Arizona: Ken Bennett

 The state-budget impasse continues, but Secretary of State Ken Bennett says fear not. Even if legislators and Gov. Jan Brewer haven't reached a deal by June 30, the end of the fiscal year, Bennett said Arizonans probably aren't looking at a total state shutdown."It's just unnecessary," Bennett said. "There's no need to shut down government."Some of my colleagues at The Republic wrote astutely Wednesday about the implications of a state shutdown.In the event that no deal is reached by the end of the month, he said, legislators could pass a series of continuing resolutions to maintain government on a month-by-month basis. ...

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Arizona has to allow residents of other states to circulate petitions to put independent presidential contenders on the ballot, the U.S. Supreme Court has concluded.

Without comment, the justices on Monday upheld a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which concluded the restriction places a “severe burden” on presidential contenders who are not Arizona residents and do not have the benefit of being nominated by one of the major political parties. The appellate judges said Arizona’s law placed an undue burden on the rights of presidential candidates who do not live in Arizona as well as their out-of-state supporters.

Monday’s decision actually is a double defeat for Arizona.

Candidates in the 2009-10 election cycle will benefit from a 4.2 increase in the campaign contribution limits, Secretary of State Ken Bennett said Tuesday in a release. State law allows the limits to be adjusted for inflation every two years.
You may now give $410 to a local or legislative candidate, up from $390 in 2008. The total amount an individual may give to candidates and committees is $5,850, up from $5,610.
Meanwhile, candidates who run with public financing will benefit from substantially increased funding over the 2006 cycle, thanks to 2007 legislation that changed the funding formulas.
Gubernatorial candidates will get $707,447 ...

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Another week, another inauguration. Really, it's all getting to be too much.
Ken Bennett was sworn in Monday as Secretary of State in a half-hour ceremony in the old Capitol. Chief Justice Ruth McGregor did the honors, making her third trip in as many weeks to the Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony. 
(Week One: Swear in new lawmakers. Week Two: Swear in Jan Brewer as governor. Week Three: Bennett. What's up for next week? Oh yeah, there's going to be a new lawmaker from District 13. See item below.)
 After the ceremony, there was the reception, a nice little cookies-punch-and -ice-cream affair in ...

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