Restoring hospice care to Medicaid-covered services in Arizona would provide better and more cost-effective care for dying patients, a lawmaker said.

Rep. Matt Heinz, D-Tucson, authored a bill that would allow for individuals covered by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System to receive end-of-life services at in-patient hospice facilities.

“It is a lot more cost effective as compared to an acute-care facility, a hospital or a hospital’s ICU,” he said.

Heinz said he came across the issue through his experience as an in-patient hospital physician.

“I’ve had multiple hospital physicians and other physicians in the community contact me asking why this service, which is a much more cost-effective service for the patients and better for family, was removed,” he said.

Hello all! The Legislature continues to move along with passing unnecessary and ridiculous bills and has not focused on the one thing they absolutely must do — pass a budget. Thank you to everyone who came out to participate in Environmental Day at the Capitol. We appreciate your support during a really tough time. It is important that we continue to remind them that a lot of people in Arizona care about clean air and water and protecting our wildlands and wildlife

Even though you may have missed the public meetings, you can still comment in support of protecting more than one million acres of public lands around Grand Canyon from mining. Click on Protect Grand Canyon from Mining for details and to comment on the draft environmental impact statement. You can send an email to [email protected]. For those of you who would like to send in written comments, please send them to:

- Senate President Russell Pearce announced that his "hold" on his anti-immigrant legislation was off. Last week, he had announced that those bills would be "held" until the state's budget was completed. I could speculate on his reasons for rescinding the hold (nativist orthodoxy is more important to him than fiscal responsibility? ...the budget negotiations between Pearce, House Speaker Kirk Adams, and Governor Jan Brewer aren't going as smoothly as some thought?), but the end result is the same - the nasty stuff is moving again.

- State Sen. Scott Bundgaard (R-Domestic Violence Incident) is spinning as fast as he can. He's gone from sending out press releases proclaiming his "good guy" status, to tearing up on the Senate floor, to staving off removal as the leader of the Republican caucus in the Senate by claiming that his now ex-girlfriend, Aubry Ballard, pulled a gun on him during the incident that has precipitated the furor that currently surrounds him.

Now, he is giving interviews where he displays a pistol that he claims is the gun in question, and is promising "more" details to come.

If there are many more "details" like those that Bundgaard has spouted so far, next year, Jason Rose is going to be eligible for an Oscar for his writing.

Find more details—including action on a whole bunch of bills—here.

A key point:

Colleen McKaughan, associate director of EPA’s San Francisco-based regional air division, said a law attempting to remove her agency’s oversight of air pollution would cost Arizona millions of dollars in federal highway funding.

“It tries to prohibit us from doing our required duties, and it’s problematic,” she said in a phone interview.

Henry Darwin, director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, said SB 1393 is worrisome because it could cause the EPA to throw out Arizona’s implementation plan for reducing particulate pollution and impose its own plan.

“Our biggest fear is this legislation will have the exact opposite of what it is trying to accomplish,” he said.

The whole story after the jump:

Scott Bundgaard remains majority leader of the Arizona Senate after a closed caucus of Republicans met amid controversy over his involvement in an alleged domestic violence incident.

Bundgaard and most other senators leaving the room after 90 minutes would say little other than to confirm that he remains majority leader.

However, Senate Ethics Committee Chairman Ron Gould expressed disappointment that Bundgaard remains in his position. Gould on Monday had said Bundgaard should step down from his leadership post at least temporarily.

Bundgaard still faces a Senate ethics probe.

Hank Stephenson of the Nogales International notes that Santa Cruz County officials like the idea of seceding from the rest of the state:

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said he is ready to join the movement, called “Start our State.”

Estrada said his support is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, noting that the best way to express displeasure with the leadership coming out of what he calls “the Great State of Maricopa” is to replace the elected officials who support their right-wing ideals. But failing that, he is pledging his support to the movement.

“It’s like a relationship,” Estrada said. “If people can’t get along, they gotta have a separation. The honeymoon is over.”

He derided the Maricopa-led Republican leadership in the Legislature, saying it would be great if they ran the state with at least some thought for the southern and rural constituency.

“They’re completely out of touch,” Estrada said. “They care about nobody but themselves up there. They’re sweeping funds, they’re letting people die, they’re letting people take guns wherever… It’s like two worlds, they’re in one, we’re in another, and they really don’t care about the rest of the state.”

Embattled Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard, who faces calls to step down because of an altercation with his ex-girlfriend, had a brief and tumultuous marriage five years ago to a woman who left him during their honeymoon after seeking police assistance.

Bundgaard and Anne Harwell, an artist and granddaughter of late Detroit Tigers Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, were honeymooning in Kona, Hawaii, when she called police on April 8, 2006, saying she needed help.

Harwell, in a police report, told a dispatcher that she was afraid of her male companion and that she wanted police to escort her to the couple's vacation rental so she could retrieve her personal items, Hawaii police Lt. Randy Ishii told The Arizona Republic.

After retrieving her belongings, Harwell left Bundgaard and returned to Georgia, where she lived at the time. Five days later, she filed to have the marriage annulled in Maricopa County Superior Court, records show.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are calling on Bundgaard to resign his seat in the wake of a fight with his now-ex-girlfriend on the side of a Phoenix freeway last month.

“Sen. Bundgaard is still in denial that he did anything wrong, even though we have police reports,” Sen. Paula Aboud of Tucson tells The Range. “At the very minimum, he needs to step down from leadership.”

Aboud points out that former state Rep. Mark DeSimone stepped down from his legislative seat after he was arrested by police who responded to a domestic-violence call to his home, even though DeSimone denied the charges.

Bundgaard issued a statement saying he'd "clear my name as this issue works through the process, and as more information comes out."

But it's not just Democrats coming after Bundgaard. Republican Sen. Ron Gould told the Arizona Guardian that if his daughter had been with Bundgaard that night, he would have dealt with him in an “old-school” fashion.

Espresso Pundit declares that Bundgaard's political career is over:

Senators Gould and Crandall have called for Bundgaard to step down as Majority Leader. That means it's over. Scott can try to hang on, but a Majority Leader has no institutional power. He serves at the pleasure of the caucus and if they no longer have confidence in him then he has to step down. Scott will figure that out later this week. He would be smart to exit with some grace and not force the caucus to vote him out.

Bundgaard supporters are claiming that Gould sees Bundgaard as a political competitor for a possible run at Trent Franks' seat. That's ridiculous. While Bundgaard my be able to complete his term and it's possible—but unlikely—that he could get re-elected*, there's not a snowball's chance that he's a viable Congressional candidate.

Footnote: If Bundgaard runs for re-election, Harper will take him out. They despise each other and the only reason Harper left the Senate was that he was term limited. Absent the term limit issue, Harper probably would have defeated Bundgaard in a head-to-head match up in 2010. But I can't imagine Bundgaard beating Harper now.

Two Republican senators say Peoria Republican Scott Bundgaard should step down as majority leader of the Arizona Senate because of an alleged domestic violence incident.

Sen. Ron Gould of Lake Havasu City says Bundgaard's behavior was unbecoming as a senator and Sen. Rich Crandall of Mesa says Bundgaard should step down as majority leader so he isn't distracted by his personal situation.

The two Republican senators commented Monday after several Democratic senators called on Bundgaard to resign from the Legislature and said they want an ethics investigation if he doesn't.

Still, Bungaard remains one of Senate President Russell Pearce's favorites. Remember, Russell still believes Bungaard—the cad who invoked legislative immunity and went home to work on his statement to the media while his date was hauled off to cool her heels in jail—is the victim in this tawdry tale.

The Arizona GOP is coming to Bundgaard's defense by dragging Tucson Rep. Daniel Patterson into the story, citing Hank Stephenson's work in Tucson Weekly:

Hello all! There are three important events to attend early next week. I hope you can join us for all three.

First of all, please attend a public meeting on protecting about one million acres of public lands around Grand Canyon from mining. Click on Protect Grand Canyon from Mining for details and to comment on the draft environmental impact statement. Information on the upcoming meetings is listed below.

Monday, March 7, 2011, 6-8:30pm at the National Training Center, 9828 North 31st Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85051 (Visitors enter and exit the NTC through the main entrance on the north side of the building.)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011, 6-8:30pm at the High Country Conference Center, Agassiz & Fremont Rooms, 201 West Butler Avenue, Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Next, please attend Environmental Day at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 8th from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Meet legislators and advocates and hear more about what is happening at the legislature and beyond. We are focusing on Protecting Arizona’s Environment — the next 100 years, as a lead-up to Arizona’s centennial next year. We will be gathering on the Senate lawn at the State Capitol. Let us know if you are coming and plan to meet with your legislators that day. We will have a brief program, displays, and cookies and lemonade.

This week, ask your senator to vote no on SB1395. It will likely come to the floor on Monday. Click on Protect Endangered Species to send an email, or call the Capitol and ask to be connected to your senator’s office. If you're outside the Phoenix area, you can call your legislators’ offices toll free at 1-800-352-8404. In the Phoenix area call (602) 926-3559.

Ask your House Members to vote no HCM2002 and please thank Representatives Patterson [email protected], Campbell [email protected], and Meyer [email protected], for speaking up for wolves on the floor. Just click on Save Mexican gray wolves or call the Arizona House and ask to be connected to your two representatives’ offices. If you're outside the Phoenix area, you can call your legislators’ offices toll free at 1-800-352-8404. In the Phoenix area call (602) 926-4221.

The silly (perhaps ridiculous is a better word) season is upon as at the Arizona Legislature as leadership in the Arizona Senate seeks to ban those who disagree with them from the halls of the Senate and they continue to smack the federal government with one hand while reaching out for the cash with the other. This week, the Senate passed the following bills:

David Safier at Blog for Arizona flags an interesting amendment to a bill designed to hamstring unions in Arizona by preventing automatic deductions from paychecks for dues:

In the original version, all unions were created equal — equally unable to make the deductions — that is, until a little noticed change was slipped into the revised, Senate Engrossed Version.

"Public safety employees" are exempted from the law in its latest incarnation. That means unions representing police, fire fighters, prison employees and probation officers will still be able to deduct funds for political purposes without written consent from their members...

There is absolutely no non-political reason why this one category of union employees should be exempted. None. The only four possible reasons are: (1) Republicans don't want to tangle with these unions; (2) Republican voter/supporters don't hate/demonize "public safety employees" like they do other public employees; (3) "Public safety employees" unions contribute to conservative causes; (4) All of the above.

Republicans aren't even trying to hide this blatant grab for political power, unless sneaking the provision in after the original bill was written can be construed as trying to hide it.