Official Summary Text
HB2696 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet
Assigned to
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PASSED BY COW
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 available resources
to improve motor fuel and gasoline resilience in Arizona, study and develop
recommendations relating to 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.
Allows the ACA to use available resources to improve motor fuel and
gasoline resilience in Arizona.
2.
Requires
the ACA to consider the improvement of motor fuel and gasoline resilience in
Arizona as one of its objectives.
3.
Allows
the ACA to use any existing program or incentive to advance the objective of
improving motor fuel and gasoline resilience.
4.
Repeals the prescribed ACA fuel and gas resilience requirements on
January 1, 2031.
5.
Establishes the Task Force in the ACA that consists of:
a)
the
Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Resiliency or the Executive
Director's designee;
b)
the
Chief Executive Officer of the Western States Petroleum Association or the
Chief Executive Officer's designee;
c)
the
Executive Director of the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association or the
Executive Director's designee;
d)
the
Kinder Morgan Phoenix Terminal Manager or the Terminal Manager's designee;
e)
the
Aviation Director for the City of Phoenix or the Aviation Director's designee;
f)
the
Chief Executive Officer of the ACA or the Chief Executive Officer's designee;
g)
the
Director of the Division of Emergency Management within the Department of
Emergency and Military Affairs or the Director's designee;
h)
the
Director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture or the Director's designee;
i)
the
Director of the Department of Environmental Quality or the Director's designee;
and
j)
the
Executive Director of the Maricopa Association of Governments or the Executive
Director's designee;
6.
Requires the Task Force to:
a)
meet
at least quarterly;
b)
study and develop recommendations on the items related to the outlined
study and recommendations; and
c)
convene with federal officials, members of the oil and gas industry in
the United States, subject matter experts as determined by the Task Force and:
i.
refinery operators;
ii.
the
state energy offices in other states within petroleum administrative defense
districts three, four and five;
iii.
the Texas Oil
and Gas Association;
iv.
the New Mexico
Oil and Gas Association;
v.
the
Utah Petroleum Association;
vi.
the Colorado
Petroleum Association;
vii.
the Permian Basin Petroleum
Association;
viii.
the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers;
ix.
the Navajo
Nation Oil and Gas Company; and
x.
the National Tribal Energy Association.
7.
Requires the ACA
to collaborate with members of
the Task Force to study
and develop recommendations on:
a)
the
process for revising the state implantation for the
2015 national ambient air quality standards for the Phoenix-Mesa nonattainment
area cleaner burning gasoline blend, program and the potential impact on gas
prices, motor fuel supplies and air quality in Arizona by revising the state
implementation plan;
b)
the
construction of additional refined products pipelines, refineries and storage
capacities in Arizona to support the stability and resiliency of the fuel
supply of Arizona; and
c)
the
availability of potential alternative lower-production-cost fuel blends that
could be sold in Arizona and the potential states or producers that could
supply the alternative fuel.
8.
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 and
recommendations.
9.
Requires the ACA, by September 30, 2029, to submit a report on findings
related to the prescribed study and any recommendations
to
the Governor, the Senate President, the House Speaker and provide a copy of the
report to the Secretary of State
.
10.
Requires
the outlined report to contain:
a)
the
minutes of the Task Force meetings;
b)
the
names, titles and employers of each federal official and member of the oil and
gas industry that the task force consulted with in developing the
recommendations and the nature and extent of the consultation;
c)
recommendations
for action on each outlined item that the ACA and Task Force must study and
develop recommendations on, including recommendations for executive action,
legislative action and private sector action; and
d)
a
description of the areas of agreement or disagreement of the recommendations
between individuals with whom the ACA consulted.
11.
Requires
the Chief Executive Officer of the ACA, or the Chief Executive Officer's
designee, to serve as the chairperson of the Task Force.
12.
Requires the ACA to:
a)
provide meeting space and staff support as requested by the Task Force;
and
b)
keep
minutes of each meeting of the Task Force
13.
Requires
the Task Force to collaborate with the ACA to submit a report of the Task
Force's findings and recommendations, as prescribed.
14.
Extends
the deadline for the ACA to submit the outlined study report from September 30,
2028, to September 30, 2029.
15.
Repeals
the Task Force on January 1, 2031.
16.
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.
Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1.
Allows, rather than requires, the ACA to use available resources to
improve motor fuel and gasoline resilience, rather than reduce fuel and gas
prices, in Arizona.
2.
Requires the ACA to consider the improvement of motor fuel and gasoline
resilience as one of its objectives.
3.
Removes the requirement that the ACA consider the reduction of fuel and
gas prices as its primary objectives.
4.
Allows, rather than requires, the ACA to use any existing program or
incentive to advance the objective.
5.
Extends the date for the repeal of the ACA fuel and gas resilience
requirements from January 1, 2030, to January 1, 2031.
6.
Requires the ACA to collaborate with members of the Task Force, rather
than oil and gas industry, to study and develop recommendations
as outlined.
7.
Removes the requirements that the ACA 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
b)
the
construction of additional refined products pipelines, refineries and storage
capacities 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.
8.
Extends the prescribed ACA reporting deadline from October 1, 2026, to
September 30, 2029.
9.
Modifies the Task Force membership.
10.
Requires
the Chief Executive Officer of the ACA, or the Chief Executive Officer's
designee, to serve as the chairperson of the Task Force.
11.
Requires
the ACA, rather than the Task Force, to keep minutes of each meeting of the Task
Force.
12.
Removes
specified meeting requirements from the Task Force, as outlined.
13.
Requires
the Task Force to study and develop recommendations of the items in the
prescribed study report.
14.
Outlines information that
must be included in the ACA's study report.
15.
Requires the Task Force, by September 30, 2029, to collaborate with the
ACA to submit a report of the Task Force's findings and recommendations.
16.
Requires the Task Force to
convene with federal officials, members of the oil and gas
industry in the United States, subject matter experts as determined by the Task
Force and:
a)
refinery operators;
b)
the state energy offices in other states within petroleum administrative
defense districts three, four and five;
c)
the Texas Oil and Gas Association;
d)
the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association;
e)
the Utah Petroleum Association;
f)
the Colorado Petroleum Association;
g)
the Permian Basin Petroleum Association;
h)
the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers;
i)
the Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company; and
j)
the
National Tribal Energy Association.
17.
Extends
the repeal of the Task Force from January 1, 2029, to January 1, 2031.
House Action
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Senate
Action
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Prepared by
Senate Research
June 9, 2026
SB/NRG/hk
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
HB2696 - 572R - S Ver
Senate Engrossed
House Bill
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 resilience; delayed repeal
A. Notwithstanding any
other law, the Arizona commerce authority may use available resources to
improve motor fuel and gasoline resilience in this state. The
Arizona commerce authority shall consider the improvement of motor fuel and
gasoline resilience in this state as
one of its
objectives and may use any existing program or
incentive to advance the objective.
B. This section is repealed
from and after December 31, 2030.
Sec. 2.
Arizona commerce
authority; study; report
A. The Arizona commerce
authority shall collaborate with members of the fuel resiliency task force to
study and develop recommendations on all of the following:
1. The process for revising
the state implementation plan for the 2015 national ambient air quality
standards for the Phoenix-Mesa nonattainment area cleaner burning
gasoline blend program and the potential impact on gas prices, motor fuel
supplies and air quality in this state by revising the state implementation
plan.
2. The construction of
additional refined products pipelines, refineries and storage capacities in
this state to support the stability and resiliency of the fuel supply of this
state.
3. The availability of
potential alternative lower-production-cost fuel blends that could
be sold in this state and the potential states or producers that could supply
the alternative fuel.
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 and recommendations required by
subsection A of this section.
C. On or before September
30, 2029, the Arizona commerce authority shall submit a report on findings
related to the study prescribed in subsection A of this section and any
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. �The report must contain at least all of the following:
1. The minutes of the fuel
resiliency task force meetings.
2. The names, titles and
employers of each federal official and member of the oil and gas industry that
the task force consulted with in developing the recommendations and the nature
and extent of the consultation.
3. Recommendations for
action on each item listed in subsection A of this section, including
recommendations for executive action, legislative action and private sector
action.
4. A description of the
areas of agreement or disagreement of the recommendations between individuals
with whom the Arizona commerce authority consulted.
Sec. 3.
Fuel resiliency
task force; membership; duties; report; delayed repeal
A. The fuel resiliency task
force is established in the Arizona commerce authority and consists of the
following members:
1. The chief executive
officer of the Arizona commerce authority or the chief executive officer's
designee. �The chief executive officer of the Arizona commerce authority, or
the chief executive officer's designee, shall serve as the chairperson of the
task force.
2. The director of the
division of emergency management within the department of emergency and
military affairs or the director's designee.
3. The director of the
Arizona department of agriculture or the director's designee.
4. The director of the
department of environmental quality or the director's designee.
5. The executive
director of the Maricopa association of governments or the executive
director's designee.
6. The executive director
of the governor's office of resiliency or the executive director's designee.
7. The chief executive
officer of the western states petroleum association or the chief executive
officer's designee.
8. The executive director
of the Arizona petroleum marketers association or the executive director's
designee.
9. The Kinder Morgan
Phoenix terminal manager or the terminal manager's designee.
10. The aviation director
for the city of Phoenix or the aviation director's designee.
B. The Arizona commerce
authority shall do both of the following:
1.
Provide
meeting space and staff support as requested by the task force.
2. Keep minutes of each
meeting of the task force.
C. The task force shall:
1. Meet at least quarterly.
2. Study and develop
recommendations on the items prescribed in section 2, subsection A of this act.
3. Convene with federal
officials, members of the oil and gas industry in the United States, subject
matter experts as determined by the task force and all of the following on the
items prescribed in section 2, subsection A of this act:
(a) Refinery operators.
(b) The state energy
offices in other states within petroleum administrative defense districts
three, four and five.
(c) The Texas oil and gas
association.
(d) The New Mexico oil and
gas association.
(e) The Utah petroleum
association.
(f) The Colorado petroleum
association.
(g) The Permian basin
petroleum association.
(h) The American fuel and
petrochemical manufacturers.
(i) The Navajo nation oil
and gas company.
(j) The national tribal
energy association.
4.
On
or before September 30, 2029, collaborate with the Arizona commerce authority
to
submit a report of the task force's findings
and recommendations as provided in section 2 of this act.
D. This section is repealed
from and after December 31, 2030
.