Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced on Thursday that his office determined that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS) violated state law for failing to comply with the Arizona Senate’s legislative subpoena related to the 2020 election audit.
Because of the findings, MCBOS must comply or Brnovich will notify the Arizona treasurer to withhold Maricopa County’s state-shared funds as required under the law.
“We are notifying the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors that it must fully comply with the Senate’s subpoena as required by the law,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “Our courts have spoken. The rule of law must be followed.”
The decision allows the supervisors until September 27 to comply or potentially lose hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue
Brnovich’s investigation was spurred by Arizona State Senator Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu City), who filed a complaint with the attorney general’s office, triggering a process outlined in SB 1487. The law allows any legislator to request the Attorney General investigate a county or city alleged to be in violation of state law.
Members of the state legislature celebrated the findings from the attorney general’s office.
“The Senate is pleased to see the attorney general stand strong enforcing the laws of our state, regardless of who is breaking those laws,” said Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott).
Until this point, it has proven difficult for members of the Arizona State Senate to enforce the issued subpoenas.
“Specifically, providing these routers puts sensitive, confidential data belonging to Maricopa County citizens — including Social Security numbers and protected health information — at risk,” claimed Thomas Liddy when announcing the group’s original refusal of the requested actions.
The MCBOS has yet to take action in order to comply with the subpoenas.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
