Republican lawmakers are trying to diminish the power of the state bar, and not for the first time.
House Republicans gave preliminary approval to a bill on Thursday which would remove the requirement for Arizona attorneys to be members of the state bar.
It’s sponsored by Sen. Mark Finchem (R-Prescott), who said attorney licensing is solely the Arizona Supreme Court’s job.
“What we’re simply saying with this piece of legislation is it's the courts responsibility not to delegate that but to take an active role,” Finchem told his colleagues in a committee hearing.
He claimed that his bill is actually something attorneys widely support but not vocally.
Although Finchem argues the Arizona Supreme Court doesn’t have the legal authority to delegate any licensing duties to the bar, Democrats argue it’s a separation of powers issue.
The bill is opposed by legislative Democrats, as well as the state bar association.
“It seems like there’s some kind of a grudge we have against the state bar?” Sen. Lauren Kuby (D-Tempe) said of the bill.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed similar legislation in 2023 from former lawmaker Justine Wadsack.
Wadsack claimed at the time that the state bar discouraged attorneys from prosecuting cases against entities who required COVID-19 vaccines or masking during the pandemic, which the bar denied.
Wadsack declined to provide proof of her claims.
“I don’t owe you anything in the way of proof,” she told Sen. Analise Ortiz (D-Phoenix).
Hobbs wrote in her veto letter for Wadsack's bill that the state bar is best equipped to license attorneys.
Before Wadsack, another former lawmaker called Anthony Kern also took some swipes at the state bar. He sponsored a bill which would have imposed financial penalties on the bar for disciplining attorneys who bring baseless election fraud complaints
And last year, legislative leaders petitioned the state supreme court to take the bar’s regulatory powers away, alleging the bar pressures attorneys to support certain ideologies.
That’s something Finchem expressed concern about in committee hearings.
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