As US Rep. Andy Biggs’ (R-Gilbert) record is in the spotlight for being soft on predators, a 2005 vote that has thus far remained uncovered could complicate Biggs’ effort to push back against those claims.
In 2005, just a few years after first being elected to the state House, Biggs was one of just three state lawmakers who voted against Senate Bill 1382, legislation that would have required registered sex offenders relocating to Arizona to re-register in the state.
The measure, introduced by Republican lawmakers at the time, passed the Senate unanimously before transmitting to the House, where it was approved in a 55-3 vote, with Biggs being one of the no votes.
No explanation for the vote is provided in the official Journal of the House of Representatives, a part of the Arizona Memory Project, an online tool documenting Arizona’s history and archives.
Biggs did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Despite Biggs’ no vote, the bill passed and was signed into law by then-Gov. Janet Napolitano.
Broader pattern
Biggs has been facing scrutiny for what activists call a pattern of defending predators. In July, a Washington Post article highlighted Biggs’ efforts in 2013 to protect a Mormon fundamentalist group accused of sexually assaulting girls in rural Arizona.
In 2013, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) was accused of abusing girls in rural Arizona. The group’s then-leader, Warren Jeffs, had spent time as a fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted list prior to his arrest. A jury convicted him in 2011 on charges tied to sexually assaulting two girls, ages 12 and 15, both of whom he had forced into marriage.
In 2012, the US Justice Department was suing the group, claiming religious discrimination against non-sect members. Jeffs was in prison, and Arizona’s attorney general at the time—Tom Horne—wanted to shut down the local police force, the Colorado City Marshal’s Office, arguing the force operated as an arm of FLDS rather than working for the public. As political momentum grew, it seemed likely the FLDS—which is widely viewed as a cult— would face consequences for its actions.
And then Biggs stepped in.
At that time, Biggs was serving as the president of the Arizona Senate, and he blocked a bill sponsored by then-Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale) that would have created a mechanism to strip local police agencies of their authority when officers had repeatedly lost certification. When Biggs was asked about it in a TV interview last year, he said officials were still gathering information at the time and that he wasn’t sure investigators had ever concluded the marshal’s office was “fully” corrupt.
An adviser to Biggs’ campaign, Drew Sexton, told the Washington Post in July that Biggs “has already addressed this poorly-written legislation, which was too broad and opposed by the Arizona Police Association.”
In 2017, a federal lawsuit against Colorado City triggered changes, including mandated supervision and revised policies. It also required the department hire a police consultant and a mentor for the Chief of Police. But justice could have come sooner, according to Ugenti-Rita.
“Women and children suffered three years longer than they should have because he protected the bad guys,” she said in 2016.
Renewed criticism
Biggs’ record on defending predators has been at the forefront of conversation in recent weeks after he locked down the Republican nomination for governor. On Aug. 17, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) accused Biggs of having a “bizarre history” when it comes to predators, pointing to a 2007 vote.
At the time, state lawmakers were considering Senate Bill 1268, legislation that sought to boost criminal penalties for sexual predators who preyed on children. While the bill had bipartisan support and had already passed the Senate, it stalled after Biggs objected to it in committee. It never became law nor received a full vote in the House as a result.
In 2007, the Arizona Republic published an op-ed that said Biggs objected to the bill out of concern for protecting “johns, the criminals who are purchasing our children for sex.” “Johns” is slang for customers of sex workers.
The version Biggs voted against would have made it a Class 2 felony to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain anyone under 18, by any means, with intent to cause that person to engage in prostitution.
The bill would have also expanded the offense of child prostitution to include knowingly engaging in or attempting to engage in prostitution with a minor. An additional amendment specified that the accused could not argue they were unaware of the minor’s age as a defense.
At the time, Biggs called the bill “an important bill” and “an important policy” during the hearing, but he objected to several of the additional amendments.
“It just seems to me highly illogical to insist that inconsistent amendments be passed and placed on a bill and then vote on a bill that you know is going to die because you want to make a political point rather than advance good policy,” Biggs said at the time.
The DGA also criticized Biggs for standing in the way of the full release of the files related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who faced federal sex trafficking charges for preying on girls as young as 14.
Last year, as momentum grew to release the so-called Epstein files, which Biggs supported just a year prior, he was one of just two lawmakers on a House subcommittee who voted against releasing records tied to Epstein after reports suggesting President Donald Trump was named in the files.
Amid public pressure, Trump later encouraged the release of the files and Republicans—including Biggs–then voted for the files to be released.
