for minors or their parents to take legal action against medical providers who performed gender transition procedures.

If people have an argument that they were not “properly informed” about the risks of gender transition procedures, then those individuals have a right to a “cause of action,” Finchem said.

Arizona court systems can award damages, injunctions and attorney fees, the bill notes.

SB 1095 allows the Arizona attorney general to take legal action to make sure lawsuits are enforced.

If medical providers are found to have violated SB 1095, they would face disciplinary action for their “unprofessional conduct” by an “appropriate licensing entity or health profession regulatory board," according to the bill's text.

SB 1095 does provide exceptions to when gender transition procedures can be performed on minors, which include situations where they face medical emergencies, are diagnosed with sex development issues and address complications from prior gender transition procedures.

If the bill became law, it would take effect after March 31, 2027, because it would allow minors who are using “puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones [to] have time for appropriate medication tapering and discontinuation under the care of the minor's physician or other health professional.”

In the past, Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has taken action to ensure that state employee health plans cover gender transition surgeries. In 2023, she signed an executive order mandating these plans cover medically necessary gender transition procedures.

(The Center Square) - A proposed bill in Arizona would provide more affordable housing options for seniors, according to a zoning lawyer.

Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, introduced Senate Bill 1096, which would permit religious institutions to develop senior living communities on their property without rezoning.

The bill would apply to all Arizona cities, towns and counties. SB 1096 would prevent these entities from imposing additional zoning requirements or singling out religious institutions for stricter zoning.

Jason Morris, a founding partner of the Phoenix law firm Withey Morris Baugh PLC, called the bill a "positive" step for housing. He said the legislation would permit assisted living and independent living facilities to be “built more efficiently and to be built without having to go through a full land-use rezoning.”

Churches and religious institutions are not normally zoned for multifamily or commercial uses, which are required for assisted living or independent living facilities, Morris, a zoning lawyer who specializes in land use, told The Center Square this week.

The bill would remove the rezoning period from the equation, which takes between nine months and one year to complete, he said.

SB 1096 is “about speeding up the availability and also recognizing that [Arizona] shouldn’t put religious institutions in a position where they have to foot the bill for a very expensive and time-consuming process,” Morris explained.

In general, zoning cases can cost around $250,000, Morris said. He added costs can be more, depending on “how much pushback there is and how many issues may be present.”

SB 1096 will have “far-reaching consequences” because some Arizona jurisdictions don’t allow “for assisted living or independent living facilities at all,” he said.

These jurisdictions may have a church that is now “all of a sudden opening the door to something that’s not allowed,” the lawyer noted.

Morris said he didn’t think Arizona towns or cities would file a lawsuit against the bill because the Legislature “has the right to pass laws along these lines.” However, he said he thought some communities would push back against the legislation.

Local governments “do not like to lose control over zoning,” the lawyer noted.

SB 1096 deals with a “small aspect of a much larger concern” that the Arizona Legislature has with cities and towns not rezoning “fast enough” and “setting up too many barriers to rezonings,” Morris said.

(The Center Square) – The Arizona Senate Public Safety Committee voted 4-3 Wednesday afternoon, along party lines, to back a bill renaming highway Loop 202 as the Charlie Kirk Loop 202.

The legislation will go to the full Senate for consideration.

The loop spans about 77 miles across the Phoenix area and connects with Interstate 10 on both ends. Senate Bill 1010 calls on the state Department of Transportation to install signs reflecting the new name. The Arizona State Senate Republicans Caucus said no fiscal impact is anticipated.

The bill sponsor, Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, said segments of the loop would still keep their previous designations. Petersen made the comment after Yvonne Pastor expressed concern that a segment would no longer be named after her father, the late U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Arizona, who the daughter noted was known for his bipartisan work on the behalf of Arizonans.

Pastor urged the committee to name a highway segment closer to Kirk’s home in Scottsdale and Phoenix-based Turning Point USA, which Kirk started, after the conservative leader. A short while later, Petersen stressed the segment honoring Pastor, which would be part of the Charlie Kirk Loop 202, would still be named after the late congressman.

The four Republicans on the committee backed SB 1010.

Petersen talked about Kirk, the Arizonan who was assassinated Sept. 10 when he was speaking at a rally before thousands at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

“His death was an act of political violence and terror that shocked our nation in renewed discussions on the importance of preserving civic civil discourse,” Petersen told the Senate panel. “Charlie understood better than most the beauty and necessity of the First Amendment. He championed the idea that disagreements should be met with dialogue, not division, and that vigorous debate strengthened our republic rather than weakened it.”

Petersen noted the new designation "ensures that this contribution to civic engagement, free speech and the public square will not be forgotten."

Several people supported the renaming during a public comment period.

The man accused of killing Kirk is Tyler James Robinson, 22, who appeared at his second in-person pretrial hearing Friday in Provo, Utah, as reported by The Center Square. Robinson is charged with six felonies, including aggravated murder, and one misdemeanor. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray has said he will seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted of murder.

Robinson's attorneys are trying to get the entire prosecution team disqualified on the basis that one of the prosecutors has an adult daughter who was at the rally when Kirk was shot and killed. Gray, whose office told defense attorneys about the daughter, said he doesn't believe there's a conflict of interest.

(The Center Square) – The American Legislative Exchange Council released its annual analysis on state education freedom amid the rise in states opting into school choice programs.

The Index of State Education Freedom ranked all 50 states, looking at how well they provided options to families. There were five categories under which each state was assessed: student-centered funding, charter schools, home schools, virtual schools and open enrollment.

Florida ranked No. 1 overall, followed by Arizona and Arkansas.

For 2025-26, the state education budget for Florida was around $31.5 billion. The state has over three million students enrolled in public schools.

“Florida leads the nation because we provide all students and families with access to high-quality school choice options that meet their individual needs,” Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas said in a statement following the Index results.

States that fall at the bottom are Kentucky and New York, with Nebraska ranked last.

Nebraska has over 300,000 students enrolled in public schools, costing the state per-pupil $17,000-18,000 annually.

The Center Square reached out to the Nebraska Department of Education and Gov. Jim Pillen’s office for a comment, but has yet to receive a response.

ALEC Index attempts to make parents and policymakers aware of the education freedom environment in each state and what changes they can implement to expand learning options.

National School Choice Week, scheduled for Jan. 25-31, is designed to raise awareness of school choice around the country through events with schools and organizations where supporters advocate for family choice.

"We are seeing a complete reimagining of the American approach to education,” Education and Workforce Development Task Force Director Andrew Handel told The Center Square.

States are slowly moving away from relying on the public school education system and toward a model of education freedom where students choose what learning model is best for them, Handel explained.

“[W]e need to empower parents with multiple options and let them, not the government, decide which will work best for them," Handel added.

(The Center Square) - Attorneys general in California and Arizona have launched investigations into xAI’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok and its imagery of adults and minors.

“Recent reporting has raised serious concerns that the chatbot may have been used to create non-consensual and exploitative images," said Richie Taylor, communications director for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, responding by email to questions from The Center Square.

Taylor linked the response to a Wired article that details how Grok allegedly created “violent, sexual imagery of adults” and “sexualized videos of apparent minors.”

“These reports and others are what led to the office’s focus on the Grok chatbot,” Taylor said.

Mayes called these reports “deeply disturbing.”

“Artificial intelligence should never be used to exploit or harm people, especially children," Mayes said. "Technology companies do not get a free pass to create powerful artificial intelligence tools and then look the other way when those programs are used to create child sexual abuse material."

A day after Mayes started her investigation last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a cease-and-desist letter to xAI. Bonta demanded xAI to “take immediate action to stop the creation and distribution of deepfake nonconsensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material.”

The California Attorney General’s Office told The Center Square that xAI is aware of its investigation.

“AG Bonta is extremely concerned with the amount of shocking and potentially illegal conduct out there and is committed to moving on this issue quickly,” the office said, answering The Center Square's questions by email. “The California Department of Justice will spare no resource to ensure Californians are safe.”

Bonta’s office said it had been in “touch with sister states about this issue.”

The Center Square reached out to xAI’s media department and asked for the company's reactions to the California and Arizona investigations. The media department responded by email, “Legacy Media Lies.”

As part of the investigation, Mayes told Arizonans to contact her office if they believe they were harmed by Grok through the production or allocation of non-consensual or illegal AI-generated images. You can reach Mayes' office at azag.gov/complaints/criminal.

“Technology companies cannot turn a blind eye when their products are used to cause real-world harm,” Mayes said. “If you believe you were targeted or victimized, we want to hear from you.”

(The Center Square) - A new bill seeks to provide tax relief for Arizonans at the grocery store.

State Rep. Leo Biasiucci, R-Kingman, this week introduced House Bill 2839, which would eliminate sales taxes on grocery items that are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Women, Infants and Children program.

In Arizona, people enrolled in SNAP or WIC do not pay taxes on certain grocery items.

HB 2839, which has bipartisan support, would allow Arizonans who don’t qualify for these government assistance programs to also receive the same tax advantages.

Items that are tax-free for people on SNAP and WIC include dairy products, fruits, vegetables, meats and breads.

Biasiucci told The Center Square that providing tax relief for essential groceries is “the right thing to do.”

“I don’t think it is right that we are taxing something that is an absolute necessity,” said Biasiucci, who introduced HB 2839 on Tuesday.

Biasiucci said there is nothing worse than a food tax because it is something that “people need to survive.”

Over the last “couple of years,” he has been working to remove taxes on essential groceries, the legislator noted.

The bill is a win for Arizona families, he stated.

Biasiucci said HB 2839 could help Arizona families save hundreds of dollars yearly.

According to the state representative, around 70 towns and cities in Arizona have some type of food tax. He said he has heard from communities around Arizona regarding this issue.

HB 2839 would prevent Arizona cities and towns from implementing taxes on SNAP- and WIC-eligible food items.

The state representative is unsure of how Gov. Katie Hobbs would react to this bill if it reaches her desk. He noted the Democratic governor discussed lowering taxes on middle-class Arizonans during her State of the State address.

“I hope she would support this because we’re talking about items that are deemed essential that every family needs," Biasiucci said. "I would hope she sees this as a positive."

(The Center Square) – School choice debates continue as more states opt into programs aimed at expanding educational options for families.

National School Choice Week, scheduled for Jan. 25-31, is designed to raise awareness about school choice around the country through events with schools and organizations.

Supporters argue that the programs give families greater control over how and where their children learn. Those who oppose warn of oversight gaps and the impacts on public school funding.

At the federal level, President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act creates a federal income tax credit of up to $1,700 per year for individuals who donate to certified scholarship organizations.

States that have opted into education freedom initiatives include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Many others continue to opt in.

Nonprofits involved with the school choice programs use donations to fund private school tuition scholarships for students from qualifying low-income households.

Kim Mazzuca, president and CEO of education-equity nonprofit 10,000 Degrees, said these recent federal policy shifts have added uncertainty to the education landscape.

"In the past year, we have witnessed first-hand how policy and funding rollbacks from this administration are negatively impacting our students, schools, community, and the overall state of education …,” Mazzuca told The Center Square in an email. “The state of education under this administration is uncertain, yet our community at large remains resilient."

Idaho recently joined the school choice movement with the launch of the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit.

The program allows eligible parents to claim a tax credit for education-related expenses, including school tuition, books, tutoring, among other things.

The credit is up to $5,000 per student, or up to $7,500 for students with qualifying disabilities.

According to yes. every kid. foundation, 82% of Idaho parents support education freedom, 77% have expressed interest in participating in the tax credit program, 69% support giving families more choices in schools and educational resources, and 64% approve the new tax credit.

“The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit demonstrates the state’s unwavering belief in empowering families as the primary decision-makers in their children’s education by putting resources directly into the hands of families. Idaho is strengthening communities, broadening opportunity, and securing a brighter future for every child in the Gem State,” said Heidie Nesset, vice president of implementation at yes. every kid. foundation.

The push for expanded school choice comes amid broader concerns about education outcomes nationwide. In California, analysis cited by education researchers found that the longer students remained in the public school system, the lower their proficiency rates in math.

Lance Izumi, senior director of education at the Pasadena-based Pacific Research Institute, said the findings highlight the need for alternatives.

“Given the failure of California’s public schools to deliver results for all the tax dollars poured into it, parents should be given an exit ticket out of the system for their children,” Izumi said.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has opposed the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program, saying that the school choice initiative operates with insufficient oversight and wastes taxpayer dollars.

Julie Young, Kay Johnson and Julie Petersen, co-editors of the book "Virtual Schools, Actual Learning: Digital Education in America," argue that flexibility in education is the key.

They told The Center Square in an email that virtual, hybrid and micro-school models can expand access, particularly for rural students, accelerated learners and working adults, while shifting the focus from competition between schools to collaboration centered on student needs.

“For parents, school choice starts with a simple question: What works best for my child?” the editors said. “School choice recognizes that learners start in different places and thrive under different conditions.”

(The Center Square) - A new bill seeks to make Arizona the first state in the country to prevent its National Guard from fighting in wars not authorized by Congress.

State Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, who served in the Air Force for 20 years, introduced Senate Bill 1047. The legislation says Arizona’s National Guard can’t “be released from the state into active duty combat unless the United States Congress has passed an official Declaration of War or has taken official action pursuant to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 15” of the Constitution.

The article allows Congress to federalize the National Guard to repel invasions, put down an insurrection and enforce America’s laws.

SB 1047, also known as the Defend the Guard bill, would require the Arizona governor to “take all actions necessary to comply” with the order.

Nationwide, the Defend the Guard bill has been pushed by an organization called Bring Our Troops Home, founded by Sgt. Dan McKnight, a 13-year veteran of the U.S. armed forces who served 18 months in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2007.

In the past, Trump administration officials, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have endorsed the bill.

Also, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Yuma, has supported the bill.

Defend the Guard bill is a “state-based prohibition on the use of militia unless [it has] been activated federally with proper authority,” McKnight told The Center Square.

“If they want 'em to fight in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan or Venezuela, the first thing they have to do is have that proper authorization from Congress,” he said.

The Defend the Guard bill is attempting to give governors and states “one more ounce of resistance that they can apply to the federal government to protect their own militia and citizens,” he explained.

The last time America had a congressionally approved war was in 1942 during World War II against Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.

Since then, Congress “has abdicated [its] responsibility to decide when to change the condition of our nation from one of peace to one of war,” McKnight noted.

All the wars America has gotten into since World War II have been done by some quasi-legality, he said.

As examples, he brought up how America entered the Korean War based on a United Nations charter and how the Vietnam War was based on the Gulf of Tonkin resolution.

Since 9/11, the National Guard has turned from a defense force to an “expeditionary war-fighting force,” McKnight explained.

The “quasi-authority” has been used to deploy National Guard members overseas due to Congress giving authorization of use of military force to the president in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks, he said, adding that this is “not a legal declaration of war.”

Since the Global War on Terror, nearly 50% of the boots on the ground fighting outside of America have been National Guard members, McKnight stated.

McKnight noted his organization gets comments from National Guard majors, captains, lieutenants and enlisted members who agree with the Defend the Guard bill.

However, he said, people higher up in the military, such as generals, tend to oppose the bill.

A common argument against this bill is that it will affect National Guard funding, but McKnight called this argument an “absolute red herring.”

Congress decides “where the money goes and where it’s spent,” not the Department of Defense, he said.

He added that if funds were taken away from a state, it would be “political suicide.”

“Senators and their congressmen from that state would never allow it to happen,” McKnight said.

If the federal government did take money away from a state like this, McKnight explained, it would leave the state vulnerable to responding to emergencies and disasters.

“All we're asking is that Congress does the one thing that they absolutely refuse to do, take up the issue and give the informed consent of the American people before we send our sons and daughters to fight and die somewhere else,” McKnight explained.

2026 is the fourth year in a row that the Defend the Guard bill has been introduced in Arizona, McKnight stated.

In the Arizona state Senate, the Defend the Guard bill has passed three times. However, the bill has never passed the state House.

Last year, when the Defend the Guard bill went to the state House, it passed the Arizona House Rules Committee and the House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections Committee, but it never reached the House floor for a vote.

McKnight said House Speaker Steve Montenegro, R-Surprise, did not allow the bill to be voted on. This year, McKnight said his organization is “gonna put a lot of pressure on Speaker Montenegro to let the bill have its due process.”

The Center Square reached out to Montenegro for comment, but did not hear back before press time.

McKnight said he thinks the bill will have enough support in the House to have it reach Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk. He added that he doesn’t know whether the Democratic governor would veto the bill or sign it, but he acknowledged her past history shows she may veto it.

“We look forward to that fight,” McKnight said.

During her time as governor, Hobbs has vetoed nearly 400 bills. Republicans hold majorities in both houses, but lack enough seats to override Hobbs' vetoes.

Nationwide, McKnight told The Center Square that 35 states could introduce the Defend the Guard bill this year.

He added that he thinks the bill has a pathway to victory in Idaho, Arizona, Tennessee and New Hampshire, which recently passed the bill out of its state House.

McKnight said he anticipated the Defend the Guard bill would be put on a governor’s desk at in two states this year.

(The Center Square) - A new bill would limit how Arizonans can use additional dwelling units on their property.

Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, recently pre-filed Senate Bill 1105, which allows Arizona counties, cities and towns to restrict ADUs from being used for vacation or short-term rentals.

The state legislation seeks to mandate ADUs be used “to ease the housing crunch and not just become hotel rooms for people on vacation,” Kavanaugh told The Center Square.

These new units “should be used for affordable housing and not hotel profits,” he said.

Kavanaugh added he “respects local zoning” rules and doesn’t think single-family zone areas should have short-term rentals “popping up” around them.

Kavanaugh said he voted in 2024 against House Bill 2720, which allowed people to build accessory dwelling units on single-family homes in cities with more than 75,000 residents.

He said the rationale for HB 2720 was to provide “more affordable housing” to Arizonans, but it failed to specify that the new units can be used only for long-term housing and not as hotel rooms.

Kavanaugh said ways to help alleviate the housing problem in Arizona include eliminating “unnecessary regulatory costs,” such as speeding up permit processing and selling additional “state trust land for housing.”

To get home prices down in Arizona, the housing supply needs to increase, Kavanaugh noted.

“ Letting people use accessory dwelling units for short-term vacation rentals doesn't increase the supply of housing,” he said.

Common Sense Institute Arizona released a report last year saying the state will always have a housing deficit. The report said it takes more than 300 days for new housing projects to finish their permitting, development and final inspection process.

Despite the lack of housing, Kavanaugh is not optimistic his bill will pass.

SB 1105 will “probably fail because a lot of people don’t have a problem with [ADUs] being used for a hotel instead of solving the housing crisis,” according to Kavanaugh.

“But I could be wrong,” he told The Center Square.

(The Center Square) – The second in-person pretrial hearing for Tyler James Robinson, charged with the murder of conservative leader and Arizona resident Charlie Kirk, took an extraordinary turn mid-Friday afternoon when the chief prosecutor took the witness stand.

Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray, the elected official who oversees the prosecution office, testified he learned about the fatal shooting of Kirk when one of his prosecutors in the Robinson case told him about a text from his adult daughter. She was at the Sept. 10 rally where Kirk, on stage, was killed at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

It's unusual for a chief prosecutor such as Gray to testify in a case his office is prosecuting.

Under questioning from defense attorney Richard Novak, Gray said he and the prosecutor, whose name hasn’t been released, drove together in Gray’s car to the university after getting the daughter's text. She had left the scene of the killing by the time they arrived, Gray said.

When asked by Novak, Gray, who was subpoenaed to appear, said he didn't set up a firewall separating the prosecutor whose child was at the university from the rest of the prosecution. Earlier on Friday, Novak noted the prosecutor's child was 85 feet from Kirk.

Robinson, 22, wearing a light blue buttoned shirt and a striped tie, sat in the Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, as Novak questioned Gray as part of a hearing on the question on whether Gray’s office has a conflict of interest in the case. Robinson’s lawyers are trying to disqualify the entire prosecution team based on the connection with the unnamed prosecutor and the fact the prosecutor wasn’t removed from the case.

“He showed me the text: 'Charlie Kirk got shot,' ” Gray told Novak as Judge Tony Graf listened.

Gray continued to testify until a little after 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. As of press time, the court was in another recess before testimony for Gray and potentially other witnesses such as the unnamed prosecutor and the prosecutor's daughter could resume.

Robinson’s reactions couldn’t be seen during the live-stream because Graf directed that the pool camera not be on Robinson. That ruling came after defense showed the judge close-ups of Robinson earlier whispering to his attorney, raising concerns that viewers might read Robinson’s lips.

Novak, who started with basic questions before building his case, had Gray on the witness stand for about a half-hour before the recess.

Gray stressed that his office’s decision to tell the defense attorneys about the unnamed prosecutor wasn’t an indication of a conflict of interest.

“That was out of an abundance of caution,” Gray told Novak.

In addition to the prosecutor, Gray said there were two families in his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ward who had adult children at the Utah Valley University rally when Kirk was shot and killed. He said he was told one child was doing fine. “The other one was shook up.”

Gray said he didn’t know where those children were located at the amphitheater where Kirk spoke.

“Did you share that information with the prosecution team?” Novak asked, referring to those families.

“I don’t remember,” Gray said. “I may have in passing.”

Novak asked Gray if he suggested to law enforcement that anyone be interviewed in regard to the murder of Kirk.

“No. We don’t interfere with the investigation” Gray said. “We try to assist. Law enforcement identifies who they want to interview. I leave that to them.”

Novak also asked Gray about his office's policies on conflict of interest. Gray answered that his office turns cases over to other agencies if there's a conflict.

Robinson is charged with seven counts, six of which are felonies. They include aggravated murder and multiple counts of witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Gray filed a notice with the court that he intends to seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted of murder.

Kirk was shot and killed before a crowd of up to 3,000 people at Utah Valley University. The conservative leader had a home in Scottsdale, Ariz., and his organization, Turning Point USA, is headquartered in Phoenix.

(The Center Square) – The Goldwater Institute and the Idaho Freedom Foundation sent a letter this week urging Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador to investigate whether state colleges and universities are complying with a law banning mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Idaho was the first state to adopt the Freedom from Indoctrination Act. The law prohibits public universities from requiring students to take courses with DEI ideology.

Exceptions are limited to specific degree programs, such as ethnic, gender or racial studies.

Goldwater Institute, which is based in Phoenix, alleges that Boise State University, Idaho State University and the University of Idaho are using "backdoor" methods to maintain these mandates.

Parker Jackson, an attorney for the Goldwater Institute, in an exclusive interview with The Center Square, said universities across the country are finding clever ways to get around these laws, such as changing course names, altering office titles or playing games with statutory language while keeping the DEI substance intact.

“Most students don’t go to college for politics. They go to become professionals in their chosen fields without being dragged into ideological battles,” Jackson said.

According to the Goldwater Institute, the State Board of Education issued guidance that improperly expands exceptions to the law in two ways:

1) Redefining the language of "derived from" DEI to apply only to courses where 90% or more of the material focuses on DEI.

2) Allowing programs such as counseling, social work and anthropology to mandate DEI courses if their descriptions mention DEI, despite the law requiring exceptions to be based on the degree's formal title.

“The law prohibits public universities from mandating courses, trainings or programs that are derived from or promote the tenets of critical theory or diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Parker Jackson, an attorney for the Goldwater Institute, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview.

A draft audit obtained by Boise State Public Radio indicated that the state’s major universities have "largely adhered" to the anti-DEI laws, identifying only a few instances of non-compliance.

Jennifer White, executive director of the Idaho State Board of Education, said the institutions take the legislature’s direction seriously.

“Work will be ongoing, but we are pleased that the audit identified only a few matters of concern,” White said.

Jackson disagrees. “The law is designed to do two things: first, to stop taxpayer funding of toxic ideologies that promote discrimination on the basis of race and sex; and second, to prevent public universities from forcing these ideologies onto unsuspecting students just as the condition of graduation.”

The Center Square reached out to Boise State University, Idaho State University, the University of Idaho and the Idaho State Board of Education, but has yet to receive a response.

(The Center Square) - Attorneys representing Tyler James Robinson, charged with the murder of conservative leader and Arizona resident Charlie Kirk, are trying to disqualify the team of prosecutors.

The lawyers point to what they call a conflict of interest because one of the prosecutors has an adult child who was near Kirk when he was shot and killed Sept. 10 at a rally at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

One of Robinson's lawyers, Richard Novak, on Friday asked Judge Tony Graf to determine the Utah County Attorney's Office can't represent itself during the conflict-of-interest motion and must instead be represented by the Utah Attorney General's Office.

In response, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray went to the podium in the Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, and said, "This is an ambush and another stalling tactic to delay these proceedings."

Novak denied Gray's accusation as Robinson, 22, listened quietly.

The defendant was dressed in a light blue buttoned shirt and a striped tie for his second in-person pretrial hearing. Occasionally during breaks during the live-streamed hearing, close-ups showed Robinson whispering with one of his lawyers.

Novak cited case law and statues showing that the Utah County Attorney’s Office could not represent itself as a motion is debated on whether there’s a conflict of interest with one of the prosecutors.

Novak noted Utah County Attorney’s Office told defense in October that the prosecutor's offspring was at the Utah Valley University rally where Kirk, on stage, was shot and killed on Sept. 10 and was 85 feet from Kirk. He also noted the prosecutor wasn't screened properly by the Utah County Attorney's Office.

The names of the prosecutor and the prosecutor's adult child have not been released.

Graf asked Novak why the defense didn’t file a motion earlier on the attorney general issue. Novak said the defense assumed prosecutors would refer the matter to the attorney general’s office and was surprised to learn the attorney general’s office had not been consulted.

Novak added Graf had the authority to bring the attorney general’s office into the case.

But prosecutor Ryan McBride argued there's no need to refer the case to the attorney general’s office unless Graf first determines there’s a conflict of interest.

In a related matter, defense, prosecution and a lawyer representing media outlets told Graf they had no objection to the hearing being closed to protect the identities of witnesses. McBride noted it’s not uncommon for courts to refer to witnesses by their initials to protect their privacy.

“The case has polarized the nation in many ways,” McBride told Graf. “There have been death threats made against other witnesses, death threats made against counsel. Doxxing is a real thing: finding people online, harassing online. With today’s technology, it’s not hard to find out every detail about a person.”

Graf told McBride he was sensitive to safety concerns and could rule to close the hearing on a witness-by-witness basis. But the judge said he could not close the entire evidentiary hearing on the conflict-of-interest question because at some point, the name of the prosecutor with the potential conflict of interest would have to be said.

“I have to make findings of fact that are very specific. I can’t redact myself when I issue my order,” Graf said. “The name of the prosecutor is a relevant fact. I can’t simply glaze over it.

“Since I’m going to do that anyway, I’d rather address it in open court,” Graf said.

Defense witnesses for the evidentiary hearing on the conflict-of-interest question include Gray as well as the prosecutor who’s being reviewed and the prosecutor’s offspring, Novak said.

By mid-afternoon, the court was in the midst of another of several recesses that happened since the hearing started at 1 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.

Robinson is charged with seven counts, six of which are felonies. They include aggravated murder and multiple counts of witness tampering and obstruction of justice.

Gray filed a notice with the court that he intends to seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted of murdering Kirk, who had a home in Scottsdale, Arizona. Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, is headquartered in Phoenix.