City of Tucson to join lawsuits against Arizona Legislature

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TUCSON, Arizona (KOLD News 13) – The city of Tucson took a giant step against the state of Arizona on Wednesday night.

Tucson City Council unanimously voted to join two separate lawsuits challenging the Arizona Legislature.

In a special session, Tucson City Prosecutor Mike Rankin moved to be a “friend of the court” (Amicus Curiae) in a pending litigation against the unconstitutional adoption of budget reconciliation laws.

The lawsuits allege that lawmakers contain provisions that violate Arizona’s “single discipline” and budgetary requirements.

In a statement from the city attorney to the Mayor and the Council, Rankin said that the Arizona Legislature had passed various budgetary vote bills during the last term, including, but not limited to, SB 1824 and HB 2893. The memo states: ” The bills in question contain amendments to the law that have absolutely no relation to government budgets and address many different and diverse (and unrelated) subjects.

The Arizona School Boards Association has filed a lawsuit against SB 1824 and other budget voting laws, including SB 1819 and HB 2898. The City of Tucson will now join that lawsuit.

The city council specifically addressed an amendment to Senate Act 1824 that prohibits a city from issuing a “vaccine passport” or requiring an individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This should come into effect on September 29th.

“This law is in direct conflict with the guidelines of both the Centers for Disease Control and the Arizona Department of Health Services. Our school districts shouldn’t be penalized for simply following the advice of our health professionals, ”said Romero.

The Mayor and Council of Tucson also voted to join a lawsuit by the City of Phoenix challenging House Bill 2893.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said the amendment to House Bill 2893 changes qualifications for members of civil review boards, which consist of civilian officers who monitor allegations of law enforcement misconduct.

The law is designed to prescribe and fundamentally change who can be a member of such bodies and requires training that only certified peace officers normally receive.

“The Tucson Police Department is already providing training and technical assistance to civilians on the Citizen Police Advisory Review Board and other review boards,” said Romero.

The new law requires civilians to undergo 80 hours of police training in areas such as the use of force, de-escalation, body-worn cameras, deaths in custody, criminal and administrative investigations and representative proceedings, and simulated law enforcement training.

“The state law is completely unnecessary and deliberately burdensome. It creates a false sense of division between our officials and the public. In reality, we at the Tucson Police Department are actively seeking community input to improve outcomes for law enforcement and the public alike, ”said Romero.

Another amendment to House Bill 2893 extends the scope of SB 1487 to allow a single Arizona legislature to require the attorney general to investigate not only the actions of a local administrative agency, but also “any written policy, regulation, or ordinance that has been accepted by someone ”. Authority, department or other institution of the district, city or municipality. “

Tucson city leaders believe this law extends state law to other non-legislative areas of the city and threatens the city’s right to joint state revenues.

“State lawmakers must abandon their obsession with micromanaging cities like the city of Tucson and instead focus on the many pressing issues facing our state,” said Romero.

The unanimous vote of the mayor and council will now allow the city of Tucson to participate as an amicus in the cases.

Copyright 2021 KOLD News 13. All rights reserved.

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