/ Modified dec 28, 2016 3 p.m.

Flags, Public Records and Marijuana Top List of New Bills

State lawmakers are getting ready for the 2017 legislative session.

Ducey state of state back view spotlight Gov. Doug Ducey addresses a joint session of the Arizona Legislature, Jan. 12, 2015.

Nearly two dozen bills have been filed in advance of the Jan. 9 opening of the legislative session.

Many bills fix minor or technical problems with laws already on the books, but some of the proposals are of note.

State Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, sponsored a bill to make it a felony to steal an American flag.

Kavanagh is also the prime sponsor of a bill to make it easier to deny public records requests the government finds “unduly burdensome.”

State Rep. Mark Cardenas, D-Phoenix, sponsored a bill legalizing small amounts of marijuana.

Cardenas also put in another marijuana-related bill. It would make the possession of an ounce or less of pot a civil penalty subject to a $100 fine.

“Arizona is the only state left that has a felony for the lowest possession of marijuana. It is time for us to join 49 other states and see it as a petty crime,” said Cardenas.

The bills sponsored by Cardenas and Kavanagh are not new to the Legislature. Both have been proposed before and failed.

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