Rep. Lupe Diaz speaking with the media outside the Arizona State Capitol building on the opening day of the 56th Legislature in Phoenix, Arizona. (Gage Skidmore / Flickr)
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
Key Points:
- GOP lawmakers are taking aim at the Arizona Attorney General over her public nuisance lawsuits
- Mayes has been using unprecedented public nuisance laws to curb the water use of large-scale agricultural businesses
- Mayes argues she is stepping up to defend rural Arizonans when legislators have failed to act
Republican lawmakers are moving to clip the legal wings of Attorney General Kris Mayes, with one legislator even calling her a “bully” for how she is pursuing companies over their groundwater pumping.
Legislation approved by both the House and Senate would allow those who believe they have been damaged by an improper “nuisance” or “consumer fraud” lawsuit to sue the attorney general for damages — everything from legal fees to lost profits and even a reduction in the value of the business.
It would not be absolute.
The action would have to have been dismissed or found to have no merit. And the person filing the suit would have to show that the attorney general knew the action lacked merit — or, at least, that she publicized the lawsuit. But Rep. Lupe Diaz, R-Benson, said it should be enough to restrain any overly anxious attorney general from going after businesses using that nuisance claim.
