Immunity allows AZ state senator to get out of speeding ticket

ARIZONA, USA — An Arizona state senator was caught driving 24 miles an hour over the speed limit but not issued a citation due to immunity offered in the state’s constitution, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

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DPS said Arizona state Sen. Jake Hoffman was stopped on U.S. 60 on Jan. 22, by a trooper who clocked him driving 89 miles on the roadway that has a 65-mile-an-hour limit. The traffic stop happened near milepost 188 on the roadway.

A clause in the state constitution allowed Hoffman, as a lawmaker, to get out of being given a citation for the speeding incident.

According to DPS, the trooper verified Hoffman’s status as an Arizona state Senator.

With the state being in a current legislative session, the trooper did not issue Hoffman a citation “in accordance with the Arizona Constitution, Article 4, Part 2, Section 6.”

That section reads as follows:

“Members of the legislature shall be privileged from arrest in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, and they shall not be subject to any civil process during the session of the legislature, nor for fifteen days next before the commencement of each session.”

Another Arizona lawmaker has introduced legislation to end this type of immunity after a similar incident.

In January, state Sen. Mark Finchem invoked his right to legislative immunity after receiving a speeding ticket.

State Rep. Quang Nguyen wants the immunity to end.

Nguyen said the people of Arizona are expected to follow traffic laws and legislators should be no different.

“No one should be above the rules of the road,” Nguyen said in a statement. “Lawmakers should follow the same laws they create and enforce. We are lawmakers, not lawbreakers.”

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