Governor Brewer vetoes ‘States’ Rights’ Tea-Publican bill

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I posted about this previously, 'States' Rights' Tea-Publicans run amok:

Oh geezus, here we go again. The Birthers-Birchers-Secessionists of our Tea-Publican legislature are spouting Neoconfederate nullification and secession theories again, in a reprisal from last year.

It sounds an awful lot like the nonsense spewed by the sovereign citizen movement and Oath Keepers movement that have been labeled hate groups by organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, among others.

The Arizona Daily Star reports State bill puts feds second to sheriffs:

A state Senate panel has fired a warning shot of sorts over the heads of federal law enforcement agencies: Don't come nosing around these parts unless you get the local OK. Legislation offered by Rep. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, would require employees of those agencies to first notify the sheriff of the county "before taking any official law enforcement action in a county in this state."

The only exception would be if notification would impede the federal officer's duties. But even then, HB 2434 requires notifying the sheriff "as soon as practicable after taking the action."

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From a practical standpoint, Gowan said the highest elected law enforcement officers in the state are the sheriffs of the 15 counties.

"They have a mandate from the people over bureaucracies," he said, which includes federal agencies. "Without this, we allow the bureaucrats to dictate and bring their vision of law enforcement down upon the people who are duly elected."

It turns out that Governor Jan Brewer is not quite as insane as our Neoconfederate Tea-Publican legislators. Who knew? Brewer rejects bill requiring notice by federal law officers:

Saying the proposal made no sense, Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed legislation Wednesday designed to let local law enforcement keep tabs on their federal counterparts.

The legislation by Rep. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, would have required employees of federal law enforcement agencies to tell the elected county sheriff "before taking any official law enforcement action in a county in this state."

It included an exception if notification would impede the federal officer's duties, though the federal agents would still have had to notify the sheriff "as soon as practicable after taking the action."

Gowan said the issue is simply a matter of state sovereignty, saying elected state law enforcement officers should be superior to "bureaucrats."

Brewer, however, said the measure could interfere with legitimate investigations and create unneeded reporting requirements.

"Rather than hinder the efforts of our federal law enforcement colleagues, we need to focus on collaboration," she wrote. "Establishing arbitrary reporting requirements for our federal partners takes us in the wrong direction."

A rare  thank you to Governor Jan Brewer.