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As Pima County supervisors prepare to take up Sheriff Chris Nanos’ report at Tuesday’s meeting — with removal a possible outcome — an Arizona statute rarely used outside of moments of political crisis is now at the center of the dispute. 

Arizona Revised Statute 11-253 allows a county board to compel “any county officer to make reports under oath on any matter connected with the duties of his office.” 

The statute has been invoked in recent months by both Pima and Maricopa County. 

In the latest invocation of the statute in Pima County, supervisors used the law to compel Democrat Sheriff Nanos to submit a report addressing questions about his work history, disciplinary actions, immigration enforcement practices and budget. After receiving the report in April, Supervisor Matt Heinz said it did not meet the legal requirements outlined in the Democrat-majority board’s request.

Heinz, who represents District 2, said the report fell short of what the board required.

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“There are significant deficiencies in his response that I believe are so problematic that they put him at risk for removal,” Heinz told Arizona Luminaria on April 28.

The dispute has exposed a key ambiguity in the statute: while it allows boards to require reports “under oath,” it does not specify how that requirement must be invoked. 

Steve Primack, executive director of the Arizona Legislative Council, said the law offers little guidance.

“The question … of how the board may require the county officer to make a report under oath or submit a bond is not specifically prescribed in the statute,” Primack told Arizona Luminaria.

Unlike other laws that explicitly require submissions to be made “in writing” or “in a form prescribed,” A.R.S. 11-253 contains no such language, he said.

“I suspect a court is going to have to decide whether just citing to the statute is sufficient or whether the board has to specifically use the words of the statute and request the report is under oath,” Primack added.

Nanos’ legal team is arguing that the board did not explicitly request a report under oath in their motion, while Heinz said that they cited state statute in their motion which already specifies the report is to be made “under oath.”

The board’s April 7 public meeting agenda explicitly cites the requirement. “Requesting Report from Sheriff Nanos per A.R.S. §11-253(A) Discussion/Direction/Action regarding draft language and questions about which the Board will seek a report under oath from Sheriff Chris Nanos,” the public record states.

Providing the report under oath is key because, under the law, if an officer refuses to make the report, the board may remove them from office.

Heinz said there have only been a handful of instances in state history where A.R.S. 11-253 has been invoked.

A modern example of its use occurred in Pima County in the early 1990s, when a Republican-majority board used the law to compel then-County Assessor Alan Lang, a Democrat, to testify under oath amid allegations he intimidated staff with a firearm.

The proceedings stretched across multiple days of testimony and special meetings. While Lang was not ultimately removed from office — in part because he complied and testified — the controversy sparked what was at the time the largest countywide recall effort in Pima County history.

More recently, the statute was used in Maricopa County, where supervisors invoked it to compel Recorder Justin Heap to provide information related to election administration.

In both cases, the report was given under oath and in person. This deviates from Sheriff Nanos’ unsworn and written report through his attorney.

Primack noted that while there is at least one Arizona court case interpreting A.R.S. 11-253, it addresses the board’s authority to remove an official, not the mechanics of how reports must be requested.

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Carolina Cuellar is a bilingual journalist based in Tucson covering South Arizona. Previously she reported on border and immigration issues in the Rio Grande Valley for Texas Public Radio. She has an M.S....