By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services/East Valley Tribune
Legislators did nothing wrong in taking $50 million from the state’s share of a nationwide mortgage fraud settlement to instead balance the budget, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
Without comment, the justices refused to disturb lower court rulings that nothing in the agreement signed by Attorney General Tom Horne required him to spend the money only on services that benefit homeowners, including those in danger of foreclosure. The justices also formally gave the go-ahead for the transfer of the cash which had been on hold while the case made its way through the legal system.
Attorney Tim Hogan of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, who had sued to block the move, called Tuesday’s ruling “unfortunate.”
