I was going to title this one "Republicans in the AZ legislature to the people of AZ: do as we say, not as we do" but one thing in the following story caught my attention.
From the AZ Capitol Times, written by Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services -
State Republicans push measure to punish false testimony
in the Legislature
Key Points:
HB2824 allows committee chairs to compel testimony without majority approval
False testimony could result in perjury charges
Democrats want a provision to hold legislators to the same standard
State lawmakers have approved a measure to allow any lawmaker who chairs a legislative committee to issue a subpoena and send out a sheriff’s deputy to arrest anyone who refuses to submit to questioning or produce documents.
The part/quote that got my attention (emphasis added by me)?
But Rivero told Capitol Media Services that the Legislature, as “the supreme lawmaking body” in the state, has a special role.
"Supreme lawmaking body"? Really?
To attribute a quote to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (attribute = I don't know that she ever actually said this):
"Hold my beer."
Justice Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion in the USSC's 2015 ruling in the case of Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.
That ruling upheld the right of the people approve laws, even those that override the interests of members of the legislature.
The case really should have been named "Arizona's Legislative Republicans v. The People Of Arizona."
This bill proves that while the case is in the past, the hatred that Arizona's Legislative Republicans have for the People Of Arizona still festers.
SCOTUSblog has complete coverage of the case here.
HB2824, the bill in question, was amended in the Senate (to make a bad bill worse) so it heads back to the House, where the majority caucus has already recommended concurrence.
