A state lawmaker who resigned from the Arizona House has taken a position with the Secretary of State’s Office. There’s some debate as to whether that violates state law.
Arizona’s constitution states “no member of the Legislature, during the term for which he shall have been elected or appointed shall … be otherwise employed by the state of Arizona or, any county or incorporated city or town thereof.”
The Secretary of State’s Office argues that it’s OK for former Rep. Laura Terech to work in the executive branch since she’s resigned.
The issue has never been litigated, so it’s difficult to know how the court interprets the law and whether a lawmaker who resigns can take a government job in the same term they were elected for.
Attorney Tom Ryan thinks Terech is in the clear.
“The point of this ineligibility section is this: You don't want to give somebody the power of legislative control as well as executive control. That's inappropriate,” Ryan said.
He argues that since Terech isn’t doing that, there’s no issue.
Ryan said it’s the comma after “no member of the Legislature” that makes him think Terech has a strong case.
“That comma’s going to do some heavy lifting,” Ryan said. It separates the legislator from the term specification
Terech, a Democrat, was elected to serve until the end of a two-year term, which would have ended at the start of 2025.
She’s one of several Democrats who resigned from the state House of Representatives this term.
The Secretary of State’s Office specifies that Terech is an employee, not a contractor. She was hired to work on “special projects.” A spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office said that will include a variety of things.
The office's general counsel determined that they’re within the bounds of state law.
Another example was Democrat Andrés Cano, who resigned in 2023 and took a job as director of federal and state relations with the city of Tucson.
Cano said he didn’t consult with an attorney, and he’s not interested in comparing himself to other lawmakers. Cano said a clause against lobbying is the only one of which he’s been informed.
Former Rep. Marcelino Quiñonez also resigned in 2024. He declined to tell reporters at the time whether he was resigning to apply for a seat on the Phoenix City Council, where there was a vacancy.
At the time, there was some disagreement on whether Quiñonez would be eligible for the council seat considering the ineligibility clause in the constitution.
Quiñonez wasn’t appointed to the seat. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
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The decision did not address any substantive claims of what’s in the manual, only the public comment period question, so it’s not clear how the ruling will affect future elections.
