PHOENIX – On Thursday, the Arizona House passed HB2084, a bill sponsored by Rep. Warren Petersen, which allows private landowners to build part of the border wall on their land without a building permit. The bill on a 31-29 party-line vote.
HB2084 will now be heard in the Senate.
HB2084 specifically “prohibits a city, town or county from requiring a property owner or nonprofit corporation to obtain a building permit if construction is for an international boundary wall that is located on or adjacent to an international boundary line and the landowner gives written permission to construct the wall.”
HB2084 requires the property owner to provide the city, town or county with an affidavit of completion within two months after the project is complete, and an affidavit of completion to be signed by a registered engineer certifying the work
was done according to the construction plans and safety requirements.
Republicans supported the bill due to efforts by the Pima and Santa Cruz counties’ Board of Supervisors to prevent the wall from being erected.
Rep. Bob Thorpe, who rescued a lost illegal alien while touring the border in southern Arizona, said he supported Petersen’s bill on humanitarian grounds. “The lack of a secure border acts as a lure to families and too often puts them at grave risk. We have a responsibility to both our citizens to have a secure border and to our neighbors to eliminate dangerous temptations.”