No signs, stay seated: Maricopa County passes new rules to maintain order at meetings

No holding up signs. No applause or booing. No speaking on more than two items — plus public comment.

Those are just a few of the new rules that Maricopa County supervisors unanimously greenlit on Wednesday for future public meetings.

The new restrictions come months before the 2024 general election and amid a wave of unfounded voting conspiracies, threats and confrontations between county staff and public speakers. They add to security measures unveiled last month, which include a roped-off staff section at the front of the chamber and a security escort for people approaching the speaker's podium.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers said in a statement on Tuesday that the county has seen "an escalation in disorderly and disrespectful behavior at board meetings." He sought to frame the changes as an effort to ensure safety and order.

"We encourage and appreciate public comment when it is respectful and on topic," Sellers said. "But we are not going to allow distractions from real discussions on policies, programs, and initiatives that impact all 4.5 million Maricopa County residents."

Maricopa is the largest county in the state and the fourth-largest in the nation. Allies of former President Donald Trump tried to pressure county supervisors to question their ballot tallies after he lost the 2020 presidential race there.

Since then, its leaders have repeatedly faced false allegations of election fraud and slews of threats. Public speakers at recent meetings have repeated conspiracy allegations and provided comment on many agenda items, lengthening sessions. At times, outbursts from the audience have brought meetings to a premature end.

But those same speakers have often expressed dismay at how they are treated by elected leaders, accusing them of ignoring their concerns and being disrespectful toward onlookers. Members of the public have repeatedly said supervisors have a duty to hear them and consider their points — which on Wednesday ranged from comments on federal border policy to false assertations that President Joe Biden had been replaced with another person.

Several people came to the speaker's podium to decry the new restrictions.

"This is a destruction of democracy," said Merissa Hamilton, a conservative activist and regular public speaker at county meetings. "This is anti-democratic, this is anti-American, and shame on all of you for passing this rule."

A few people raised questions about whether the new rules were legal. Arizona open meetings law generally allows public bodies to impose reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on public speakers, such as time limits. Most governments set at least a few guidelines. Asking speakers to refrain from profanity is common, as is asking audience members not to cheer, applaud or boo speakers.

An attorney with the Arizona Ombudsman-Citizens’ Aide did not immediately respond to The Arizona Republic's request for comment about whether certain new rules, including the restriction on how many items speakers can address throughout the meeting, were legal.

New rules: No slander, remain seated and more

Most of the new rules merely formalize and cement long-standing county practices.

For instance, Sellers — and other chairmen of the board before him — has long reminded public speakers to keep their comments to two minutes. County supervisors have also for years advised crowds at meetings that applause, booing and outbursts won't be tolerated.

Those who break the rules usually get a warning. After that, they run the risk of being removed from the chamber by security officials and law enforcement officers.

But some of the restrictions are new. Those include a prohibition on signs or banners "if the presence of such items disturbs, disrupts, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the meeting." Another new rule mandates audience members remain seated unless called upon by the chairman to address the board or they are leaving the chamber.

Supervisors also implemented a small number of new, additional security measures based on a threat assessment recently completed by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, Phoenix Police Department, Phoenix Fire Department and Maricopa County Security Services Division.

Those procedures include a new location for the speaker's podium used during public comment and a barrier separating staff seating from public seating. The new measures add to the security changes implemented in March.

When should public comment be restricted?

Speakers heavily criticized county supervisors on Wednesday for the new rules. Bob Branch, a candidate for county supervisor, said the restrictions could only lead to "tyranny."

"The optic is you're trying to make the public afraid of you," he said.

Supervisors didn't address the complaints during the meeting. By law, public officials cannot discuss or take legal action on matters raised during open public comment.

Sellers also declined to comment further to The Republic. But the board has previously said the new rules and security measures stem from disruptive conduct during meetings and a deluge of threats largely driven by election conspiracies. After the 2022 general election, several public speakers screamed at and threatened supervisors in their meeting remarks.

The situation hasn't calmed much since then. In February, a group of people approached the dais and refused to leave the Board of Supervisors' chamber following a public meeting. About 15 individuals repeatedly ignored requests from security staff to get out of the building. Several accused county staff of "tyranny" and "treason." The group ultimately left the room after nearly 10 minutes.

Public comment has also been discussed far beyond the walls of the board's chambers. A bill in the Arizona Legislature would make public comment mandatory for governmental bodies, which currently aren't required to offer it at their meetings.

So far, that legislation has racked up 252 positions of support and 390 positions of opposition in the Legislature's online bill-tracking system. That includes a formal position against the bill from the County Supervisors Association of Arizona, a nonpartisan membership organization that lobbies on behalf of supervisors across the state's 15 counties.

Wednesday's county meeting adjourned as scheduled, making it one of the first in weeks to not end early amid audience outbursts.

Audience members quickly lined up at the podium in a last-ditch effort to talk at supervisors as they left the room.

Sasha Hupka covers county government and election administration for The Arizona Republic. Do you have a tip to share on elections or voting? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maricopa County passes new rules for public meetings