By Ethan Faverino |
U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) has introduced the Monitor Accountability Act in the U.S. Senate, serving as a companion measure to H.R. 8365, legislation previously passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05).
The legislation seeks to establish new federal standards governing court-appointed monitors used in civil consent decrees involving state and local governments. These monitors are typically assigned to oversee reform efforts in areas such as law enforcement and public safety compliance.
Supporters of the bill point to long-running monitorships in jurisdictions such as Maricopa County, Arizona, and New Orleans, Louisiana, as examples of cases where oversight arrangements have extended for years and generated significant taxpayer costs.
According to figures cited by sponsors, the New Orleans Police Department consent decree lasted 13 years and cost an estimated $100 million before concluding, while the ongoing Maricopa County monitorship has reportedly exceeded $350 million in taxpayers expense and continues.
“I’m grateful for Senator Kennedy’s partnership in this fight to reinsert sorely needed congressional oversight over these out-of-control federal monitors,” stated Congressman Biggs. “The stories of Maricopa County and New Orleans are abusive and well-documented, showing how these monitors operate without oversight across America. As I have said repeatedly, the destructive effects these monitors have on government budgets and public safety necessitate congressional action. I hope the Senate quickly passes this bill and sends it to the White House to be enacted into law.”
Senator Kennedy emphasized the need for accountability and cost controls in the system.
“Federal court monitors can serve an important purpose, but taxpayers should not have to fund open-ended monitorships that drag on for years without basic accountability,” said Senator Kennedy. “We basically let government contractors decide whether their own government contract keeps going. The Monitor Accountability Act would cap fees, limit terms and bring transparency to a system operating for far too long on autopilot.”
If enacted, the legislation would direct the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the Judicial Conference of the United States to implement standardized rules for appointing and managing federal monitors. These include:
- Five-year term limits for monitors, with no reappointment under the same court order.
- Restrictions on successive appointments, preventing the same individual or affiliated employer from continuing a monitorship.
- Fee caps and transparency requirements, including annual public accounting of services and compensation.
- Public notice and comment period before a monitor is appointed.
- Compliance-based extensions, allowing continuation only if substantial and sustained compliance has not been achieved.
- Judicial reassignment after six years in ongoing cases to prevent prolonged oversight by a single judge.
- Retroactive application to monitorships exceeding six years, including potential replacement of monitors and judicial reassignment.
The bill also encourages the use of pro bono or reduced-rate services in monitor roles.
As the legislation moved through the House earlier this year, it received public support from several law enforcement leaders and organizations, including Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association, the Major County Sheriffs of America, the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, and the Arizona Police Association.
The bill notes that federal monitors are typically appointed in civil settlement agreements or consent decrees to oversee corrective reforms, often in response to findings of unconstitutional policing or systemic agency misconduct.
The legislation responds in part to prior federal guidance encouraging greater transparency, term limits, and cost accountability in monitor appointments.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
