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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session
VETOED
ombudsman-citizens aide; executive session; access
Purpose
Authorizes the Ombudsman-Citizens Aide to access records and information relating to executive sessions.
Background
Statute requires meetings of public bodies and political subdivisions of the state to be open to the public. Public bodies are required to provide written minutes or a recording for any hearing, which must include certain information regarding attendance, location and description of all legal actions occurring at the hearing (A.R.S. § 38-431.01). Executive sessions may be held for certain statutorily-outlined purposes, including the consideration of confidential employment and legal information. Written minutes must be taken for executive sessions and kept confidential, with certain exceptions. These minutes may be provided to the Attorney General or a county attorney for investigations regarding alleged open meeting violations (A.R.S. § 38-431.03).
The Ombudsman-Citizens Aide is a public office charged with investigating alleged unlawful actions, misconduct or unfair practices by public bodies (A.R.S. § 41-1377). Within 30 days of receiving a complaint, the Ombudsman-Citizens Aide must notify the complainant of the decision to investigate or not to investigate and must provide written reasoning for the decision upon request (A.R.S. § 41-1378). The Ombudsman-Citizens Aide must report the final opinion or recommendation to the public body. If the Ombudsman-Citizens Aide finds that the complaint is a matter necessitating further consideration, that action must be taken by the agency, or that the action constituted an abuse of discretion or was unlawful (A.R.S. § 41-1379). Upon completing an investigation, the Ombudsman-Citizens Aide shall present relevant findings and recommendations to the Governor, Legislature, appropriate prosecutor and the public (A.R.S. § 41-1376).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Permits the Ombudsman-Citizens Aide to access minutes of and discussions made at executive sessions of public bodies when investigating an alleged open meeting violation.
2. Permits the disclosure of information regarding an executive session to the Ombudsman-Citizens Aide.
3. Makes technical changes.
4. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Governor's Veto Message
The Governor indicates in his veto message that the power to investigate and enforce open meeting law violations is vested with the Attorney General and county attorneys and that there is no evidence suggesting that the Attorney General or county attorneys are not faithfully executing the duties of their offices as mandated by statute, rendering S.B. 1164 unnecessary.
Senate Action House Action
GOV 2/4/19 DP 7-0-0 GOV 3/14/19 DP 11-0-0-0
3rd Read 2/14/19 29-0-1 3rd Read 4/23/19 57-2-1
Vetoed by the Governor 4/30/19
Prepared by Senate Research
May 8, 2019
MH/FLF/kja