By Jeremy Duda | Arizona Mirror
The legislature is weighing in on the ongoing feud that led Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to file a Bar complaint against Attorney General Mark Brnovich, using the proposed state budget plan to ensure that Brnovich’s office has sole authority to make decisions about the legal defense of Arizona election laws.
A budget reconciliation bill approved by the House and Senate appropriations committees on Tuesday states that the attorney general has “sole authority” to defend state election laws, and that his authority should not be delegated to the secretary of state — a constitutional officer — or any other state officials. As such, the attorney general would have exclusive authority to direct legal defenses, appeal rulings, intervene on the state’s behalf and “make all strategic decisions regarding election litigation.”
The Attorney General’s Office is also barred from representing or providing legal advice to the secretary of state, and the secretary of state would be prohibited from hiring an outside attorney. Instead, Hobbs could hire one full-time position to serve as a legal advisor for her office.
Both provisions are only temporary.
