Officer Brian Kleinberg, with the Oro Valley Police Dept. Traffic Unit, looks up information on a tablet shortly after pulling over a driver suspected of violating the town's ban on using a mobile device while driving on February 5, 2019.
A bill introduced in the Arizona Legislature would ask voters if they want to end legislative immunity for traffic-related offenses.
Currently, the state constitution states that lawmakers can only be charged with a felony or treason from 15 days before the legislative session starts until its conclusion.
House Continuing Resolution 2053 would ask voters to add all traffic violations to the list of acceptable charges during that time.
It would keep the prohibition on members facing civil proceedings during the session or in the days before.
The resolution is sponsored by Representative Quang Nguyen, a Republican from the Prescott area.
“No one should be above the rules of the road,” Rep. Nguyen said in a media release. “Lawmakers should follow the same laws they create and enforce. We are lawmakers, not lawbreakers.”
Last week, another Prescott Republican, Sen. Mark Finchem, had a traffic ticket dismissed for doing 48 miles an hour in a 30-mile-an-hour zone due to legislative immunity. The ticket was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can be re-filed once the session ends.
Last March, then-Tucson-area state senator Justine Wadsack, a Republican, claimed immunity after police reported she was doing more than double the speed limit on Speedway Boulevard. Once the session ended Wadsack was given a ticket for offense, which she challenged. The case was dismissed after she took a defensive driving course.
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