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HB2509 - 572R - I Ver
REFERENCE TITLE:
campaign finance; corporate contributions; registration
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HB 2509
Introduced by
Representatives
Stahl Hamilton: Abeytia, Blattman, Cavero, Contreras P, Crews, De Los Santos,
Garcia, Gutierrez, Liguori, Sandoval, Simacek, Travers, Villegas
AN
ACT
amending section 16-916, Arizona Revised
Statutes; amending title 16, chapter 6, article 1.4, Arizona Revised Statutes,
by adding section 16-926.01; relating to campaign contributions.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 16-916, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
16-916.
Corporation, limited liability company and labor organization
contributions; separate segregated fund; limits; requirements
A.
Except as prescribed in section
16-926.01,
a corporation, limited liability company or labor
organization shall not make contributions to a candidate committee.
B. A corporation, limited liability company or labor
organization may make unlimited contributions to persons other than candidate
committees.
C. A corporation, limited liability company or labor
organization may sponsor a separate segregated fund. Employees,
members, executives, stockholders and retirees and their families of a
corporation, limited liability company or labor organization and any subsidiary
or affiliate of a corporation, limited liability company or labor organization
may make contributions to the separate segregated fund, subject to the
following:
1. The separate segregated fund must register as a
political action committee.
2. The sponsor or its affiliate may pay the
administrative, personnel and fund-raising expenses of its separate
segregated fund, which shall not be deemed contributions to the fund.
3. The sponsor or its separate segregated fund may
solicit contributions from the sponsor's, sponsor's affiliates' or sponsor's
subsidiaries' employees, members, executives, stockholders and retirees and
their families. The following additional restrictions apply:
(a) With respect to an insurer, an insurer or its
separate segregated fund may also solicit contributions from an insurance
producer's employees, members, executives, stockholders and retirees and their
families.
(b) With respect to a trade association or
membership organization, the association or organization may solicit
contributions from its members' employees, executives, stockholders,
subsidiaries and retirees and their families.
4. A sponsor or its affiliate or a trade association
or membership organization may facilitate the making of contributions to its
separate segregated fund by establishing a payroll deduction system or other
similar payment transfer method.
5. A sponsor, trade association, membership
organization or separate segregated fund may rely on the federal election
commission's written guidance interpreting 52 United States Code section
30118(b) and rules adopted under that section when interpreting this
subsection, if otherwise consistent with this article and articles 1, 1.1, 1.3,
1.4, 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7 of this chapter.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Title 16, chapter 6, article 1.4,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 16-926.01, to read:
START_STATUTE
16-926.01.
Reporting contributions made by a corporation, limited liability
company or labor organization; registration; notification; statement; civil
penalty; violation; classification; definition
A. Notwithstanding any other statute:
1. A corporation, limited liability
company or labor organization that makes a contribution in at least one of the
following threshold amounts to a political action committee or to another
corporation, limited liability company or labor organization in an attempt to
influence the outcome of a candidate election shall register and notify the
appropriate filing officer not later than one day after making that
contribution, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays:
(
a
)
An
aggregate of $5,000 or more in one or more statewide races.
(
b
)
An
aggregate of $2,500 or more in one or more legislative races.
(
c
)
$1,000
or more in one or more county, city, town or other local races if the $1,000 is
aggregated in races in a single county, city, town or other local jurisdiction.
2. The secretary of state is the
filing officer for registrations and notifications for contributions in
statewide and legislative elections. City, town or county filing
officers are the filing officers for notifications in a city, town, county or
other local election, respectively. The corporation, limited
liability company or labor organization also shall notify the filing officer
within the same time limit prescribed in paragraph 1 of this subsection of each
additional accumulation of contributions that exceeds the threshold amount
prescribed in paragraph 1 of this subsection but is not required to register
again during that election cycle after the initial registration.� The secretary
of state shall provide for electronic filing for registrations and
notifications and shall provide for website access to the information for the
public. Filings at the secretary of state's office shall be in the
form prescribed by the secretary of state. Other filing officers
shall prescribe the format for filing registrations and notifications and shall
provide for public access to that information.
3. The registration shall include all
of the following:
(
a
)
The
name and address of the corporation, limited liability company or labor
organization.
(
b
)
The
name, title, email address and telephone number of the person authorizing the
contribution.
4. Each notification shall include
all of the following:
(
a
)
The
name and address of the corporation, limited liability company or labor
organization making the contribution.
(
b
)
The
amount of the contribution and the name of the political action committee or
other corporation, limited liability company or labor organization receiving
the contribution.
(
c
)
The
name of the candidate and race for which the contribution was made and whether
the contribution was in support of or opposition to the candidate.
(
d
)
The
date of the contribution.
5. within five days after making an
initial threshold contribution as prescribed in paragraph 1 of this subsection,
The corporation, limited liability company or labor organization shall file
with the secretary of state or other appropriate filing officer a notarized
sworn statement that the person, agent or officer filing the registration and
notice had authority to make that contribution on behalf of the corporation,
limited liability company or labor organization. Until the secretary
of state or other filing officer receives the notarized sworn statement, the
filing officer shall categorize the notification as unverified. If
the secretary of state or other filing officer does not receive the notarized
sworn statement within the required five-day time frame, the notification shall
be categorized as both unverified and delinquent. The filing officer
shall make reasonable efforts to contact the entity that made the contribution
and remove the notification from public view within a reasonable time if the filing
officer is unable to verify that the entity made the contribution, and all
penalties prescribed in this section apply.
6. A corporation, limited liability
company or labor organization that fails to register, notify or disclose as
required by this section is liable in a civil action brought by the attorney
general, county attorney or city or town attorney, as appropriate, for a civil
penalty of up to three times the total amount of the contributions.
7. A person who makes a knowingly
false filing relating to a contribution pursuant to this section is guilty of a
class 1 misdemeanor.� A civil or criminal enforcement action may not be filed
until after the filing officer issues a reasonable cause determination.
B. For the purposes of this section,
"local election" means an election on behalf of a county, city, town,
school district or special district.
END_STATUTE