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HB2598 • 2026

campaign finance; filings; penalties

HB2598 - campaign finance; filings; penalties

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Aaron Márquez, Brian Garcia, Lydia Hernandez
Last action
2026-01-26
Official status
House second read
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official bill text confirms all specific dollar amounts, timeframes (5 days, 15 days, 30 days), and suspension triggers mentioned in the candidate explanation.

HB2598: Rules for Late Campaign Finance Reports

This bill changes the rules in Arizona about fines, notices, and suspensions for campaign groups that do not file their money reports on time.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires filing officers to send an email notice within five days if a committee misses a report deadline.
  • Sets a fine of $20 per day for the first fifteen late days and $50 per day after that until the report is filed.
  • Allows filing officers to contact enforcement officials if a complete report is not received within thirty days after the deadline.
  • Requires temporary suspension of any political action committee or party that misses three reports in a row.
  • States that committees can be permanently suspended if they do not fix their filings and pay fines within thirty days after receiving the warning notice.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Campaign finance filing officers
  • Political action committees (PACs)
  • Political parties in Arizona

Terms To Know

Filing officer
The government official who receives and checks campaign money reports.
Penalty
A fine that a committee must pay for breaking the rules about filing late.
Suspension
Stopping a group from operating legally until it follows the law again.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not say when these new fines and suspension rules will officially start.
  • The text only covers groups that fail to file reports; it does not change how often they must report or what goes in the reports.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-26 House

    House second read

  2. 2026-01-22 House

    House Rules: None

  3. 2026-01-22 House

    House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections: None

  4. 2026-01-22 House

    House first read

Official Summary Text

HB2598 - campaign finance; filings; penalties

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB2598 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
campaign finance; filings; penalties

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2598

Introduced by

Representatives
M�rquez: Garcia, Hernandez L

AN
ACT

amending section 16-937, Arizona Revised
Statutes; relating to campaign CONTRIBUTIONS and expenses.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1. Section 16-937, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-937.

Failure to file; penalties; notice; suspension

A. If a committee fails to timely file a complete
report as prescribed by articles 1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 of this
chapter, the filing officer shall send a written notice by
e-mail

email
to the committee within five days after the filing
deadline that identifies the late report, describes how fines accrue and
identifies methods of payment.

B. A committee that fails to timely file a report
shall pay the filing officer a penalty of
ten dollars

$20
for each day that the filing is late during the first
fifteen days after the filing deadline and
twenty-five
dollars

$50
for each subsequent day that the
filing is late.� Penalties accrue until the late report is filed.

C. If a committee fails to file a complete report
within thirty days after the filing deadline and after providing notice
pursuant to subsection A of this section, the filing officer may notify the
appropriate enforcement officer prescribed in this article.

D. For any political action committee or political
party that fails to file three consecutive complete reports, the filing officer
shall send by
e-mail

email
to
the committee a notice of temporary suspension and the following apply:

1. On receipt, the committee's authority to operate
in the jurisdiction is temporarily suspended.

2. The notice shall state that failure to comply
with all filing and payment requirements within thirty days after the date of
the notice shall result in permanent suspension of the committee's authority to
operate in that jurisdiction.

E. After compliance with subsection D of this
section, the filing officer may permanently suspend the committee and shall
notify the committee by
e-mail

email

and is not required to provide any further notice. Permanent or
temporary suspension does not eliminate a committee's continuing obligation to
file reports and pay any outstanding and accruing penalties provided by law.
END_STATUTE