Official Summary Text
HB2696 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet
Assigned to
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PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR
H.B. 2696
commerce
authority; gas; prices; prioritization
Purpose
Requires the
Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) to use all available resources to reduce fuel
and gas prices in Arizona, study the outlined oil and gas topics and submit a
report of the study to Legislative Leadership and the Governor, as outlined.
Establishes the Fuel Resiliency Task Force (Task Force) in the ACA.
Background
In 2011, the
Legislature established the ACA to provide private sector leadership in growing
and diversifying the economy of Arizona, creating high quality employment in
Arizona through expansion, attraction and retention of businesses and marketing
Arizona for the purpose of expansion, attraction and retention of businesses (
Laws 2011, Ch. 1
).
The ACA is
governed by the ACA Board which consists of 19 voting members, including the
Governor, serving as Chairperson, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the ACA
and 17 private sector business leaders who are CEOs of private, for-profit
enterprises. Of the 17 private sector voting members, 9 are appointed by the
Governor, 4 are appointed by the Senate President and 4 are appointed by the Speaker
of the House of Representatives (House). The ACA Board also includes 10
ex-officio members without the power to vote, including: 1) the Senate
President;
2) the House Speaker; 3) the President of Arizona Board of Regents; 4) the
president of each state university; 5) one president of a community college; 6)
the Chairperson of the Governor's Council on Small Business; 7) the Chairperson
of the Workforce Arizona Council; 8) one member of the Rural Business
Development Advisory Council; 9) the president of a statewide organization of
incorporated cities and towns; and 10) the president of a statewide
organization of county boards of supervisors (
A.R.S.
� 41-1502
).
There is no
anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
1.
Requires the ACA to use all available resources to reduce fuel and gas
prices in Arizona.
2.
Requires the ACA to consider the reduction of fuel and gas prices in Arizona
as one of its primary objectives.
3.
Requires the ACA to prioritize the use of any existing program or
incentive to advance the objective and reduce fuel and gas prices in Arizona.
4.
Repeals the prescribed ACA fuel and gas price prioritization
requirements from and after January 1, 2030.
5.
Requires the ACA
to collaborate with members of
the oil and gas industry to study
:
a)
the
impact of and process for the repeal of Arizona's cleaner burning gasoline
blend, including an evaluation of potential alternative lower cost blends for
Arizona;
b)
the
construction of additional refined products pipelines in Arizona and
establishment of a strategic oil and gas reserve in Arizona; and
c)
the
opportunity to construct one or more potential refineries in Arizona, including
restarting and reevaluating, a proposed oil refinery in Yuma County.
6.
Requires the ACA to meet at least three times between the general
effective date and October 1, 2026, with the chairpersons of the Senate's
Natural Resources Committee and the House's Natural Resources, Energy and Water
Committee, or their successor committees, to provide status updates on the
price of fuel and gas in Arizona and the progress of the prescribed study.
7.
Requires the ACA, by October 1, 2026, to submit a report on findings
related to the prescribed study and any legislative recommendations to the
Governor, the Senate President, the House Speaker and provide a copy of the
report to the Secretary of State.
8.
Establishes the Task Force in the ACA that consists of:
a)
the
Chief Executive Officer of the ACA or the Chief Executive Officer's designee;
b)
the
Director of the Division of Emergency Management within the Department of
Emergency and Military Affairs or the Director's designee;
c)
the Associate
Director of the Weights and Measures Services Division of the Arizona
Department of Agriculture or the Associate Director's designee;
d)
the
Director of the Department of Environmental Quality or the Director's designee;
e)
the
Director of Arizona Environmental Planning for the Maricopa Association of
Governments or the Director's designee;
f)
the
Program Administrator of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission or the Program
Administrator's designee;
g)
the
head of the Pipeline Safety Division of the Arizona Corporation Commission or
the head's designee;
h)
the Director
of the Arizona Department of Transportation or the Director's designee;
i)
the
Arizona State Land Commissioner or the Commissioner's designee;
j)
the
Governor or the Governor's designee;
k)
the Speaker
of the House of Representatives or the Speaker's designee;
l)
the
President of the Senate or the President's designee;
m)
the Minority Leader of
the House of Representatives or the Minority Leader's designee;
n)
the
Minority Leader of the Senate or the Minority Leader's designee;
o)
the
head of the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association or the head's designee;
p)
the President
of the Arizona Trucking Association or the President's designee;
q)
the Executive
Director of the Arizona Rock Products Association or the Executive Director's
designee;
r)
the
President of the Arizona chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America
or the President's designee;
s)
the President
of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce or the President's designee;
t)
the
head of the Western States Petroleum Association or the head's designee;
u)
the President
of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association or the President's designee;
v)
the President
of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association or the President's designee;
w)
the President of
the Texas Oil and Gas Association or the President's designee;
x)
the President
of the Four Corners Chapter of the American Petroleum Institute or the President's
designee;
y)
the President
of the Permian Basin Chapter of the American Petroleum Institute or the President's
designee;
z)
the
head of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers or the head's
designee.
aa)
the President of the Utah Petroleum
Association or the President's designee;
bb)
the President of the
Colorado Petroleum Association or the President's designee; and
cc)
the
President of the Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company or the President's designee.
9.
Requires
the ACA to provide meeting space and staff support as requested by the Task
Force.
10.
Requires
the Task Force to:
a)
meet
at least quarterly;
b)
engage
with interested stakeholders, including state, regional and federal
stakeholders;
c)
identify
options to expand infrastructure and partnership opportunities that support the
stability of the fuel supply of Arizona;
d)
evaluate
the expected impact on Arizona of:
i.
the use of alternative lower-cost fuel blends in Arizona;
ii.
the construction of additional refined products pipelines in Arizona;
iii.
the construction of one or more refineries in Arizona;
iv.
the establishment of a strategic oil and gas reserve in Arizona;
e)
keep
minutes of each meeting of the task force; and
f)
by September 30, 2028, submit a report of the task force's findings and
recommendations to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives and provide a copy of this report to the Secretary
of State.
11.
Requires
the report to contain:
a)
the
minutes of the Task Force, including the stated positions of each member, and
the attendance records of each meeting;
b)
recommendations
for executive action;
c)
recommendations
for legislative action;
d)
recommendations
for private sector action; and
e)
areas of agreements and disagreements in the recommendations.
12.
Repeals the Fuel Resiliency
Task Force on January 1, 2029.
13.
Becomes effective on the
general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by
Committee
1.
Requires
the ACA to consider the reduction of fuel and gas prices to be one of the ACA's
primary objectives, rather than its only primary objective.
2.
Establishes the Task Force, as prescribed.
3.
Requires the Task Force to:
a)
meet
at least quarterly;
b)
engage
with interested state, regional and federal stakeholders;
c)
identify
options to expand infrastructure and partnership opportunities that support the
stability of Arizona's fuel supply;
d)
evaluate,
the use of alternative lower-cost fuel blends, the construction of additional
refined products pipelines, the construction of refineries, the establishment
of a strategic oil and gas reserve; and
e)
comply
with outlined reporting requirements.
4.
Repeals the Task Force on January 1, 2029.
House Action
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Senate
Action
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Prepared by
Senate Research
March 30, 2026
SB/NRG/hk
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
HB2696 - 572R - H Ver
House Engrossed
commerce authority;
gas; prices; prioritization
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HOUSE BILL 2696
AN
ACT
providing for the Arizona commerce
authority to reduce fuel and gas prices.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1.
Arizona
commerce authority; fuel and gas prices; delayed repeal
A. Notwithstanding any
other law, the Arizona commerce authority shall use all available resources to
reduce fuel and gas prices in this state. The Arizona commerce
authority shall consider the reduction of fuel and gas prices in this state as
its primary objective and shall prioritize the use of any existing program or
incentive to advance the objective and reduce fuel and gas prices in this
state.
B. This section is repealed
from and after December 31, 2029.
Sec. 2.
Arizona commerce
authority; study; report
A. The Arizona commerce
authority shall collaborate with members of the oil and gas industry to study
all of the following:
1. The impact of and
process for the repeal of this state's cleaner burning gasoline blend,
including an evaluation of potential alternative lower cost blends for this
state.
2. The construction of
additional refined products pipelines in this state and establishment of a
strategic oil and gas reserve in this state.
3. The opportunity to
construct one or more potential refineries in this state, including restarting
and reevaluating, a proposed oil refinery in Yuma county.
B. The Arizona commerce
authority shall meet at least three times between the effective date of this
act and the date of the final report deadline in subsection C of this section
with the chairpersons of the senate's natural resources committee and the house
of representative's natural resources, energy and water committee, or their
successor committees, to provide status updates on the price of fuel and gas in
this state and the progress of the study required by subsection A of this
section.
C. On or before October 1,
2026, the Arizona commerce authority shall submit a report on findings related
to the study prescribed in subsection A of this section and any legislative
recommendations to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of
the house of representatives and shall provide a copy of this report to the
secretary of state.