Our Tea-Publican lawless legislature spanked by the courts, again

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Our Tea-Publican lawless legislature suffers from authoritarianism. They do not view themselves bound by the Constitution or by the rule of law.

Just last week, Senate Majority Leader Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, said what a judge considers "gross misconduct" is irrelevant to whether they can remove a commissioner. "Gross misconduct is essentially what the Legislature says gross misconduct is."

And our recently deposed "King" Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, echoing the Sun King, Louis XIV, has frequently said “La Loi, c'est moi" – I am the Law.

This authoritariansm leads our Tea-Publican legislature into passing laws that the Arizona Courts with regularity strike down as illegal and/or unconstitutional. The Courts have to constantly remind these authoritarians that we are still a nation of laws, placing a check on Tea-Publican tyranny.

The most recent decision in a series of decisions this year was decided on Thursday. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Court: Land Dept. funding illegal:

The Arizona Court of Appeals struck another blow Thursday to the Land Department’s effort to fund its budget by using proceeds from the sale of state trust land.

The court unanimously upheld a lower-court ruling that found the Trust Land Management Fund, established in 2009, to be unconstitutional.

“If the Legislature desires to use the proceeds from trust lands to pay for managing trust lands, it must obtain permission from the people of Arizona in the form of a constitutional amendment,” Judge Donn Kessler wrote on behalf of the 3-judge panel.

Vanessa Hickman, a lobbyist for the department, said money from the risk management revolving fund managed by the Arizona Department of Administration will keep the department afloat until June 30.

* * *

Tim Hogan of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, attorney for the two teachers and Cartwright Elementary School District who brought the suit, said the two court rulings against the department should send a strong message that the constitution is clear on how state land trust money can be spent.

Since Arizona gained statehood, the proceeds from all trust land sales have been used to benefit public entities such as the universities, public buildings, agriculture interests and the K-12 school system.

The Legislature passed HB2014 in 2009 allowing the Land Department to operate using a portion of the proceeds from trust land sales instead of the state’s general fund.

Lawmakers set up the self-funding mechanism for the department as a way to cut expenses from the general fund, which was running an approximately $2 billion deficit. Eliminating the department from the general fund provided another $20 million per year to plug budget holes.

The plaintiffs filed suit alleging that the Legislature violated the state Constitution by enacting the law.

Today, at least, we are still a nation of laws.