Center Square News

(The Center Square) - A ballot proposal’s income cap could put thousands of Arizona students at risk of being removed from the state’s school choice program, according to a new report.

Common Sense Institute Arizona released a report showing that if voters approve the Protect Education Act, the ballot initiative’s $150,000 income cap would remove 20,300 current students from the Empowerment Scholarship Account program. ESA provides funding for students to attend alternatives to their public neighborhood school.

The report highlighted that another 400,000 school-aged children could be excluded from the program based on their household income.

Glenn Farley, CSI’s director of policy and research, told The Center Square that this amounts to around 33% of all children in Arizona.

The ballot initiative’s proposed $150,000 income cap will be adjusted yearly at 2%.

The income cap “grows every year with inflation, but incomes on average grow faster than inflation,” Farley said, adding that over time “more families become subject to the cap.”

Factoring in that income grows faster than inflation, the report said by 2045, 52% of Arizona families with school-aged children may be ineligible to participate in the state’s ESA program.

“The trouble with income caps is that once they are proposed it becomes easy to change them," Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne told The Center Square, answering questions by email.

“[Income] caps have a tendency to always go down, and people who don’t think they will get caught by a cap do get caught when it is reduced,” he added.

Olivia Fierro, the communications director for the ballot initiative, said she could not “speculate about population growth decades into the future because our focus is on educating the 1.1 million students already attending Arizona’s public schools and protecting students in the ESA program by adding basic safety protocols.”

“ESA program is blowing a massive hole in the state budget," Fierro said, answering The Center Square's questions by email.

“The Protect Education Act balances the need to place guardrails on this billion-dollar program while doing nothing to disrupt how the program serves its originally intended audience: children with disabilities who need extra support,” she said.

Fierro added that the “guardrails should have been part of the program from day one.”

“Our initiative will bring transparency and accountability to the program and end the outrageous misuse of taxpayer money that has been allowed to occur,” she noted.

In addition to the income cap, the ballot initiative would require private schools in Arizona to use the same statewide assessment as public schools. Private schools in Arizona take a standardized test, but it differs from the statewide assessment test required in public schools.

The CSI report found 84% of the private schools it surveyed administered some type of standardized test.

According to Farley, CSI reached out to numerous private schools to ask them about how these potential changes could affect them. He said that, based on the information CSI obtained from these schools, it may lead to fewer schools participating in the program or to schools charging higher tuition.

Matt Beienburg, director of education policy at the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute, told The Center Square that Arizona private schools “have the autonomy to select the exams” they are going to give to their students.

“By forcing these private schools to use a specific test,” Beienburg said, it tells private schools that they need to align their curriculum with the public school’s standardized test.

“If the schools now become aligned with the state exam, then what is on that exam becomes the guiding star of what those schools must focus on,” he said.

Proponents of the ballot initiative are attempting to “exert control over [private schools] and restrict their ability to take students through the ESA program,” Beienburg noted.

Fierro told The Center Square that the ballot initiative establishes “a basic level of accountability so parents and taxpayers can understand whether students are making academic progress when public dollars are being used.”

“The proposal provides flexibility by allowing schools to either administer comparable assessments or maintain accreditation through a nationally recognized accrediting organization,” she said.

The report estimates that educating students in the universal ESA program costs about $7,700 per student, compared with almost $15,000 in public schools. An average ESA student, including students with special needs, costs around $10,000 per year, Farley said.

According to the report, moving 20,000 ESA students back into public schools would cost taxpayers $115 million annually.

Horne told The Center Square that the “right to a public education is available to people at all income levels, so the ability for parents to choose the best school for their child should be available to everyone as well.”

(The Center Square) - A record number of Americans are expected to travel on Memorial Day weekend in the Southwest and across the U.S., despite hikes in costs for gas and aircraft fuel.

Faced with the nation's highest gas prices, drivers in the Southwest are likely to pay up at the pump this weekend as they join an estimated 45 million Americans in traveling for this year’s holiday.

“AAA is projecting 45 million Americans will be taking a trip of 50 miles or more away from home from Thursday through Monday,” AAA Southern California spokesperson Doug Shupe told The Center Square. “The vast majority of them, 39.1 million, will take a road trip. By air, we're looking at 3.6 million Americans flying somewhere, and about 2.2 million will take another mode of transportation like a train, bus or even a cruise.”

The high rate of travel comes despite gas prices that continue to creep ever closer to all-time record highs amid the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran.

The national average for a regular gallon of gas is up $1.35 from this time last year to $4.53 as the Southwest feels some of the country’s highest prices.

California leads the nation at $6.15 with Nevada at $5.25, Arizona at $4.83 and Colorado’s $4.76, according to AAA.

“I think [people] are still going to want to get out and take advantage of the three-day weekend and travel, even though it’s going to cost them more,” AAA Mountain West spokesperson Doug Johnson told The Center Square. “I think what they're going to say is, ‘OK, gas is costing us more, so maybe I won't be staying in as fancy of an hotel this time around, and maybe I won't be going out to that fancy dinner.’ Maybe they'll scale it back and go to a moderate dinner, stay in a cheaper motel or hotel.”

In Colorado and the Western states, Auto Group spokesperson Skyler McKinley said he thought high prices at the tank could push some people to stay closer to home.

“We’re blessed with a bounty of places within driving distance that are remarkable vacation destinations with the great outdoors,” McKinley told The Center Square. “So you actually might see a substitution effect for Westerners, who instead of opting to drive or fly across the country, will stick closer to home. But they’ll still get up and go out.”

He also cited a survey from the summer of 2022, when gas prices were at their highest, that showed more than half of people would change their driving patterns when the gallon hit $4, and three-fourths said they would drive less at $5.

“I anticipate that these everybody go-up, get-out American traditional holidays are still going to be strong,” McKinley speculated of the high fuel prices. “Where we might see travel adjusted is the rest of the summer.”

Despite the rising fuel prices, AAA reported that domestic flights over Memorial Day weekend are 6% cheaper than last year.

For the majority of travelers who will be driving over the weekend, the Southwest is home to some of the most popular markets for tourism. Las Vegas and Los Angeles are both within the five highest-demand markets for rental cars this weekend, according to Hertz.

People getting between Southwestern destinations should prepare for some serious traffic. The route to the most popular driving destination from Los Angeles, Palm Springs, is expected to see an 88% longer drive time over the weekend, according to AAA.

The AAA experts recommended drivers to make sure their cars are in top shape and to avoid speeding as a means to save on fuel prices this long weekend.

“Last Memorial Day weekend from Thursday through Monday, AAA came to the roadside rescue of 350,000 stranded drivers just in that five-day period,” said Shupe. “The primary reasons why people call AAA for help are dead batteries, flat tires and people getting locked out of their vehicle. So we encourage you to make sure that vehicle's in good shape to prevent a roadside breakdown.”

(The Center Square) - Arizona is turning to artificial intelligence to tackle waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid.

Gov. Katie Hobbs unveiled what she called a first-in-the-nation A.I. tool at a press conference on Monday, where she said it will “superpower [the state’s] accountability efforts … and stop fraudsters in their tracks.”

Hobbs said the new AI tool will “help flag claims that are at high risk for fraud so they can be reviewed before any payment goes out.”

The new AI tool will launch in July 2026, according to Hobbs.

Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System Inspector General Vanessa Templeman said a benefit of the AI tool is that it will allow Arizona to respond to fraud and “stop it from continuing to occur.”

Humans will have purposeful interactions with the AI system to ensure that the individuals identified by AI as fraudsters are, in fact, fraudsters, she noted.

Templeman said AHCCCS has been working on the fraud tool for the past year.

Democrats and Republicans, meanwhile, disagree on how much progress Arizona has made against Medicaid fraud and waste.

Hobbs, a Democrat, said Arizona is “leading the way in fraud detection and prevention."

“We have cracked down on historic levels of fraud, saved countless vulnerable people from exploitation and ensured that taxpayer dollars are used for their intended purpose,” she noted.

Over the last three years, Hobbs said Arizona has made “significant progress to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse.”

“We have also deployed new tools to stay one step ahead of the fraudsters and ensure that this never happens again.”

Hobbs said her administration stopped 85 alleged fraudsters from billing the state’s Medicaid program in 2023. The next year, Arizona stopped 69 alleged fraudsters, she said, adding that in 2026 the number decreased even further to two alleged fraudsters.

“This decline isn’t because we have slowed our efforts. It’s because the criminals have heard our message loud and clear. Arizona has zero tolerance for waste, fraud and abuse,” she noted.

Hobbs said when she first took office in January 2023, “claims for the procedures most targeted by fraud reached nearly $350 million.”

“By July 2025, that number had dropped to just over $100 million, the same level in January 2021,” Hobbs noted.

During her administration, the Hobbs administration discovered a $2.5 billion state Medicaid fraud scheme that primarily exploited Native Americans from 2019 to 2023.

The scheme steered Arizonans seeking help with behavioral health and substance abuse to unlicensed or fraudulent homes that got billed for improper services or services that never took place.

While Hobbs says fraud in the state Medicaid program is going down, Republicans held a press conference on Monday to detail how it is still occurring.

State Sen. Carine Werner, R-Scottsdale, said if a person were to ask the Hobbs administration, Mayes’ office, and ACCHS leadership, they would say fraud no longer occurs.

She said this is not correct, citing meetings she has had with medical providers, state Medicaid members and tribal members.

Werner noted that tribal members have brought evidence to her showing that state Medicaid fraud is still occurring.

Arizona’s fraud response was “blunt, unorganized and unable to distinguish good guys from bad guys, Werner said, adding that it “failed to stop the fraud from occurring.”

In May 2023, Werner said the Arizona state government issued a moratorium on certain state Medicaid provider payments in an attempt “to force bad actors out.” The moratorium lasted until December 2024.

However, Werner said the “fallout was bad” from the moratorium, noting “hundreds if not thousands” of Arizonans “lost access to care because providers weren’t being paid.” Some of these individuals ended up being homeless after not being able to receive treatment, according to Fox 10, a Phoenix TV station.

The moratorium “swept up the good providers,” Werner said, adding that “providers were unable to keep up and had to close their doors and patients were once again put on the street.”

The senator said she has seen “honest providers who came to the state asking for help [and] get paid for the good work they have done to help those suffering from substance disease.”

“Instead of working with them, ACCHS and other state regulatory agencies launched coordinated attacks in what can only be described as an effort to silence them,” she said.

Regarding Republicans having concerns about the state’s overcorrection regarding the crackdown on fraud, Hobbs said it is “unfortunate some folks want to play politics” with the situation.

“We are taking this seriously. This kind of fraud is not going to happen under my watch," the Democratic governor said. "We are going to take action to stop bad actors. If folks are caught up in that who are not committing fraudulent acts, they have every opportunity to correct their record and make sure they're able to continue providing services.”

Templeman said there has been improvement in paying providers who have not been paid.

(The Center Square) - A national security expert is paying close attention to how Gov. Katie Hobbs will handle a series of bills aimed at deterring China’s influence in Arizona, after shifting her rhetoric toward the Communist country.

In 2024 and 2025, Hobbs vetoed numerous bills aimed at curbing China’s influence.

The bills ranged from preventing public funds from being used for genetic sequencing procedures performed with devices produced by companies associated with foreign adversaries as well as stopping the Arizona state government from investing in or contracting with foreign adversaries.

When Hobbs vetoed the bill that would have prevented Arizona from investing in foreign adversaries, she said the bill “would be detrimental to the economic growth Arizona is experiencing as well as the State's investment portfolio.”

In 2025, Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have prevented foreign adversaries from buying land near Arizona’s military bases and critical infrastructure. The governor called the bill “weak and spineless legislation that would let the People’s Republic of China own land in Arizona for three years.”

This year, despite taking a tougher stance on China, Hobbs again vetoed a genetic sequencing bill. In her letter rejecting the bill, she said she had concerns about how this bill would impact the state’s “strained healthcare system.”

Despite vetoing this bill, Hobbs still has a chance to sign up to seven new bills aimed at curbing China’s influence in Arizona.

They range from protecting the state’s critical infrastructure and land to protecting higher education and procurement laws from foreign adversaries.

Another bill would require lobbyists to register and disclose their activities to foreign adversaries. And there's a bill that would go after foreign-adversary entities that violate consumer laws.

Josh Hodges, a former senior director at the National Security Council under President Donald Trump, told The Center Square that the China-related bills that could make their way to Hobbs’ desk are “massively impactful.”

Hodges, who is a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said it is important these bills are passed collectively to “really address the full scope” of the Chinese threat.

Hodges, who was a national security adviser to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Shreveport, said he hoped Hobbs’ shift in rhetoric would allow her to sign these Chinese-related bills into law.

The Center Square reached out to Hobbs’ office for comment, but did not receive a response before press time.

If the governor does veto these China-related bills, Hodges said Arizonans “will find out quickly whether their interests are being chosen over politics.”

“The only reason someone would veto these pieces of legislation is if they’re trying to play friendly with the [Chinese Communist Party] or there’s active lobbying campaigns that aren’t being disclosed,” the national security expert said.

He added that if Hobbs is giving China “major carve-outs to these bills or requiring them to do major restructuring that’s gonna allow the [Chinese Communist Party] to continue operating, then [she is] not putting Arizonans first.”

Hodges said in the past, Hobbs has nearly vetoed every major piece of bipartisan legislation related to China for “specious reasons,” such as the bills being too “vague or broad.”

The national security expert said these bills were broad for good reason, citing the numerous federal government entities that have “identified an active and ongoing effort at a sub-national level across the United States to embed Chinese Communist Party operations in key assets across the United States, including Arizona.”

“Most Americans, including Arizonans, understand that they don’t want the Chinese increasing their leverage over the United States’ national, economic, state or regional security,” Hodges said.

He said over the last decade there have been numerous warnings about China’s strategy to flood American markets with its subsidized goods and “dominate key industries.”

“Given everything Arizona’s doing in key sectors, I think it’s really important for Arizona to understand the Chinese are going to try to embed themselves both in and around critical infrastructure.”

Besides the energy sector, Hodges said the Chinese will try to embed themselves in Arizona telecommunications, investment and gene-sequencing companies.

The threat China poses to America is not a partisan issue, Hodges said,

To counter China’s influence in America, Hodges told The Center Square that states nationwide need to coordinate.

“The Chinese are always looking to exploit the nuance from one state to another,” he said.

The national security expert said states across America “are starting to wake up to the reality” of China’s influence in America.

He cited bipartisan bills in Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and Florida that were passed to deter Chinese influence. “They’re starting to take steps to address it."

(The Center Square) – A record more than 100 million lethal doses of fentanyl have been seized at the southwest border in the past seven months.

The seizures were made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents working out of 54 ports of entry (POE) in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The seizures were made in the first seven months of fiscal 2026, which began Oct. 1.

The total excludes seizures made by Border Patrol agents and other federal agents as well as state and local law enforcement officers in the same period, from Oct. 1 through April 30.

If seizures were included from other agencies, the total would be significantly higher.

“As the nation’s border security agency, CBP is on the frontline against foreign terrorist organizations that threaten the safety and well-being of Americans,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said. “CBP is uniquely positioned to detect, identify, and seize illicit drugs like fentanyl before they enter our communities.”

Drug trends

Law enforcement across the southwest border have identified new drug smuggling trends. One is larger quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine pouring in, The Center Square reported.

This is the case at ports of entry and between ports of entry along the southwest border. CBP OFO seizures of meth and cocaine at POEs in just six months have already surpassed the volume seized in the previous year, CBP says.

In the first six months of fiscal 2026, CBP officers seized 152,000 pounds of methamphetamine at POEs, surpassing all of fiscal 2025.

They also seized more than 28,000 pounds of cocaine at POEs, already surpassing fiscal year 2025 by 6,000 pounds, according to CBP data.

Another trend is a shift from smuggling fentanyl pills to powder.

“Fentanyl powder contains more doses by weight than individual tablets,” CBP explains. “Doses vary depending on many factors. For powder, doses can vary based on purity and potency, so they are calculated using averages from seized material. One kilogram of powder can be pressed into roughly 75,000 typical fentanyl tablets. CBP assumes one pill is considered one dose.”

Fentanyl powder is “easier to conceal, more concentrated, and can be mixed with other drugs, increasing its danger to the public. Fentanyl powder can be hidden in everyday items, mailed in small packages, or transported in bulk shipments,” CBP explains.

Smuggling and seizure trends

CBP OFO agents are seizing more illicit drugs due to several factors. The cartels have shifted operations and are adapting methods to bring in large volumes of drugs instead of people due to changing federal immigration and border policies, law enforcement officers have explained to The Center Square.

Under the Biden administration, policies were implemented to facilitate illegal entry into the country. This included creating and expanding parole, asylum and refugee programs to release inadmissible and largely unvetted foreign nationals into the country. Federal employees from multiple agencies were pulled away from their jobs to process them into the country, reducing the number of agents in the field, including those dedicated to drug interdiction.

A record high of at least 14 million illegal border crossers were encountered/apprehended, including those who evaded capture, during the Biden administration, The Center Square exclusively reported. The number is believed to be significantly higher. It’s unknown how many people and how much illicit drugs were smuggled into the country during the Biden administration.

The Trump administration halted and reversed these policies, resulting in historic low illegal crossings. The administration and Congress allocated record funding to expand enhanced technological capabilities and hire more CBP and Border Patrol agents. With historic low illegal crossings, more officers in the field focusing on interdiction and adapting to smuggling trends, greater volumes of illicit drugs are being seized.

“In the last year, the U.S. experienced a dramatic shift in illegal migration trends, allowing CBP to pivot hundreds of officers and resources to enforcement efforts. This milestone is a direct result of these ongoing efforts. These interdictions highlight officers’ unparalleled skill, judgment, and experience in detecting illicit fentanyl,” CBP said.

Interdictions are often conducted under hazardous conditions, requiring specialized training for officers and canines and protective measures to safely handle dangerous substances, CBP adds.

CBP OFO officers are responsible for border security at 328 ports of entry nationwide. They include air POEs at international airports, land POEs at the northern and southwest borders and sea POEs at commercial seaports and cruise terminals.

Texas has the most POEs in the country and at the southwest border of 32. California has the second greatest number of 19. Also at the southwest border, Arizona has 10 and New Mexico has three, which are all located in El Paso, Texas. The CBP El Paso Sector includes all of New Mexico.

(The Center Square) - Arizona saw its seventh consecutive month of year-over-year job losses, according to a new report.

Common Sense Institute Arizona released a report showing that Arizona lost 8,600 jobs year over year in March. This ranked 16th worst nationwide, the report said.

Zachary Milne, a senior economist for CSI, told The Center Square that there is evidence to suggest Arizona’s labor market is “souring to a degree.”

“With seven months of year-over-year job losses, combined with rising unemployment and falling labor force participation, these are concerning signs for the labor market,” he said.

Lee McPheters, an economic professor at Arizona State University, told The Center Square by email that Arizona has “lost 14,000 jobs” between January and March. He added that Arizona ranked 43rd among states in job creation during this period.

He said this “is an unusual situation for Arizona.”

“As recently as 2024 the state ranked 3rd, adding 62,000 jobs. A national slowdown began in 2025, in response to uncertainty about tariffs, fed policy, and geopolitical issues,” he said.

“Arizona followed the 2025 trend of slowing labor markets, adding only 4,500 new jobs and ranking 32nd among all states,” the professor added. “As we have seen in previous slowdowns, Arizona often tends to be hit harder than the nation as a whole, and that is what we saw in 2025 and that continues now.”

The CSI report noted Arizona lost 2,600 jobs in March. In month-to-month figures, Milne said there can be “volatility in those numbers,” adding that people need to “take monthly [numbers] with a grain of salt.”

Doug Walls, labor market information director for the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, told The Center Square by email that the job losses “spread across a majority of industry sectors, including leisure and hospitality, government, financial activities, trade, transportation and utilities, construction, and manufacturing.”

Walls said the one industry that continues to perform well is the healthcare and social assistance industry. According to Walls, this industry has added 10,400 jobs year over year.

March data reflects a continued softening of Arizona's labor market, he said.

“Several indicators confirm the cooling trend. The unemployment rate climbed to 4.7%, widening the gap above the national rate of 4.3%, and job softness spread across a majority of industry sectors simultaneously,” Walls said.

“When that many measures move in the same direction at the same time, the data tells a consistent story: the pace of economic activity in Arizona is slowing,” he added.

According to McPheters, the “big question is whether the economy (national and Arizona) will turn around by the second half [of 2026].”

He noted “even if that happens, it is likely that Arizona employment will increase by a mere 1% at best,” which will “avoid a recession” and “delay stronger [job] growth into 2027 and beyond.”

But despite the current slowdown, McPheters said Arizona’s “long-term outlook continues [to be] bright for a number of reasons.”

He cited the state’s population growth historically and recent investments in “infrastructure supporting distribution, healthcare, manufacturing and particularly high technology enterprises.”

“For now, businesses and job seekers face challenges, but these are short-term, and a reasonable bet would be that within two to three years, Arizona will rebound to be among the nation’s leading growth states once again,” he said.

Jim Rounds, an Arizona-based economist and CEO of Rounds Consulting Group, also had a positive outlook for the state's economy. “Arizona’s economy is not crashing. We’re stronger than we’ve been in a long time."

“If I was gonna be in any state during the next downturn and expansion, it would be Arizona. We've advanced our economy more than any other state since the Great Recession," he said.

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Department of Justice has created a new task force to fight healthcare fraud in three Western states.

The West Coast healthcare Fraud Strike Force will focus on California, Arizona and Nevada.

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the DOJ’s Fraud Division said data shows the states have seen a “significant and accelerating increase in healthcare fraud.”

“The Fraud Division is committed to bringing that same relentless, data-driven prosecutorial force to bear across every corner of this region, making unmistakably clear that no scheme is too sophisticated, no network too large or small, and no fraudster too distant to escape federal accountability,” McDonald noted.

Scott Lampert, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ acting deputy inspector general for investigations, said “emerging threats” across Arizona, California and Nevada are “targeting billions of taxpayer dollars from federal healthcare programs.”

“Many of these schemes are driven by sham operations designed to appear legitimate while exploiting patients and inflating claims through increasingly sophisticated methods,” he added.

Timothy Courchaine, U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona, said, “Federal law enforcement and the United States Attorney’s Office have disrupted fraud schemes worth over a billion dollars of taxpayer money" in the state.

Courchaine said the mission of the task force is to “ensure Americans who need critical services are not used as pawns to make bad actors rich.”

“Through excellent investigations, trial work and seizures of ill-gotten gains, the District of Arizona will continue safeguarding those services,” he added.

Attorney General Kris Mayes told The Center Square via email that “Arizona has been on the front lines of fighting Medicaid fraud for the past several years, and we welcome the federal government’s help in combatting this problem.”

She highlighted a 2023 case where $2.5 billion of taxpayer money was stolen from the state’s Medicaid program by directing Native Americans to unlicensed or fraudulent sober living homes that then billed the state for inadequate services or services that never occurred.

The state recovered only $125 million, or 5% of the $2.5 billion in taxpayers’ money lost to the fraud scheme, according to the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.

Last year, Mayes announced a $6 million grant program to help tribal nations affected by the healthcare fraud scheme.

Since 2023, the Democratic attorney general said her office has “indicted 166 individuals and entities, and recovered or seized more than $139 million in cash and assets.”

“We are not done. To anyone committing healthcare fraud in Arizona: We will find you, and we will hold you accountable," she noted.

In June 2025, Farrukh Jarar Ali, the owner of a Pakistan-based company, was charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, as well as wire fraud and money laundering after allegedly billing around $650 million to Arizona’s Medicaid program through at least 41 substance abuse treatment clinics in the state.

Six months later, Arizonans Alexandra Gehrke and Jeffrey King were sentenced to 15.5 years and 14 years in prison, respectively, for causing more than $1.2 billion of false or fraudulent Medicare and health insurance claims for medically unnecessary wound grafts, the DOJ said.

Gehrke and King submitted these false claims between November 2022 and May 2024, the DOJ noted.

In California, Silicon Valley is “ground zero for technology-driven healthcare fraud schemes that seek to cheat taxpayer-funded programs like Medicare,” according to Craig Missakian, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California.

To illustrate, last year a Silicon Valley-based digital health company saw its CEO, Ruthia He, and its clinical president, David Brody, convicted of carrying out a scheme involving more than $100 million in healthcare fraud that distributed Adderall over the internet.

In April, the California Department of Justice charged 21 suspects for allegedly defrauding the state’s Medicaid program of $267 million through a hospice fraud scheme.

Also last month, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford charged two Nevadans, Lawrence Carter and Leasa Carter, with allegedly defrauding Nevada’s Medicaid program of at least $2 billion.

“These charges reflect a serious breach of trust and an alleged scheme that exploited both Medicaid and vulnerable individuals,” said Ford.

“Our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit works every day to uncover this kind of misconduct and ensure those responsible are brought to justice," the Democratic attorney general said.

The Center Square reached out to Ford’s office for further comments, but did not receive a response before press time.

(The Center Square) - Gov. Katie Hobbs announced her support for a pipeline that will bring more natural gas into Arizona.

The Democratic governor said a top priority of her administration is ensuring Arizona families and businesses have “reliable and affordable energy.”

“With existing pipelines fully subscribed, securing additional natural gas capacity is critical to supporting Arizona’s long-term prosperity,” she said. “The Desert Southwest Pipeline will significantly increase our state’s energy capacity and diversify our energy resources.”

As the state continues to grow, Arizona will need to increase its energy demand, Hobbs said.

She added that the Desert Southwest Pipeline project “ensures that during periods of high demand, we have the energy we need to meet it.”

Vicki Granado, vice president of public relations and corporate communication for Energy Transfer, said the company is pleased to have the governor’s support of its pipeline, which is in the planning stage.

Energy Transfer, one of America’s biggest pipeline companies, expects to begin construction in the second quarter of 2028 and complete it by the fourth quarter of 2029, Granado told The Center Square on Wednesday.

The 520-mile-long underground pipeline starts in Texas and goes through New Mexico and Arizona, according to the company’s website.

Granado said the pipeline will bring “much-needed natural gas supply into the state.”

With Arizona’s population and businesses continuing to grow, “the need to support natural gas power generation is going to continue to expand,” she said.

Nick Myers said that before he became chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2026, the Arizona natural gas industry said the state’s pipelines were at capacity.

He added that Arizona’s pipelines have been this way for numerous years.

Arizona utilities companies will have enough gas until the pipeline is built, Myers told The Center Square on Wednesday.

To meet the state’s increasing demand, Arizona needed another natural gas source, he said.

Arizona has numerous renewable energy sources, but to expand them, the state needed more natural gas, Myers noted.

Natural gas plays a big role in Arizona’s economy, Myers said, calling it the “foundation of [Arizona’s] energy structure.” In 2024, natural gas-fired power plants provided 45% of Arizona's electricity generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The Palo Verde Generating Station is the backbone of Arizona’s energy grid, while natural gas is “the tool that allows [Arizona] to expand and grow until the point where nuclear is a viable option,” Myers said.

Myers said most pipeline regulation takes place at the federal level, but the ACC also regulates railroad and pipeline safety in Arizona.

He added that the ACC attempts to ensure Arizona’s energy providers are “maintaining an appropriate balance of gas versus solar, wind and nuclear.”

Regarding economic benefits, Energy Transfer estimates the pipeline will create up to 5,000 construction jobs, with another 75 full-time positions to operate and maintain it, Granado said.

She noted these full-time jobs will be spread across New Mexico and Arizona.

With the new pipeline coming in, the ACC approved converting certain coal plants to natural gas plants, Myers said. Without the pipeline, Myers said, these coal plants would have been shut down in the “early to mid 2030s.”

According to Myers, keeping these plants open allows energy to remain on the state’s electrical grid and keeps “communities functioning.”

He estimated hundreds of Arizona jobs will be saved as these coal plants switch to natural gas.

(The Center Square) - Four California residents and one Arizona resident are in quarantine after potential exposure to an outbreak of a rare hantavirus disease that stemmed from a cruise ship.

None of the Southwestern residents, who were passengers on the MV Hondius (now on its way to the Dutch city of Rotterdam), have shown symptoms of the disease. But state officials said they would remain under quarantine for up to 42 days.

“The risk to the general public is extremely low right now,” California Public Health Director Erica Pan told reporters Tuesday. She added that the disease has been documented to spread human-to-human under close contact. “We are learning more and more about this cruise ship outbreak, which is certainly concerning and unique, but it's a relatively small cruise ship with very close quarters. It certainly seems like a lot of close contact has actually happened on that ship.”

As the roughly 150 passengers onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship sailed from Argentina to the Canary Islands between April 1 to May 10, the hantavirus spread, and two passengers died while on the cruise. One was suspected to have had the virus, and the other was confirmed. A third passenger, married to the first passenger who died, later died with the disease after leaving the ship. The World Health Organization said 11 global cases had been reported by passengers.

The Andes hantavirus is typically contracted by exposure to rodent feces or urine, such as mice. Human-to-human spreading of the disease has been documented in rare cases, according to the WHO.

“CDC has responded to hantavirus outbreaks before, and we understand how Andes virus behaves,” said Melissa Dibble, a spokesperson for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

“Andes virus is the only type of hantavirus that is known to spread person-to-person," Dibble told The Center Square in an email. "This type of spread is rare and is usually limited to people who have close contact with a sick person.”

The Andes hantavirus is part of the larger hantavirus group, which is considered to be a relatively uncommon group of diseases with an estimated 10,000 to 100,000 global cases annually. Fewer than 1,000 cases have been reported in the U.S., according to the WHO. There are no targeted treatments or widely available vaccines for the disease according to the CDC.

Because the Andes hantavirus usually takes between 1-8 weeks for symptoms to first show, passengers and people otherwise potentially exposed have been placed in quarantines around the world.

The one Arizona resident currently under quarantine was onboard the MV Hondius cruise ship along with three of the California residents, none of whom have been confirmed to have the Andes hantavirus. The fourth California resident briefly sat one row away on an airplane from somebody confirmed to have Andes hantavirus, according to Pan.

“Out of an abundance of caution, across the world, we are really trying to make sure we're monitoring people who might have had contact,” said Pan.

Two of the California residents were under close monitoring by the CDPH in their homes, according to Pan, while the other two were in a specialized quarantine center in Nebraska along with 14 other Americans.

With the World Cup coming to California and North America this summer, Pan said the CDPH, local health departments and the CDC have extensively planned for health threats. But Pan added, “So far this situation with the cruise ship and its hantavirus outbreak has not impacted our World Cup planning.”

(The Center Square) - The Trump administration will defer $1.3 billion in Medicaid funds to California, due to concerns over fraud, Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday.

Vance, alongside Mehmet Oz, administrator for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the administration is launching more fraud enforcement efforts for Medicare and Medicaid in states across the country. The government sent letters to all 50 states calling for states to revalidate their providers of Medicare and Medicaid services.

“There are California taxpayers and American taxpayers who are being defrauded because California isn’t taking its program seriously,” Vance said.

The vice president said many states that have Medicaid fraud deterrence programs have not properly utilized them to stop fraudulent activity. He said Hawaii has secured zero indictments or convictions while receiving funds to pursue fraudulent activities.

“They don’t think the fraud is a big enough problem,” Vance said. “They don’t care about protecting that Medicaid program.”

Vance also pointed to the Medicaid programs in New York, Minnesota, Ohio and Maryland as examples where fraud needs to be more aggressively pursued.

The administration is also launching a six-month nationwide moratorium on Medicaid enrollments for new hospice and at home care services. Oz said a third of all hospice programs receiving federal assistance in the United States are in Los Angeles.

“There will be no new hospices,” Oz said. “We’re not taking any services, but there will be no new ones."

Oz said the administration suspended 800 hospices in the Los Angeles area alone. He said those entities charged $1.4 billion to taxpayers.

“We're talking about turning off the resources that the state government should be using to police fraud and then instead reuse those resources ourselves, because we're actually taking the fraud very seriously,” Vance said.

Vance called on states across the country to cooperate with the federal government as it enforces fraud efforts. He said all 50 states responded to letters he sent calling for them to revalidate their providers.

Vance said he hopes California and other states run by Democrat leaders will cooperate with the administration as it roots through fraud. The administration has also introduced heightened oversight of hospice providers in Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, Nevada and Texas, due to "elevated fraud risk."

The administration also launched a pilot program to identify potential fraud that will start in North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.

“We've had some good cooperation with both red states and blue states,” Vance said.

The administration’s announcement follows months of ramping up enforcement actions for fraud in federally funded programs. In February, the administration halted $259 million in Medicaid funds sent to Minnesota.

“We want to save the American people money, but we're also trying to preserve programs that exist for the benefit of the American people,” Vance said. “We're also trying to make sure that we do this in a way that's defensible.”

Tax advocates praised the administration's decision. OJ Oleka, CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation, said the federal government needs to call on states for help combatting fraud.

"Real accountability with real teeth is indispensable for winning the war on fraud, protecting its victims, and getting reluctant states off the fence and into this fight," Oleka said. "It is encouraging and empowering to know that Vice President Vance and his task force are looking to the states to be proactive partners."

(The Center Square) – Another Mexican national has been sentenced for her role in a massive Middle East-Mexico-US human smuggling operation, this time in Arizona. The sentencing came as five illegal foreign nationals were indicted in a human smuggling operation based in Phoenix.

Sixteen months into the Trump administration, every week, U.S. attorneys are announcing the results of multi-agency investigations and busts of human and drug smuggling operations: indictments, guilty pleas and sentencings

In Arizona, where a record several million illegal border crossers were reported during the Biden administration, perpetrators are being apprehended and prosecuted.

In one case, Mexican national Ofelia Hernandez Salas was sentenced this week to 11 years in prison for her role in a years-long smuggling operation. In this scheme, she and her coconspirators arranged the travel and smuggling of hundreds of foreign nationals from more than a dozen Asian, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries through Mexico into Arizona.

Those smuggled came from Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, Eritrea, India, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Russia, Egypt, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, according to the complaint.

“Transnational human smuggling at a large scale directly threatens our national security,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said. “Ofelia Hernandez Salas and her co-conspirators endangered our communities on a massive scale by illegally bringing foreign nationals from more than a dozen countries into the United States. Not only did she take away the ability to properly vet these people from immigration authorities, she and her co-conspirators also robbed these people of their personal belongings at gun or knife point. Illegal border crossings are already incredibly dangerous; this defendant only increased the potential of mortal danger they faced by adding robbery to her criminal acts.”

According to the complaint, Hernandez Salas and her co-conspirators directed foreign nationals to cross the Arizona-Mexico border in several ways. They provided them with ladders to climb over border fences, showed them where to crawl under fences and provided them with planks to walk across waterways, according to the complaint. They also moved them “in droves” using a tactic identified by Border Patrol as “task saturation.”

Hernandez Salas and her co-conspirators were armed with guns and knives, Homeland Security Investigations Yuma officers, who led the investigation, said. They also robbed those they smuggled, taking their money, cell phones, and other belongings while also charging them tens of thousands of dollars, according to the complaint.

In March 2023, Hernandez Salas and co-conspirator Raul Saucedo-Huipio were arrested in Mexico in response to a Department of Justice request. They were later extradited.

They both pleaded guilty to human smuggling charges. Saucedo-Huipio's sentencing is scheduled in June. After serving their respective sentences, they will be deported to Mexico.

In another case, five illegal foreign nationals were indicted on Tuesday on human smuggling and harboring charges. Four Mexican men and one Guatemalan woman – all in the country illegally – were arrested on charges of running an “alien smuggling operation” in Phoenix. If convicted, they each face up to 10 years in prison.

Border Patrol Intelligence Unit and HSI officers uncovered the scheme, which they said involved using Phoenix residences and apartments as stash houses to hold illegal foreign nationals. From there, they transported them across the country in minivans with charity license plates, according to the complaint.

While being transported, some were forced inside the trunk. At the stash house, those held were confined to bedrooms, required to sleep on floors, prohibited from leaving or making calls, kept in filthy conditions and didn’t have enough food, according to the charges.

At the height of the border crisis, more than 775,000 illegal foreign nationals were reported in Arizona in fiscal 2023, including nearly 200,000 gotaways – those who evade capture, The Center Square exclusively reported.

In 2022, the Tucson Sector alone reported nearly 460,000 illegal border crossers, totaling more than the individual populations of most Arizona towns and counties, The Center Square exclusively reported.

After President Donald Trump’s first year in office, illegal entries plummeted in Arizona by 92%. The U.S. Army and CBP are also constructing roughly 100 miles of new border wall and barrier structures in Arizona.

Prosecutions are also ongoing. At the end of April, in one week alone, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related charges against 217 individuals, including 13 human smuggling cases.

(The Center Square) - Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh said the Arizona Legislature may sue Pima County after state Attorney General Kris Mayes sided with the border county on its resolution limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

However, before doing this, Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, told The Center Square that he would need to work with the Legislature's attorneys to determine the legislative body’s legal standing in trying to stop the county's policy on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“I don’t know if we can do that,” Kavanagh said about a lawsuit, but added it is worth exploring.

Last week, Mayes issued a legal opinion rejecting Arizona Republicans’ request to stop Pima County, which is on the border with Mexico, from implementing the resolution.

Pima County’s resolution stops federal immigration officials from using county-owned property for civil immigration enforcement without a valid judicial warrant, as well as from using county property for staging or processing.

Furthermore, the resolution prohibits county employees from assisting federal immigration officials with civil immigration enforcement.

In her legal opinion, Mayes said Pima County’s resolution did not violate Arizona law that prevents local governments from restricting “the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law.”

Mayes said Arizona law “does not mandate that political subdivisions do more than what federal law requires.”

“Federal immigration law does not preempt the resolution” because the “resolution derives from the county’s ‘historic power’ to regulate its own property,” the attorney general noted. "Federal law governing immigration enforcement does not indicate any congressional intent to preempt the county’s authority to regulate access to its own property via the resolution.”

Kavanagh told The Center Square that “the attorney general ruled that preventing immigration officers from doing their job somehow does not count as restricting enforcement.”

He said Mayes’ legal opinion is “politically motivated,” noting it was “bad for Arizona.”

Mayes’ opinion sends the wrong message to local jurisdictions in the state, Kavanagh said.

“She just empowered other would-be sanctuary cities to become sanctuary cities,” he said.

Kavanagh noted the Arizona Legislature could make the law’s language “more airtight,” but to do so, Arizona would need a Republican governor.

Republicans have majorities in both houses of the Legislature, but lack enough seats to override Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' vetoes.

Kanagah said he did not know how the Legislature could make the bill’s language any tighter.

“The language clearly says that counties can’t restrict immigration enforcement. So how anybody can claim that telling ICE agents they can’t go on city property is not restricting it is beyond me," the majority leader said.

Kavanagh was not the only Republican critical of Mayes’ legal opinion.

Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, said, “Democrat-run local governments put radical political agendas ahead of public safety.”

"Instead of supporting law enforcement and protecting their citizens from crime, they're creating barriers that make it harder to enforce the law and easier for criminals to stay in our communities," said Petersen, who's running against fellow Republican Rodney Glassman in the July 21 primary for attorney general. The winner will run against Mayes, who isn't facing any Democratic opposition in the primary, in the Nov. 3 general election.

Richie Taylor, the communications director for Mayes’ office, told The Center Square by email that Arizona “law is clear, and it does not compel cooperation between local governments and ICE.”

“Refusing to cooperate is not the same as restricting ICE’s ability to enforce immigration laws. Senate Republicans should respect local control and the lawful policy decisions made by the elected supervisors of Pima County,” he said.

Pima County Supervisor Matt Heinz told The Center Square that it is “important to have affirmation and the support of the attorney general” regarding this legal matter.

“We have the ability to control what goes on county government property,” Heinz said. “It makes a lot of sense, and I’m glad that she affirmed what [Pima County] did is consistent with Arizona statute.”

Mayes’ opinion, according to Heinz, shows local jurisdictions that they “actually do have the ultimate say about what goes on” at county-owned property.

With the resolution in place, Heinz told The Center Square that he didn’t think the county’s new policy would strain the relationship between local and federal law enforcement.

He said local law enforcement has “good communication” with federal law enforcement.

The resolution shouldn’t impede federal law enforcement’s actions such as arresting illegal immigrants, Heinz said.

(The Center Square) - Maricopa County Supervisor Mark Stewart is hoping a court-ordered mediator can settle the dispute between the Board of Supervisors and Recorder Justin Heap about who controls the county’s elections.

This week, Stewart filed a legal request seeking a court-ordered mediation between the board and Heap. The legal action is separate from the board's decision this week to file a motion for a stay in the ongoing court case in Arizona's most populous county, which is home to Phoenix.

In April, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney ruled that the board members needed to relinquish control of specific election functions. Blaney also said the board needed to return Heap’s information technology staff, servers, databases, software and websites or fund their replacement.

Board of Supervisors Chair Kate Brophy McGee said the judge’s ruling “creates confusion about key aspects of election administration including chain of custody, on-site tabulation, and the handling of mail-in ballots on Election Day.”

“Making major changes in the middle of the election cycle is not just a terrible idea for voters, it’s going to be almost impossible to implement responsibly,” she added.

The Center Square reached out to the board and Heap’s office, but they did not respond before press time.

Stewart said he pursued his own legal action because his position differed from that of the other board members regarding how to react to the judge’s ruling.

He told The Center Square that with the court motion, he hopes to have a court-appointed mediator determine which election-related responsibilities belong to the board and the recorder.

The court-appointed mediator “creates solutions, and that’s what the voters expect,” he said.

“We have to get the politics out of this, and we have to get thinking about this like a business," Stewart said. “How do we get this fixed, and how do we move forward on behalf of our customers?”

Stewart said the board and recorder should “revert back to the 2023 Shared Service Agreement."

The SSA is a “mutual understanding between the board and recorder about the management of election-related activities,” according to the county’s website.

The 2023 SSA allowed the recorder to be responsible for voter registration, rolls and databases; early ballot processing; signature verification and election IT systems.

The board had control over election-day operations, polling locations, early voting sites, poll workers and temporary staffing, hand-count audits and tabulation equipment.

However, in the 2024 SSA, more power was given to the board regarding early ballot processing, IT systems, election infrastructure and centralized administration.

The 2024 SSA also made the county’s director of elections responsible for the elections department, rather than the recorder. This means the 2024 SSA reduced the recorder’s operational control of elections in Maricopa County.

Stewart told The Center Square the judge’s ruling on who controls election duties in the county is similar to the 2023 SSA.

Historically, the recorder has run all the county’s elections, he said, noting that it wasn’t until 2024 that the board took away election responsibilities from the recorder.

When Heap came to office in 2025, he and the board were close to agreeing on an SSA, but were unable to finalize one. This led to Heap filing a lawsuit seeking to regain control of certain election functions in Maricopa County.

According to Stewart, the dispute over who controlled which election functions in the county should have been resolved last year.

Stewart said the board and recorder are both focused on having “good, effective, transparent and well-done elections.”

“Everybody’s pushing towards the same goal. They just have different ideas of the pathway to get there,” Stewart noted.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “We should be able to get along and should be able to solve these problems without bringing the courts in.”

Despite the board and recorder disputing who controls election duties in the county, Stewart said he is not concerned about how upcoming elections will operate because the staff who runs elections in Maricopa County are “remarkable.”

“I don’t think there will be any issues with the election," he said. "I’m pretty confident in our staff."

(The Center Square) - The Republican majority in the Arizona Legislature is contemplating legal options to redraw the state’s congressional map in time for the 2028 elections.

Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, told The Center Square on Wednesday that the Legislature is “considering litigation to compel the redistricting commission to convene and redraw the [congressional] map.”

Petersen made his comments after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling Monday in Louisiana v. Callais. The court ruled Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act does not mandate states to create additional minority-majority districts in their congressional maps. Section 2 implemented a nationwide ban on "the denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race or color,” according to the National Archives.

One of the factors that the current Arizona map considers is race, according to Petersen. If the redistricting commission, which is made up of two Republicans, two Democrats and one independent, redrew the state’s congressional map, it could no longer consider race when drawing districts, he said.

“These lines should be colorblind," Petersen said. "They shouldn’t discriminate based off of race."

Petersen said Arizona's court system could compel the redistricting commission to make a new congressional map.

Arizona Republicans are “doing an analysis on it right now,” Petersen said. Republicans control a majority in both houses of the Legislature.

If the Legislature decides to sue, he said it would file the lawsuit “pretty soon.”

The process for Arizona’s congressional map to be redrawn will be slower than in a state where the legislature redraws it, the Senate president noted.

He said if Arizona redrew its congressional map, it would affect the 2028 races rather than this year’s.

Petersen called the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais the “right decision.”

“We shouldn’t be racist,” he said.

On the other side, state Sen. Analise Ortiz, D-Glendale, told The Center Square on Wednesday that the decision made by the Supreme Court was “devastating.”

She noted the Voting Rights Act was created “because of explicit racism in the redistricting process that intentionally disenfranchised Black voters, in particular in the South.”

“We are not at a place as a country where that type of systemic racism has been solved,” Ortiz said. “This decision set us back significantly.”

Ortiz said it is a “good thing” Arizona has an independent redistricting commission.

“Any attempts to get in the way of the normal cycle of the independent redistricting commission [are] just blatant cheating, and it’s not right,” she said.

Ortiz noted Petersen’s idea of taking legal action in an attempt to have Arizona’s congressional map redrawn “is absolutely ridiculous.”

“This is nefarious stuff, and we have to call it for what it is. We have to stay vigilant in the face of a force that is trying to drag us back to the Jim Crow days. We are not going to go back quietly,” she said.

Arizona needs to do everything it can to protect its "current independent redistricting process,” Ortiz noted.

She added that Arizona needs to ensure its minority communities can “continue to be able to have their voices heard and be able to pick their politicians” rather than “politicians picking their voters.”

The Center Square reached out to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office about Arizona potentially redrawing its congressional map, but did not receive a response before press time.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to add a comment from the city of Phoenix.

(The Center Square) - Important decisions at the local level in Arizona are being made in off-cycle elections with low voter turnout, according to a new report.

The Goldwater Institute released a report showing that off-cycle elections, which occur in odd-numbered years, have much lower voter turnout than on-cycle elections, which happen during even-numbered years.

The report showed recent off-cycle elections in Arizona’s 10 largest cities have had an average voter participation rate of 26.9%, compared to 71.5% in recent on-cycle elections. This represents a nearly 45% difference.

Henry Thomson, an Arizona State University associate professor, told The Center Square that Arizona has a major problem with low voter turnout in off-cycle elections.

Thomson, who authored the report, said a small number of voters are making “really big decisions” for local governments that “really matter to people’s lives.”

According to Thomson, Arizonans vote on city council, mayoral and school board races, as well as local policy measures, in odd-numbered years.

He cited the March voter-approved Pima County RTA Next transportation measure, which will cost $2.67 billion and fund public infrastructure projects in the area for the next 20 years. The measure had only a 32% voter turnout.

In addition, the report cited a Phoenix voter-approved special bond election in 2023 that authorized $500 million in spending but had only 22% voter turnout.

Some cities in the Southwest have their local elections in even-numbered years. They vary from Goleta, just north of Santa Barbara, Calif., to the Arizona capital of Phoenix. The Goleta City Council in a 2002 ordinance cited its reasons as higher voter participation and reduced costs through consolidation with the statewide general election.

Denise Archibald, Phoenix's city clerk, told The Center Square by email that the city’s “regular mayor and council elections are consolidated.”

“The City of Phoenix Council referred a charter amendment to Phoenix voters in August 2018, moving the city’s regular mayor and council election to November of even years, to coincide with the state general elections, in part to increase voter turnout,” Archibald said.

Not holding a citywide election in an odd-numbered year saves money, according to the city.

"For a citywide election, the savings is approximately $500,000," Matt Hamada, a spokesperson for the city clerk, told The Center Square Wednesday afternoon.

The Goldwater Institute report cited an example of low voter turnout in 2023 in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix. When school districts sought approval for more than $4 billion in school bonds, only 25% of county voters participated.

“Low turnout leads to a significantly different turnout from the broader electorate, which is a problem for democratic accountability and responsiveness,” the report said.

“If only a biased segment of the population participates in elections, and small minorities within that segment are very well-organized, we should expect that politicians’ policies will reflect the preferences and interests of this segment over those of the population at large,” the report added.

According to Thomson, voters should ask themselves why decisions in local government are made by a small percentage of voters.

Thomson told The Center Square that Arizona local governments are allowed to hold elections in odd-numbered years. In 2018, the state Legislature passed a law that attempted to require all local government elections, except recall and special elections, to occur during on-cycle or even-numbered election years.

However, two years later, the city of Tucson challenged the law, and the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in the city’s favor.

In 2021, the state Supreme Court’s ruling said, “Whether to align municipal elections with state and national elections or hold them in different years is purely a matter of municipal interest and not a statewide concern.”

Arizona law “cannot apply to require a city to consolidate local elections with state and national elections if its charter provides otherwise,” the ruling added.

Looking ahead, the Goldwater Institute report said, “Reforming election timing is essential to the future of Arizona democracy.”

“When elections that determine enormous fiscal commitments attract so little participation, democratic accountability is diminished in favor of special interests,” the report noted.

The Center Square reached out to Maricopa County and the city of Tucson, but did not receive responses before press time.

(The Center Square) - The Arizona Legislature is waiting to see whether Gov. Katie Hobbs will sign a $17.9 billion budget that gives Arizonans one of the biggest tax cuts in state history.

House Majority Leader John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said he thinks the Democratic governor will veto the Republican-passed budget. However, he said he thinks the budget that will be ultimately agreed upon will “be extremely close to this budget.”

“Our Republican members are locked into it. She pushed us to commit to a budget without her input. But we are open to some modifications to take care of her wants and needs,” Kavanagh told The Center Square.

The Center Square reached out to Hobbs’ office for comment, but did not receive a response before press time.

The Republican majority in the Legislature say that under their bill, Arizona taxpayers would save an estimated $1.45 billion over the next four years. The legislation was passed Monday along party lines and sent to Hobbs.

The budget proposal fully aligns with the tax cuts implemented in Congress' HR 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Besides tax cuts, items included in the Arizona budget are no state taxes on tips or overtime pay, a higher standard deduction and a dependent tax credit, as well as a $6,000 deduction for people over 60.

The budget also keeps current funding levels for K-12 education and public safety, maintains the state land trust funding for K-12 education and restricts the state’s spending growth to 1.9%.

To help eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, the budget includes what Republicans call stronger verifications for government assistance programs, repeals special interest tax credits and implements a 5% budget cut to most state agencies, except public safety and child welfare.

On top of this, the budget prevents Arizona taxpayers from having to refile their 2025 taxes.

Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, said the Republican majority's budget “puts Arizona families first.”

"We cut taxes, protect essential services, and base every decision on real April revenue projections — not wishful thinking,” he said. “In divided government, we faced the math, eliminated waste through targeted reforms, and delivered real results without raising taxes or growing government."

Kavanagh told The Center Square that the Arizona Legislature's passing of the new budget was a “great victory for everyday people who want to see a few extra dollars in their wallet.”

After Hobbs vetoed the two previous budgets the Legislature passed, Kavanagh said, a small group of Republican leaders from the House and Senate met to develop a budget. He added that both chambers received input from Republican members.

“We put together a budget that we felt we could pass with unanimous support in response to the governor’s challenge for us to come up with a balanced budget that gives people and businesses the tax cuts that conform with the federal tax code,” he said.

In reaction to the budget, Arizona Senate Democrats said on social media that Senate Republicans “once again defended a budget that raises costs to working families, cuts essential services, and risks Arizona’s fiscal stability all to protect tax breaks for billionaires, data centers, and special interests.”

“This budget takes from working families and gives to corporations,” the Arizona Senate Democrats noted on X.

Last year, during the legislative session, Hobbs and the Republican-controlled majority came down to the final days until a budget was signed into law. However, Kavanagh said budget negotiations will be quick in 2026.

Since April 13, Hobbs said she would not sign any new bills into law until Arizona Republicans engaged in serious negotiations.

Kavanagh said her moratorium on bills has not had any impact on the Legislature. He noted it had "plenty of bills” that needed work.

The Senate has an estimated 75 outstanding bills in its chamber, according to Kavanagh, adding that the senators could vote on them within a day.

“Public relations-wise, it made the governor look terrible, but it didn’t affect us,” he said.

(The Center Square) - An Arizona congressman is attempting to bring a state law that protects victims from their abusers to the federal level.

U.S. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Surprise, this week introduced Kayleigh’s Law, which would allow for victims of federal sex crimes and violent felonies to petition courts to issue lifetime no-contact injunctions against convicted offenders.

Hamadeh, who is a former prosecutor, said he knows “how vulnerable victims can be, how determined their predators often are and how judges can frequently fail victims of crime.”

“That is why we must require federal courts to impose these lifetime injunctions when requested by the government or the victim during sentencing,” Hamadeh said, answering The Center Square's questions by email.

“I have seen what victims go through as the predator’s adjudication process plays out and know how important it is for the victim’s healing process to begin,” the representative said. “That process cannot be interrupted by their predators simply because our courts fail to take crime seriously and fail to impose lifetime injunctions.”

Hamadeh said the legislation would “apply to already convicted offenders and any future cases.” Furthermore, he said convicted abusers who violate the lifetime injunction “would be punished” with a contempt-of-court charge.

“It is enforced under existing federal contempt powers, which give judges discretion,” the congressman said.

Besides Hamadeh, Kayleigh’s Law is being sponsored by 19 representatives, including Arizona's U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert; David Schweikert, R-Scottsdale; Juan Ciscomani, R-Sierra Vista; Eli Crane, R-Flagstaff; and Paul Gosar, R-Buckeye.

Kayleigh’s Law was originally an Arizona law that permits victims of dangerous crimes and sexual assault to seek a lifetime, no-contact injunction against their perpetrator. Victims of dangerous felony offenses, violent or aggravated felonies or dangerous crimes against children can seek these injunctions.

The law has been in effect since 2022. This year, Gov. Katie Hobbs signed Senate Bill 1211 into law, which allows victims of domestic violence to also seek lifetime protection against their abusers.

Kayleigh Kozak, the inspiration for Kayleigh's Law, told The Center Square that she and Hamaedeh have been working on the federal version for about a year.

What makes Kayleigh’s Law the “gold standard” is that the lifetime injunction can be served at the time of a convicted abuser’s sentencing, said Kozak, a survivor of abuse who became an advocate for victims.

“That is huge because then a victim doesn’t have to go back and ask for protection from the person who has harmed them. Additionally, the perpetrator is not allowed to appeal the order or have it removed,” she said.

“The trauma and impact for survivors is lifelong, and they are worthy of protection for their entire life,” Kozak added.

On Wednesday, Kozak testified in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, advocating for Congress to pass Kayleigh’s Law at the federal level.

In her testimony before the committee, Kozak, who was sexually abused as a 12-year-old, told committee members that “sexual predators don’t make mistakes. They make conscious choices. Victims —when brave enough to speak up against their abusers — are at the mercy of the decisions made by the criminal justice system.”

“I have zero sympathy for pedophiles and sex offenders," Kozak, who's now in her early 30s, told the committee. "The hardships they face as a result of the disgusting choices they made should never supersede a victim’s right to indefinite, lifelong protection from them."

“I could not protect myself then. But I can fight to protect myself, other innocent children, and every victim now. I ask that you fight to protect them too,” she added.

Kozak told The Center Square on Thursday that she thought the hearing went well.

She noted that politicians from both parties had “a lot of questions” and expressed interest in Kayleigh’s Law.

Since Kayleigh’s Law went into effect in Arizona, it has helped thousands of victims of abuse give their abuser a lifetime no-contact injunction, Kozak said. “Victims have come forward and said they feel so much better knowing that they have this permanent protection in place."

She said it's sad to think that so many Arizonans “were victims in crimes that made them eligible to be able to obtain a natural life injunction under Kayleigh’s Law.”

Kozak testified at the House hearing that she obtained a lifetime no-contact injunction against the man convicted of abusing her. That man is Josh Jacobson, a former Phoenix-area elementary school teacher and soccer coach who pleaded guilty to molestation almost two decades ago under a plea agreement for lifetime probation instead of a long prison sentence.

Besides Arizona, Wisconsin passed Kayleigh’s Law in 2023. Kozak said Missouri’s version of Kayleigh’s Law is waiting for a signature from Gov. Mike Kehoe.

Kozak noted she thinks if Kayleigh’s Law passes at the federal level, more states will pass their own versions of the law.

The federal version of Kayleigh’s Law is similar to Arizona’s, Kozak said.

She added that the federal version would cover crimes associated with sex trafficking and child pornography. She said victims would be eligible to petition for a lifetime injunction against their abusers.

(The Center Square) - California Thursday officially exceeded an average gas price of $6 a gallon for the first time since the start of the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran.

The new high came just one week after a short-lived drop in the cost of a gallon, according to AAA. Various gas stations in California have been near or at the $6 mark for several weeks, but AAA said the average price was hovering below $6 a gallon. That changed on Thursday when AAA reported an average of $6.01 in California, up 16 cents from one week ago, with Mono County along the Nevada border at $6.95.

At the same time, Nevada saw the average price hit $5.13, up 17 cents from one week ago.

Colorado rose to $4.25, up 29 cents in one week, and Arizona was at $4.67, up six cents from April 23.

Drivers throughout the Southwest are seeing some of the nation's highest prices amid the conflict in Iran, which began Feb. 28. The average U.S. gas price has gone up nearly $1.50 since the start of 2026.

California consistently has had the nation's highest gas average for several years, and that remained the case on Thursday as the entire country deals with spikes in prices during the Mideast conflict.

“It’s a really unpredictable situation the way that things are emerging,” said Patrick De Haan, Gas Buddy head of petroleum analysis

“A lot of the direction for gas prices is going to be very significantly impacted by the conditions moving forward – whether the Strait [of Hormuz] is closed or reopened," De Haan told The Center Square Thursday. "It’s very hard to predict.”

Despite what AAA called a “bit of relief at the pump” just last week as the average price per gallon neared $4, gas prices have surged once again across the U.S. The average gas price nationally was $4.30 a gallon Thursday, up 27 cents a gallon from one week ago, with WTI Crude oil prices having recently rushed past $100 once again. The result is more uncertainty over gas prices.

“There was an overnight shift of about 11 cents,” AAA Northern California spokesperson Doug Johnson told The Center Square of the first spike earlier this week. “And I think that's the market reacting to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday saying it would leave OPEC.”

The United Arab Emirates is one of 12 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the oil cartel that heavily influences the global price for oil. OPEC says it's one of the world’s largest oil producers.

The fluctuation of prices is "showing destabilization in the oil markets, and anytime there's any sort of destabilization, as we saw in the conflict in Iran, that can have an impact on prices at the pump locally," Johnson said.

There is still some distance to be covered before the national average reaches the all-time high of $5.02 per gallon, set in summer 2022. But four months ago, the average price was $2.82.

“Stable national average to start the year, lowest since 2021,” read the AAA headline at the time. Since then, the average price of a gallon of gas has increased by $1.49.

While less visible to consumers, the biggest impact of the sharp rise in gas prices this year could be felt from the near all-time high price of diesel.

The current average gallon is $5.50, which was $3.52 in January according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The all-time high of $5.82 was set in the summer of 2022.

Johnson said that two Bay Area California cities, San Francisco and San Rafael, broke an all-time national record earlier this month by breaking $8 for a gallon of diesel.

“The U.S. economy is powered by diesel from trains and trucks to tractors, so the elevated price of diesel is going to impact the economy in a pretty negative way here in the weeks ahead as prices remain just below their all-time record highs,” De Haan said. “This is likely to lead to a rise in inflation here in the months ahead.”

With summer nearly here and Memorial Day on May 25, many Americans are still expected to take road trips and flights despite the higher fuel prices, according to AAA. Along with checking that your car is fully serviced and running smoothly, Johnson said driving speed can have a major impact on fuel efficiency.

“Fuel economy peaks at around 50 miles per hour on most cars, and then as you start to drive faster, it decreases,” said Johnson. “So if you drive the recommended speed limit, you can actually increase your fuel economy between 7-14%.”

(The Center Square) - Arizona Republicans unveiled a new balanced budget proposal this week that includes one of the biggest tax relief packages in state history.

The proposed budget would give Arizonans a $1.45 billion tax break, aligning Arizona’s tax law with the federal tax law changes made in H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Arizona Republicans' budget includes no tax on tips or overtime.

Furthermore, the budget increases the dependent tax relief for parents, creates a new childcare expense deduction and enhances retirement tax relief for seniors.

Also, the budget would prevent Arizonans from having to refile their 2025 taxes again.

The Republicans’ budget proposal spends about $800 million less than Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ plan, according to an Arizona Senate GOP press release.

"For months, Gov. Hobbs told us full conformity to federal tax relief, including tax cuts for tipped workers, hourly employees, seniors, and small business owners, was impossible," Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, said in the release. "It's not."

“Under President Trump, Washington delivered relief for working Americans, and Arizona Republicans are making sure our taxpayers receive those same Trump tax cuts here at home,” he added.

The Center Square contacted Petersen for an interview, but he didn't call back to answer questions before press time.

House Speaker Steve Montenegro, R-Surprise, said the budget proposal “funds core state services.”

“It does not rely on gimmicks, inflated projections, or money that may never show up to balance the budget,” he said.

In reaction to the proposed budge, Hobbs said she was “thrilled” to see almost $800 million in middle-class tax cuts and continued funding for childcare.

However, Hobbs said the proposal fell “dramatically short of what the people of Arizona expect us to deliver.”

“Their budget proposal doubles down on reckless and dangerous policies being forced on us by Washington, D.C. politicians,” she said.

“Just like in Washington, they’re paying for tax breaks for billionaires, data centers and special interests by kicking Arizonans off their healthcare and taking food off their tables,” the governor added.

Hobbs said she would closely examine the budget proposal to see whether she would lift her bill moratorium, which has been in effect since April 13. She has said she would veto all bills until Republicans released their budget and participated in serious negotiations.

By email, the Arizona Senate Democrats told The Center Square on Wednesday that the caucus “strongly” opposed the GOP’s budget.

“This budget relies on gimmicks and unrealistic assumptions, threatens rural economies, and prioritizes out-of-state profits over Arizona communities,” the party said. “Arizonans deserve a responsible plan that lowers costs, protects essential services, and ensures every dollar works for families, not just those at the top."

Glenn Farley, policy and research director of Common Sense Institute of Arizona, told The Center Square that he expected the governor to veto the budget.

Farley said the veto would happen despite one of the budget's provisions: Arizona taxpayers would benefit from not having to file their 2025 taxes again.

It “minimizes disruption for state taxpayers that have already filed and makes it easier for taxpayers going forward to figure out how to file,” Farley said on Wednesday.

Chad Heinrich, Arizona state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, told The Center Square the Republicans’ tax conformity proposal protects small business owners from receiving a tax increase.

Aligning Arizona's tax policies with the federal government’s means small business owners won't have to file taxes twice and potentially pay more, according to Heinrich.

Without full tax conformity for the 2025 tax year and beyond, Heinrich said, Arizonans would “have to maintain two sets of books and guess what the state is going to do.”

A key item left out of the Republicans’ budget proposal was Proposition 123, which uses the Arizona State Land Trust Fund to help fund K-12 education in Arizona.

Farley said the state GOP and Hobbs are discussing how to use the state land trust fund “as new monies for K-12 education spending."

He noted the disagreement is “over how much new money to generate and where to spend that new money.”

Hobbs’ proposal for Prop. 123 would increase the annual distribution from the state land trust fund from 6.9% to 10.9% for 20 years. Petersen previously told The Center Square that the governor’s proposal would bankrupt the trust in two decades.

According to Farley, the Republicans’ budget also includes a reduction of around $100 million in funding for the state Department of Education due to “declining public school enrollments.”

Arizona public schools have experienced the largest decrease in public school enrollment since 2020, he said.

(The Center Square)- A legal nonprofit asked the board of Arizona’s largest school district to reverse a policy that restricts people’s free speech.

The Goldwater Institute sent a letter to the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board, requesting it change a policy that prevents people from making criticism during the public comment period at meetings.

In July 2024, the governing board passed a policy that banned “personal attacks on Board members, staff, students, or members of the public.”

In its letter, the Goldwater Institute said the policy “punishes a specific viewpoint.”

“It is not, then, the speaking about Board members, staff, students, or members of the public in general the Governing Board is preventing, but only speech about those groups from a certain viewpoint. That is unconstitutional,” the letter said.

According to the letter, the U.S. Constitution “protects public comment periods at school board meetings. Even if viewed as 'a limited public forum,’ a school board is only permitted to impose reasonable viewpoint-neutral restrictions on the time, place, and manner of speech.”

“It is a bedrock principle that the government cannot restrict speech just because the ideas may be 'offensive' or 'disagreeable,’” the letter said.

The Center Square reached out to Courtney Davis, the president of the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board, for comment, but she did not reply before press time.

Adam Shelton, an attorney for the Goldwater Institute and author of the letter, said the governing board’s policy is “textbook viewpoint discrimination.”

“The Supreme Court has consistently held that viewpoint discrimination is almost always unconstitutional,” Shelton told The Center Square Tuesday.

The Goldwater Institute got involved after Mesa parents reached out to the organization, asking the institute to look into the matter, the attorney said.

The Phoenix-based institute found out the governing board reads the policy “before every public comment period,” Shelton said.

Of the parents who contacted the Goldwater Institute, Shelton said, no one has seen retaliation from the district for their criticism.

However, he said the policy has “chilled the speech of some of the parents. They’re afraid to speak out and bring problems before the school board.”

These parents are concerned about being “banned or punished for making negative comments about school board officials,” he added.

The Goldwater Institute has not received a reply from the governing board to its letter, Shelton said.

He noted sending the letter to the board is the institute’s “first step in trying to ensure that parents have the right to speak freely at [the] public comment period.”

The Goldwater Institute did not give the governing board a specific deadline to respond to the letter, Shelton said, adding that it wants to work with the governing board to ensure its policies “are in line with the Constitution.”

“That’s our main goal,” he said.

However, Shelton noted “all options are currently on the table” for the Goldwater Institute, and it is “considering all potential avenues to ensure that parents and community members’ right to bring issues to the school board are protected.”

The letter noted potential litigation could be expensive, citing a federal court case in which Florida-based Brevard Public Schools had to pay the Moms for Liberty organization in Brevard County nearly $600,000 in a settlement over a similar policy the school district had in place that limited “abusive” comments.