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HB2427 • 2026

land department; audit; recommendations; checklist

HB2427 - land department; audit; recommendations; checklist

Energy Taxes
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Gail Griffin, Lupe Diaz, David Gowan
Last action
2026-03-10
Official status
Senate second read
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide details on what happens if recommendations are not implemented within two years.

Land Department Audit Recommendations Implementation

This bill requires the State Land Commissioner to implement recommendations from an audit report about managing Arizona's state lands.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the State Land Commissioner to implement all 51 recommendations made in a July 2025 performance audit and sunset review of the Arizona State Land Department within two years.
  • Mandates quarterly meetings between the State Land Commissioner and the Auditor General to discuss progress on implementing these recommendations.
  • Gives the Auditor General the power to check if the State Land Department is following the recommendations, including inspecting documents and premises as needed.
  • Requires the Auditor General to report every quarter about the status of the recommendations to specific government officials.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The State Land Commissioner
  • The Arizona State Land Department
  • The Auditor General

Terms To Know

State Trust lands
Land owned by the state to generate revenue for certain beneficiaries.
Sunset review
A process that looks at whether a government agency should continue its operations or be changed.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if the recommendations are not implemented within two years.
  • It is unclear how this legislation will affect the day-to-day management of state lands beyond the audit process.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Plain English: Fifty-seventh Legislature Natural Resources, Energy & Water Second Regular Session H.B.

  • Fifty-seventh Legislature Natural Resources, Energy & Water Second Regular Session H.B.
  • 2427 PROPOSED HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AMENDMENTS TO H.B.
  • 2427 (Reference to printed bill) The bill as proposed to be amended is reprinted as follows: 1 Section 1.
  • State land department; auditor general report; 2 recommendations; implementation; checklist; 3 notification; delayed repeal 4 A.
  • This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Senate second read

  2. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Senate Rules: None

  3. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Senate Natural Resources: None

  4. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Senate first read

  5. 2026-02-26 Senate

    Transmitted to Senate

  6. 2026-02-26 House

    House third read passed

  7. 2026-02-25 House

    House committee of the whole

  8. 2026-02-17 House

    House minority caucus

  9. 2026-02-17 House

    House majority caucus

  10. 2026-01-21 House

    House second read

  11. 2026-01-20 House

    House Rules: C&P

  12. 2026-01-20 House

    House Natural Resources, Energy & Water: DPA

  13. 2026-01-20 House

    House first read

Official Summary Text

HB2427 - 572R - House Bill Summary

ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

57th
Legislature, 2nd Regular Session

Majority Research Staff

House
: NREW DPA 6-4-0-0

HB
2427
: land department; audit; recommendations; checklist

Sponsor:
Representative Griffin, LD 19

Caucus
& COW

Overview

Requires
the State Land Commissioner to implement all recommendations in the July 2025
performance audit and sunset review of the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD).

History

The ASLD
is charged with managing approximately 9.2 million acres of State Trust lands, granted
to the state at statehood. These lands are held in trust and are managed for
the sole purpose of generating revenue for the 13 state land beneficiaries. Current
law designates the State Land Commissioner (Commissioner) as the executive
officer of the ASLD (A.R.S. ��
37-102
,
37-131
)(
ASLD
).

The Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) oversees all
audit functions of the Legislature and state agencies including sunset,
performance, special and financial audits. JLAC is also required to appoint,
and direct, an Auditor General who is responsible for performing all the
aforementioned audits (A.R.S. ��
41-1279
,
41-1279.03
).

Each state agency, department, program, board and advisory
council is subject to a sunset review of the power and duties exercised by the
entity. JLAC selects which agencies are subject to sunset review by the Auditor
General or by legislative committees of reference (A.R.S. ��
41- 2951
,
41-2953
).

On July 9th, 2025, the Auditor General published a
performance audit and sunset review of the ASLD (
Report 25-103
).

Provisions

1.

Requires the
Commissioner, within two years, implement all 51 recommendations that are in
the Auditor General's July 2025 performance audit and sunset review of the ASLD.
(Sec. 1)

2.

Mandates the
Commissioner meet with the Auditor General monthly and report on the progress
of the implementation of the recommendations, until all recommendations are
implemented. (Sec. 1)

3.

Outlines
required and eligible actions of the Auditor General as it relates to ensuring
the ASLD's implementation of the recommendations and compliance with this act.
(Sec. 1)

4.

Repeals this
legislation on January 1, 2029. (Sec. 1)

5.

Contains a
legislative findings clause. (Sec. 2)

Amendments

Committee on
Natural Resources, Energy and Water

1.

Adjusts the frequency of
required meetings between the Commissioner and the Auditor General from monthly
to quarterly. (Sec. 1)

2.

3.

4.

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2427

6.

2/13/2026� Page 0 Caucus
& COW

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8.

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Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB2427 - 572R - H Ver

House Engrossed

land department;
audit; recommendations; checklist

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HOUSE BILL 2427

AN
ACT

REQUIRINg the state land department to
implement recommendations by the auditor general.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section
1.
1.
State land department; auditor general report; recommendations;
implementation; checklist; notification; delayed repeal

A. Within two years after
the effective date of this section, the state land commissioner shall implement
all fifty-one recommendations in the auditor general's July 2025 performance
audit and sunset review of the state land department.

B. Until the state land
commissioner implements all of the auditor general's recommendations, the state
land commissioner shall meet with the auditor general
quarterly and report on the progress of the state land
department's implementation of the recommendations.

C. The auditor general
shall maintain a checklist of the recommendations and shall update the
checklist after each meeting consistent with the completion of any of the
recommendations to the satisfaction of the auditor general.

D. The auditor general may
enter any premises, conduct any investigation or inspect any documents in
possession of the state land department to ensure the state land department
implements the recommendations to the auditor general's satisfaction.

E. Each fiscal quarter, the
auditor general shall provide an update of the current status of the
recommendation checklist to the following:

1. Each member of the joint
legislative audit committee.

2. The governor.

3. The chairperson of the
committee of reference that the president of the senate tasks with oversight of
the state land department.

4. The chairperson of the
committee of reference that the speaker of the house of representatives tasks
with oversight of the state land department.

F. If the state land
department fails to implement the auditor general's recommendations within two
years after the effective date of this section, the auditor general shall:

1. Notify the following:

(
a
) Each
member of the joint legislative audit committee.

(
b
) The
governor.

(
c
) The
chairperson of the committee of reference that the president of the senate
tasks with oversight of the state land department.

(
d
) The
chairperson of the committee of reference that the speaker of the house of
representatives tasks with oversight of the state land department.

2. Request a special
meeting of the joint legislative audit committee to evaluate potential remedies
and future action.

G. This section is repealed
from and after December 31, 2028.

Sec.
2.
2.
Legislative findings

The
legislature finds that this act is necessary to ensure the best interest of the
state land trust, state land trust beneficiaries and this state.