By Alia Beard Rau | The Arizona Republic
Former Tempe lawmaker Laura Knaperek died Thursday morning following a battle with ovarian cancer. She was 60.
Knaperek, a Republican, served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 1995 to 2006 and was chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee. She is also a former Kyrene School District Governing Board member.
In 2014, in the midst of her own battle, she successfully helped lead the effort to pass Proposition 303, known as the Right to Try ballot measure, which makes it easier for people who are terminally ill to access experimental treatments.