Accountability in law enforcement is one of the things that separates a free society from a police state in which the citizens live at the mercy of their government. Police are given unique powers unavailable to the rest of society, including the ability to wield deadly force. Anyone at all concerned about liberty should at least be able to agree that such authority bears watching.

On Monday, Gov. Doug Ducey (R-Ariz.) delivered his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the Arizona Legislature. Coming on the heels of a phenomenal pick for the Arizona Supreme Court, Ducey's address was filled with red meat for fiscal conservatives, including promises of lower taxes and slashing unnecessary red tape, which our friends at Americans for Tax Reform have described in some detail.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich believes the state legislature should consider civil asset forfeiture reform in the 2016 session, which begins in January. He did not offer specific ideas for reform, but he acknowledged that the state's current forfeiture laws can be abused and wants to bring interested parties, including reformers and law enforcement, together to discuss what can be done.

Arizona's civil asset forfeiture laws lack any real protections for law-abiding citizens and their property. In direct contradiction with the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, which guarantee the right of due process, the property owner, who may never be charged with a crime, bears the burden to prove that his property is innocent before he can get it back. That is why the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of Arizona's forfeiture laws.

Yesterday, after months of slowly moving through the legislature, a bill to repeal Common Core education standards came to the floor of the Arizona state Senate. It wasn’t a perfect bill, but it went a long way towards removing the damaging standards and restoring state control over education from an intrusive federal government.

Arizona Republicans voted to censure Senator John McCain, refusing for now to endorse his reelection in 2016. The group cited his voting record, flip-flop on border security, and public attacks on conservatives. 

The coalition of hospital lobbyists, insurance companies, and political operatives who pushed through Medicaid expansion under Obamacare in Arizona have a repeal fight on their hands.Over 300 grassroots activists came together on Saturday in Phoenix to kick off a petition drive to put repeal of Governor Brewer's Medicaid expansion plan on the ballot. If successful, the drive will showcase the power that comes when principled conservatives organize inside a political party.

Updated 6/14/2013Arizona Governor Janice Brewer, after publicly opposing Obamacare before the 2012 elections, has been trying ever since to implement the deeply unpopular law with the expansion of Medicaid in her state.  Her push to implement this expansion of the already failing Obamacare is a tale of cronyism and backroom deals. In the end if she is successful it will only benefit the dealmakers, not the people of Arizona.