AZ SB1498

Federal employees who are not certified peace officers in Arizona must obtain written permission from the county sheriff before making arrests, searches, or seizures in the state, with exceptions for federal enclaves, witnessed crimes requiring immediate arrest, close pursuit situations, and customs/immigration enforcement officers.

County sheriffs may refuse permission for any reason they consider sufficient; if a federal employee intends to target a sheriff's office employee or elected county/state officer, they must obtain written permission from the attorney general instead.

Permission requests must be in letter form and include the subject's name, probable cause statement or warrant, description of assets to be seized, and the date, time, and location of the intended action; valid permission requires the sheriff or attorney general's countersignature and expires 48 hours after signing.

County attorneys are mandated to prosecute federal employees who violate these requirements for kidnapping (arrests), trespass (searches), theft (seizures), homicide offenses (if death occurs), or other applicable criminal offenses.

County attorneys who refuse to prosecute violations are subject to recall by voters and prosecution by the attorney general for official misconduct.