The Think Tank welcomes the return of the Think Tank “A Team,”  Attorney Tom Ryan and political consultant Chuck Coughlin to discuss several of the most pressing Arizona issues.

Arizona is getting $12.2 billion of America Rescue Plan Act relief.  But there is a requirement that they money be used for the specified purposes, not to fund tax cuts.  AG Brnovich has indicted he will sue over this provision. Will his court challenge have a chance?

Proposition 208, passed by the voters last November provides additional education funding paid for by a tax on ultra-high income earners.  The Voter Protection initiative, also passed by the voters, prohibits the legislature from any action whose purpose is to undermine the will of the voters. The governor and Republicans in the legislature think they can evade this provision with artful legislation. Will this survive a court challenge?

The Arizona State Senate “won” the right to “audit” the Maricopa County election results. But they seem to have no idea of how to do this given that the County has already subjected the results to two independent audits.  President Fann does not appear to have a face-saving way to get out of this mess.  (Like the dog that finally catches that car: “What do I do NOW?)

With Governor Ducey’s support, Native American gaming legislation is in the works that will augment the tribes’ gaming footprint, but also pour a small fortune into the hands of the billionaire owners of the four major league sports franchises (who also all benefitted from publicly financed stadiums).

We conclude with a discussion of the demise of civility in our politics with a discussion of a couple of pertinent incidents this week in our own legislature.

The Think Tank airs from 6-7pm Saturdays and Sundays from 9-10pm on KTAR 92.3 FM. After broadcast, podcasts are available at ktar.com.   Older shows are archived at www.mikeoneil.org which can also be used to reach the host via Facebook, Twitter, or email.

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