Andy Biggs Gains Police Support for Monitor Accountability Act

Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) is touting growing support from law enforcement agencies and organizations for his Monitor Accountability Act.

Navajo County Sheriff and President of the Arizona Sheriffs' Association David Clouse said, "Court-appointed monitors play an important role in ensuring compliance with federal court orders, and we support efforts to ensure that these monitorships are structured, transparent, and focused on measurable progress. We are encouraged by provisions that increase public accountability, including transparency in monitor activities and costs, public input, and clearer expectations around structure and duration."

Other organizations supporting the bill include the Peace Officers Research Association of California, the Major County Sheriffs of America, the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, and the Arizona Police Association.

As Cactus Politics has previously reported, Rep. Biggs' bill is designed to limit federal monitors of law enforcement agencies by implementing term limits, publicly announced new monitors, compensation caps, and other measures.

The Monitor Accountability Act was drafted in response to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) being subject to the same monitor for over a decade, even as the MCSO had fulfilled the changes demanded by the 2013 court ruling.

"The federal monitor's continued existence in our county and propensity for moving the goalposts from his original charge only serves to exploit taxpayers and undermine the brave work of the men and women who serve our communities – and this is only one of dozens of similar arrangements across the country," the Arizona congressman previously commented.

Earlier this week, Biggs detailed the bureaucratic toll the monitor has taken on Maricopa County taxpayers, totaling $350 million over the decade, including the egregious instance of funding a 32,000-square-foot office building for the monitor, even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This persistent federal judicial intervention has created operational challenges for MCSO," Biggs concluded, pointing out how the MCSO's recruitment and retention have suffered.