HB2309

THE CONTEXT: The Arizona Constitution stipulates that the United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land to which all government, state and federal, is subject. Additionally, the Arizona Constitution asserts that Arizona may exercise its sovereign authority to restrict the actions of its personnel and the use of its financial resources to purposes that are consistent with the Arizona Constitution.

WHAT THE BILL DID: The final vetoed version would declares that it is the public policy of Arizona to protect Arizona's sovereign authority against federal Acts that are inconsistent with the authority of state and local law enforcement agencies, permits either house of the Legislature, or any one of its members, to demand that the Attorney General render an opinion on the constitutionality of a federal Act alleged to be inconsistent with the authority of state or local law enforcement agencies, and asserts that the laws of Arizona are to be interpreted to protect Arizona's sovereign authority against federal actions.

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to make the public-safety rule for law enforcement clearer and more usable. It would declares that it is the public policy of Arizona to protect Arizona's sovereign authority against federal Acts that are inconsistent with the authority of state and local law enforcement agencies, and would also permits either house of the Legislature, or any one of its members, to demand that the Attorney General render an opinion on the constitutionality of a federal Act alleged to be inconsistent with the authority of state or local law enforcement agencies, rather than leave the current rule unchanged.