Arizona’s HB 2441 is an unconstitutional Bill of Attainder under the US (Art. I, § 9, cl. 3) and Arizona Constitutions (Art. 2, Section 25). It is a violation of the “separation of powers” doctrine as the legislature has acted to punish certain members of its citizenry — the taking of private property rights from homeowners living in HOAs — by a “trial of the legislature” and a legislative exercise of a judicial function. As such, a bill of attainder has been described as an act of tyranny (US v. Brown, 381 US 437 (1965)).
A careful reading of the Senate amended version of HB 2441 . . . permit and declare it is not illegal to so act by minority vote, the taking of private property rights from Arizona citizens without their consent, and in violation of their contractual rights. This bill, by its “blessings” that it has now been declared legal for a minority to so act and therefore incumbent on the homeowner to be obey, opens the “barn door” to the establishment of the oligarchical control of the community.
In Brown, the Supreme Court held,
“The Bill of Attainder Clause was intended to implement the separation of powers among the three branches of the Government by guarding against the legislative exercise of judicial power.
“A statute which inflicts its deprivation upon named or described persons or groups constitutes a bill of attainder whether its aim is retributive, punishing past acts, or preventive, discouraging future conduct.”
HB 2441 repudiates the fundamental premise of democracy — majority rule. This bill is a special law for a private party and is prohibited under state and federal constitutions.
Read the complete Commentary here.
HOA Constitutional Government 