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HB2752 - 572R - S Ver
Senate Engrossed
House Bill
commerce authority;
trade offices
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HOUSE BILL 2752
AN
ACT
Amending sections 41-1502 and 41-1504,
arizona revised statutes; relating to the Arizona commerce authority.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section
1.
Section
41-1502, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
41-1502.
Arizona
commerce authority; board of directors; conduct of office; audit
A. The
Arizona commerce authority is established. The mission of the
authority is to provide private sector leadership in growing and diversifying
the economy of this state, creating high quality employment in this state
through expansion, attraction and retention of businesses and marketing this
state for the purpose of expansion, attraction and retention of businesses.
B. The
authority is governed by a board of directors consisting of:
1. The
governor, who serves as chairperson.
2. The
chief executive officer.
3. Seventeen
private sector business leaders who are chief executive officers of private,
for-profit enterprises. None of these members may be an
elected official of any government entity. These members must be
appointed from geographically diverse areas of this state and not all from the
same county. These members shall serve staggered three-year
terms of office beginning and ending on the third Monday in January.� These
members shall be appointed as follows:
(a) Nine
members who are appointed by the governor.
(b) Four
members who are appointed by the president of the senate.
(c) Four
members who are appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
4. The
following as ex officio members without the power to vote:
(a) The
president of the senate
or
the president's designee
.
(b) The
speaker of the house of representatives
or the speaker's designee
.
(c) The
president of the Arizona board of regents.
(d) The
president of each state university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board
of regents.
(e) One
president of a community college who is appointed by a statewide organization
of community college presidents.
(f) The
chairperson of the governor's council on small business, or its successor.
(g) The
chairperson of the workforce Arizona council established by executive order
pursuant to section 41-5401.
(h) One
member of the rural business development advisory council established by
section 41-1505 who is appointed by the governor.
(i) The
president of a statewide organization of incorporated cities and towns who is
appointed by the governor.
(j) The
president of a statewide organization of county boards of supervisors who is
appointed by the governor.
C. For
members who are appointed by the governor pursuant to subsection B of this
section, before appointment by the governor, a prospective member of the board
of directors shall submit a full set of fingerprints to the governor for the
purpose of obtaining a state and federal criminal records check pursuant to
section 41-1750 and Public Law 92-544. The department of
public safety may exchange this fingerprint data with the federal bureau of
investigation.
D. The
following shall serve as technical advisors to the board to enhance
collaboration among state agencies to meet infrastructure needs and facilitate
growth opportunities throughout this state:
1. The
director of environmental quality.
2. The
state land commissioner.
3. The
director of the department of revenue.
4. The
director of the office of tourism.
5. The
director of the department of transportation.
6. The
director of water resources.
7. The
director of the department of insurance and financial institutions.
8. The
director of the Arizona-Mexico commission in the governor's office.
9. The
director of the office of economic opportunity.
10. An
attorney who is appointed jointly by the president of the senate and the
speaker of the house of representatives and who has experience litigating
constitutional cases involving article IX, section 7 of the Arizona Constitution.
E. The
governor shall appoint a cochairperson of the board of directors from among the
voting members. The board may establish an executive committee
consisting of the chairperson, the cochairperson, the chief executive officer
and additional voting members of the board elected by the board. The
chairperson may appoint subcommittees as necessary.
F. The
board may request assistance from representatives of other state agencies to
maximize economic development opportunities by leveraging their access to
strategic assets and planning processes.
G. Board
members serve without compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of
expenses pursuant to section 41-1504, subsection E, paragraph 1.
H. A
majority of the voting members, which must include the chairperson and the
chief executive officer, constitute a quorum for the purpose of an official
meeting for conducting business.� An affirmative vote of a majority of the
members present at an official meeting is sufficient for any action to be
taken.
I. The
board shall keep and maintain a complete and accurate record of all of its
proceedings. Public access to the board's records is subject to
section 41-1504, subsection M. The public portion of board
meetings shall be recorded. These recordings shall be posted on the
authority's website within three business days after the meeting and shall
remain on the website pursuant to section 38-431.01, subsection K.
J. The
board
of
directors
, executive committee, subcommittees and advisory
councils are subject to title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1, relating to public
meetings, except as follows:
1. In
addition to section 38-431.03, the board, executive committee and
subcommittees may meet in executive session for discussion about potential
business development opportunities and strategies that, if made public, could
potentially harm the applicant's, the potential applicant's or this state's
competitive position.
2. Social
and travel events related to the expansion, attraction and retention of
businesses are not public meetings if no legal action involving a final vote or
decision is taken.
3. Activities
and events held in public for the purpose of announcing the expansion,
attraction and retention of projects are not public meetings.
K. The
board and the officers and employees of the authority are subject to title 38,
chapter 3, article 8, relating to conflicts of interest.
L. The
board of directors shall adopt written policies, procedures and guidelines for
standards of conduct, including a gift policy, for members of the board and for
officers and employees of the authority.
M. The
compensation of all officers and employees is considered a public record
pursuant to title 39, chapter 1.
N. The
authority shall operate on the state fiscal year. The board shall
cause an annual audit to be conducted on or before October 31 of each of the
authority's public funds established by this chapter by an independent
certified public accountant. The board shall immediately file a
certified copy of the audit with the auditor general.� The auditor general may
make such further audits and examinations as necessary and may take appropriate
action relating to the audit or examination pursuant to chapter 7, article 10.1
of this title. If the auditor general takes no further action within
thirty days after the audit is filed, the audit is considered to be sufficient.
O. All
state agencies shall cooperate with the authority and make available data
pertaining to the functions of the authority as requested by the authority.
P. The
authority may not have more than one hundred full-time employees,
excluding any full-time employees that are funded with monies other than
state monies.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 41-1504, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
41-1504.
Powers and duties; e-verify requirement
A. The board
of directors
, on
behalf of the authority, may:
1. Adopt and use a corporate seal.
2. Sue and be sued.
3. Enter into contracts as necessary to carry out
the purposes and requirements of this chapter, including intergovernmental
agreements pursuant to title 11, chapter 7, article 3 and interagency service
agreements as provided by section 35-148.
4. Lease real property and improvements to real
property for the purposes of the authority. Leases by the authority
are exempt from chapter 4, article 7 of this title, relating to management
of state properties.
5. Employ or retain legal counsel and other
consultants as necessary to carry out the purposes of the authority.
6. Develop and use written policies, procedures and
guidelines for the terms and conditions of employing officers and employees of
the authority and may include background checks of appropriate personnel.
B. The board
of directors
, on
behalf of the authority, shall:
1. Develop comprehensive long-range strategic
economic plans for this state and submit the plans to the governor.
2. Annually update a strategic economic plan for
submission to the governor.
3. Accept gifts, grants and loans and enter into
contracts and other transactions with any federal or state agency,
municipality, private organization or other source.
C. The authority shall:
1. Assess and collect fees for processing
applications and administering incentives. The board shall adopt the manner of
computing the amount of each fee to be assessed. Within thirty days after
proposing fees for adoption, the chief executive officer shall submit a
schedule of the fees for review by the joint legislative budget committee. It
is the intent of the legislature that a fee shall not exceed one percent of the
amount of the incentive.
2. Determine and collect registry fees for the
administration of the allocation of federal tax exempt industrial development
bonds and student loan bonds authorized by the authority. Such
monies collected by the authority shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35-146
and 35-147, in an application fees fund. Monies in the fund shall be
used, subject to annual appropriation by the legislature, by the authority to
administer the allocations provided in this paragraph and are exempt from the
provisions of section 35-190 relating to the lapsing of appropriations.
3. Determine and collect security deposits for the
allocation, for the extension of allocations and for the difference between
allocations and principal amounts of federal tax exempt industrial development
bonds and student loan bonds authorized by the authority. Security
deposits forfeited to the authority shall be deposited in the state general
fund.
4.
At the direction of the board
Subject to legislative appropriation for that specific purpose
,
establish and supervise the operations of full-time or part-time
offices in other states and foreign countries for the purpose of expanding
direct investment and export trade opportunities for businesses and industries
in this state
.
if,
�
any such legislative appropriation shall be
based on
the
objective research
,
prepared by
the authority
pursuant to this paragraph, to
determines
determine
that the effort would
be beneficial to the economy of this state.�
On or before
December 1 of each year, the authority shall submit to the joint legislative
budget committee a report on the activities of each trade office operated by
the authority during the prior FISCAL year
and objective
research that identifies potential offices, if any, in other states and foreign
countries for the purpose of expanding direct investment and export trade opportunities
for businesses and industries in this state.
5. Establish a program by which entrepreneurs become
aware of permits, licenses or other authorizations needed to establish, expand
or operate in this state.
6. Post on its website on an annual basis a report
that contains at least the following information
,
and submit a copy to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker
of the house of representatives:
(a) The cumulative progress made toward its goals
for direct job creation, capital investment and higher average wages and the
estimated number of indirect jobs and induced jobs created as a result of the
work and the programs of the authority.
(b) To the extent not prohibited by law, information
on each incentive application approved by the authority in the fiscal year,
including the amount of the incentive approved or awarded and the applicant's
activity that is projected or has been achieved, whichever is applicable, to
qualify for the incentive.
(c) Rural economic development outreach and impact
data.
(d) Small business outreach and impact data.
7. Develop and implement written policies and
procedures relating to the administration of grants from the Arizona competes
fund established by section 41-1545.01, including the following elements:
(a) Procedures for documenting grantee selection and
due diligence.
(b) Procedures for verification of information
submitted by grantees.
(c) Procedures for evaluating requests to amend
grant terms and for documenting decisions relating to those requests.
8. Notwithstanding any other law, on request of the
office of economic opportunity, disclose to the office of economic opportunity
applicant information for incentives administered, in whole or in part, by the
authority. Any confidentiality requirements provided by law
applicable to the information disclosed pursuant to this paragraph apply to the
office of economic opportunity.
9. On or before December 31 of each year, compile
the data collected pursuant to subsection F of this section and submit a report
to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of
representatives and the secretary of state.
D. The authority, through the chief executive
officer, may:
1. Contract and incur obligations reasonably
necessary or desirable within the general scope of the authority's activities
and operations to enable the authority to adequately perform its duties.
2. Use monies, facilities or services to provide
matching contributions under federal or other programs that further the
objectives and programs of the authority.
3. Accept gifts, grants, matching monies or direct
payments from public or private agencies or private persons and enterprises for
the conduct of programs that are consistent with the general purposes and
objectives of this chapter.
4. Assess business fees for promotional services
provided to businesses that export products and services from this
state. The fees shall not exceed the actual costs of the services
provided.
5. Establish and maintain one or more accounts in
banks or other depositories, for public or private monies of the authority,
from which operational activities, including payroll, vendor and grant
payments, may be conducted. Individual funds that are established by
law under the jurisdiction of the authority may be maintained in separate
accounts in banks or other depositories, but shall not be commingled with any
other monies or funds of the authority.
E. The chief executive officer shall:
1. Hire employees and prescribe the terms and
conditions of their employment as necessary to carry out the purposes of the
authority. The board of directors shall adopt written policies,
procedures and guidelines, similar to those adopted by the department of
administration, regarding officer and employee compensation, observed holidays,
leave and reimbursement of travel expenses and health and accident
insurance. The officers and employees of the authority are exempt from
any laws regulating state employment, including:
(a) Chapter 4, articles 5 and 6 of this title,
relating to state service.
(b) Title 38, chapter 4, article 1 and chapter 5,
article 2, relating to state personnel compensation, leave and retirement.
(c) Title 38, chapter 4, article 2, relating to
reimbursement of state employee expenses.
(d) Title 38, chapter 4, article 4, relating to
health and accident insurance.
2. Maintain three full-time employees to serve as
advocates for small and rural businesses on economic development and regulatory
matters before cities, towns, counties or state agencies. Two of the
full-time employees shall be dedicated to small business growth, support
and regulation, one of whom shall serve as a small business ombudsman.� One of
the full-time employees shall be dedicated to rural economic development.
3. On a quarterly basis, provide public record data
in a manner prescribed by the department of administration related to the
authority's revenues and expenditures for inclusion in the comprehensive
database of receipts and expenditures of state monies pursuant to section 41-725.
F. On or before September 30 of each year, each
city, town and county in this state shall submit to the authority the city's,
town's or county's statistics for the preceding fiscal year that include all of
the following:
1. The average time from the submission of an
initial building permit application to a certificate of occupancy.
2. The average time from the submission of a zoning
application to zoning approval.
3. The average time from the submission of a final
plat to the recordation of the final plat.
4. Any other statistics as determined by the
authority or the municipality time frames advisory committee established by
section 41-1527 relating to municipal and county support for economic
development projects.
G. In addition to any other requirement, in order to
qualify for any grant, loan, reimbursement, tax incentive or other economic
development incentive pursuant to this chapter, an applicant that is an
employer must register with and participate in the e-verify program in
compliance with section 23-214. The authority shall require
verification of compliance with this subsection as part of any application
process.
H. Notwithstanding any other law, the authority is
subject to chapter 3.1, article 1 of this title, relating to risk management.
I. The authority is exempt from title 18, chapter 1,
articles 1 and 2, relating to statewide information technology. The
authority shall adopt policies, procedures and guidelines regarding information
technology.
J. The authority is exempt from state general
accounting and finance practices and rules adopted pursuant to chapter 4,
article 3 of this title, but the board shall adopt written accounting
practices, systems and procedures for the economic and efficient operation of
the authority. The authority shall adopt policies pursuant to this
subsection that prohibit using state monies as defined in section 35-321
to provide business executives lodging, alcoholic beverages, personal
transportation or tickets to entertainment events for the purposes of
attracting businesses to this state.
K. The authority is exempt from section 41-712,
relating to the installation and maintenance of telecommunication systems.
L. The authority may lease or purchase motor
vehicles for use by employees to conduct business activities. The
authority is exempt from section 28-472, relating to the state motor
vehicle fleet, and title 38, chapter 3, article 10, relating to vehicle usage
and markings.
M. Any tangible or intangible record submitted to or
compiled by the board or the authority in connection with its work, including
the award of monies, is subject to title 39, chapter 1, unless an applicant
shows, or the board or authority determines, that specific information meets
either of the following:
1. If made public, the information would divulge the
applicant's or potential applicant's trade secrets, as defined in section 44-401.
2. If made public, the information could potentially
harm the applicant's, the potential applicant's or this state's competitive
position relating to potential business development opportunities and
strategies.
N. The authority is exempt from chapter 25, article
1 of this title, relating to government competition with private enterprise.
END_STATUTE