The Arizona House has approved a bill that would give the state's top law enforcement agency more independence from Attorney General Kris Mayes (D-AZ), following comments she made that sparked widespread backlash from Arizona police and elected officials.
House Bill 2993, introduced by House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-AZ), passed along party lines on Monday, with every Republican voting for it and every Democrat voting against it.
The bill makes two significant changes. It allows the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to hire its own outside lawyers rather than being required to use the Attorney General's office for legal guidance.
It also redirects roughly $6.4 million, including $5 million pulled from a consumer fraud fund the AG controls, toward DPS operations and its Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission.
Cactus Politics reported the legislation came after Mayes publicly discussed situations in which civilians could use deadly force against police officers. Law enforcement leaders and officials condemned the remarks, and the Arizona House formally censured Mayes for them.
Montenegro characterized the bill as a necessary step between law enforcement and what he called politically motivated leadership at the AG's office.
"Attorney General Mayes chose to inject politics into life-and-death issues involving law enforcement," Montenegro said. "DPS should not be required to take legal direction from an office that has shown it will blur the law and gamble with officer safety."
Montenegro added that the funding shift moves resources away from politics and toward actual on-the-ground operations, saying that "Arizona's troopers deserve clear legal guidance and a team that has their back, not an Attorney General chasing the next headline."
Mayes' office raised procedural objections during committee hearings but has not publicly commented on the bill's passage.
With the Senate yet to weigh in, the battle over who controls Arizona's legal strategy for law enforcement is far from over.
