The state Supreme Court decided to take a case to decide if a Arizona Corporation Commissioner can investigate companies' records related to elections.
The issue is whether the majority of the commission can block a member from investigating a company’s records to see if it is funneling “dark money” to campaign regulators.
The highest court is reviewing a Court of Appeals decision that denied former commissioner Bob Burns the independent right to look into the records of Arizona Public Service and its parent company.
In 2016, Burns ordered a subpoena to APS to see if it sent $3 million to help elect Republicans to the board. A later subpoena found the commission sent more than $10 million to the campaign.
Burns’ attorney says there is nothing in the constitution that states there cannot be independent investigations.
