school bonding; ballot language

HB4033 - 572R - H Ver

House Engrossed

school bonding;
ballot language

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HOUSE BILL 4033

AN
ACT

amending section 15-491, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to education bond elections.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1. Section 15-491, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
15-491.

Elections on school property; exceptions

A. The governing board of a school district may, and
on petition of fifteen percent of the school electors as shown by the poll list
at the last preceding annual school election shall, call an election for the
following purposes:

1. To locate or change the location of school
buildings.

2. To purchase or sell school sites or buildings or
sell school sites pursuant to section 15-342 or to build school
buildings, but the authorization by vote of the school district shall not
necessarily specify the site to be purchased.

3. To decide whether the bonds of the school
district shall be issued and sold for the purpose of raising monies for
purchasing or leasing school lots, for building or renovating school buildings,
for supplying school buildings with furniture, equipment and technology, for
improving school grounds, for purchasing pupil transportation vehicles or for
liquidating any indebtedness already incurred for such purposes. Bonds issued
for furniture, equipment and technology, other than fixtures, shall mature not
later than the July 1 that follows the fifth year after the bonds were issued.
A school district shall not issue class B bonds until the school district has
obligated in contract the entire proceeds of any class A bonds issued by the
school district. The total amount of class A and class B bonds
issued by a school district shall not exceed the debt limitations prescribed in
article IX, sections 8 and 8.1, Constitution of Arizona.

4. To lease for twenty or more years, as lessor or
as lessee, school buildings or grounds. Approval by a majority of
the school district electors voting authorizes the governing board to negotiate
for and enter into a lease. The ballot shall list the school
buildings or grounds for which a lease is sought. If the governing
board does not enter into a lease of twenty or more years of the school
buildings or grounds listed on the ballot within twenty years after the date of
the election and the board continues to seek such a lease, the governing board
shall call a special election to reauthorize the board to negotiate for and to
enter into a lease of twenty or more years.

5. To change the list of capital projects or the
purposes authorized by prior voter approval to issue bonds.

6. To extend from six to ten years the time period
to issue class B bonds authorized in 2009 or earlier. Elections pursuant to
this paragraph may not be held later than the sixth November after the election
approving the issuance of the bonds.

B. A petition is not required for holding the first
election to be held in a joint common school district for any of the purposes
specified in subsection A of this section. The certification of
election results required by section 15-493 shall be made to the board of
supervisors of the jurisdictional county.

C. When the election is called to determine whether
or not bonds of the school district shall be issued and sold for the purposes
enumerated in the call for the election, the question shall be submitted to the
vote of the qualified electors of the school district as defined in section 15-401
and subject to section 15-402.

D. The governing board shall order the election to
be held and the election notice and procedures to be conducted in the manner
prescribed in title 35, chapter 3, article 3. If a petition for an
election has been filed with the governing board as provided in subsection A of
this section, the board shall act on the petition within sixty days by ordering
the election to be held as provided in this subsection. If a school
district bond election is scheduled for the same date a school district will
hold an override election, the governing body shall deliver a copy of the
notice of election and ballot to the county school superintendent who shall
include the notice of election and ballot with the informational pamphlet and
ballot prepared for the override election. Mailing of the
information required for both the override and bond elections shall constitute
compliance with the notice provisions of this section.

E. The elections to be held pursuant to this section
shall only be held on dates prescribed by section 16-204, except that
elections held pursuant to this section to decide whether class B bonds shall
be issued, or any other obligation incurred that will require the assessment of
secondary property taxes, shall only be held on the first Tuesday after the first
Monday of November.

F. Subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section does
not apply to the sale of school property if the market value of the school
property is less than $50,000.

G. Bond counsel fees, financial advisory fees,
printing costs and paying agent and registrar fees for bonds issued pursuant to
an election under this section shall be paid from either the amount authorized
by the qualified electors of the school district or current operating funds.
Bond election expenses shall be paid from current operating funds only.

H. For any election conducted to decide whether
class B bonds will be issued pursuant to this section:

1. Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this
subsection, the ballot shall include the following statement:

The capital improvements that are proposed to be funded
through this bond issuance are to exceed the state standards and are in
addition to monies provided by the state.

__________ school district is proposing to issue class B
general obligation bonds totaling $__________ to fund capital improvements over
and above those funded by the state. Under the students first capital funding
system, _________ school district is entitled to state monies for new
construction and renovation of school buildings in accordance with state law.
Additional information and a description of each proposed capital
improvement that will be funded through this bond issuance can be found in the
informational pamphlet mailed by the school district.

2. For a school district that is a career technical
education district, the ballot shall include the following statement:

________, a career technical education district, is proposing
to issue class B general obligation bonds totaling $_________ to fund capital
improvements at a campus owned or operated and maintained by the career
technical education district.

3. The ballot shall conform to the requirements of
title 35, chapter 3, article 3.

4. At least eighty-five days before the
election, the school district shall submit proposed ballot language to the
county school superintendent and the director of the Arizona legislative
council. The director of the Arizona legislative council shall
review the proposed ballot language to determine whether the proposed ballot
language complies with this section. If the director of the Arizona
legislative council determines that the proposed ballot language does not
comply with this section, the director, within ten calendar days after
receiving the proposed ballot language, shall notify the school district and
the county school superintendent of the director's objections, and the school
district shall resubmit revised ballot language to the director for approval.

5. Not later than thirty-five days before a
class B bond election conducted pursuant to this section, the school district
shall mail an informational pamphlet prepared by the county school
superintendent to each household that contains a qualified elector in the
school district. The informational pamphlet shall contain, at a
minimum, the following information:

(a) An executive summary of the school district's
most recent capital plan submitted to the school facilities oversight board.

(b) A complete list of each proposed capital
improvement that will be funded with the proceeds of the bonds and a
description of the proposed cost of each improvement, including a separate
aggregation of capital improvements for administrative purposes as defined by
the school facilities oversight board.

(c) The tax rate associated with each of the
proposed capital improvements and the estimated cost of each capital
improvement for the owner of a single family home that is valued at $100,000.

(
d
) A complete
list of each proposed capital improvement that will be funded with the proceeds
of the bonds and a description of the proposed cost of each improvement,
including a separate aggregation of the capital improvements for administrative
purposes as defined by the school facilities oversight board. The list must
detail each specific proposed capital improvement that will be funded with the
proceeds of the bonds and must include all of the following:

(
i
) A
description of the improvement, including whether bond proceeds will be used to
acquire land, to make improvements to land, to construct a new school facility,
to improve existing school facilities or to pay for transportation costs.

(
ii
) The
anticipated cost of the improvement.

(
iii
) The
location of the improvement. For costs to acquire or improve land, the
description of the location may detail the general physical location of THE
improvement.

(
e
) A
description of each proposed improvement, categorized by one of the following:

(
i
) High school
expansion and elementary school enhancements, including playgrounds, athletic
facilities, campus security, furniture, technology and equipment.

(
ii
) Renovations,
repairs and infrastructure upgrades, including furniture, technology and
equipment.

(
iii
) Pupil
transportation and maintenance vehicles.

(
iv
) Transportation,
maintenance and administrative facilities improvements, including furniture,
technology and equipment.

(
f
) The
specific projects the school district will undertake for Each proposed
improvement.

(
g
) For each
category prescribed in subdivision (
e
) of this paragraph,
The percentage of the category's total cost relative to the total proceeds of
the bonds. The percentage is calculated by dividing the estimated cost of each
proposed improvement by the total amount of the proceeds of the bonds and multiplying
the quotient by one hundred.

I. For any election conducted to decide whether
impact aid revenue bonds shall be issued pursuant to this section:

1. The ballot shall include the following statement:

The capital improvements that are proposed to be funded
through this bond issuance are to exceed the state standards and are in
addition to monies provided by the state.

__________ school district is proposing to issue impact aid
revenue bonds totaling $__________ to fund capital improvements over and above
those funded by the state. Under the students first capital funding system,
_________ school district is entitled to state monies for new construction and
renovation of school buildings in accordance with state law.

2. The ballot shall contain the words "bond
approval, yes" and "bond approval, no", and the voter shall
signify the voter's desired choice.

3.
At least eighty-five
days before the election,
the
school district
shall submit proposed ballot language to the director of the legislative
council. The director of the legislative council shall review the proposed
ballot language to determine whether the proposed ballot language complies with
this section. If the director of the legislative council determines
that the proposed ballot language does not comply with this section, the
director, within ten calendar days
after receiving
the proposed ballot language, shall notify the school
district of the director's objections
,
and the
school district shall resubmit revised ballot language to the director for
approval.

4. Not later than thirty-five days before an
impact aid revenue bond election conducted pursuant to this section, the school
district shall mail an informational pamphlet prepared by the county school
superintendent to each household that contains a qualified elector in the school
district. The informational pamphlet shall contain, at a minimum, the following
information:

(a) The date of the election.

(b) The voter's polling place and the times it is
open.

(c) An executive summary
of the school district's most recent capital plan submitted to the school
facilities
oversight
board.

(d) A complete list of
each proposed capital improvement that will be funded with the proceeds of the
bonds and a description of the proposed cost of each improvement, including a
separate aggregation of capital improvements for administrative purposes as
defined by the school facilities
oversight
board.

(e) A statement that impact aid revenue bonds will
be fully funded by aid that the school district receives from the federal
government and do not require a levy of taxes in the district.

(f) A statement that if the bonds are approved, the
first priority for the impact aid will be to pay the debt service for the bonds
and that other uses of the monies are prohibited until the debt service
obligation is met.

(g) A statement that if the impact aid revenue bonds
are approved, the school district shall not issue or sell class B bonds while
the district has existing indebtedness from impact aid revenue bonds, except
for bonds issued to refund any bonds issued by the board.

J. If the voters approve the issuance of school
district class B bonds or impact aid revenue bonds, the school district shall
not use the bond proceeds for any purposes other than the proposed capital
improvements listed in the informational pamphlet, except that up to ten
percent of the bond proceeds may be used for general capital expenses,
including cost overruns of proposed capital improvements. The
proposed capital improvements may be changed by a subsequent election as provided
by this section.

K. Each school district that issues bonds under this
section shall hold a public meeting each year between September 1 and October
31, until the bond proceeds are spent, at which an update of the progress of
capital improvements financed through bonding is discussed and at which the
public is allowed an opportunity to comment. At a minimum, the
update shall include a comparison of the current status and the original
projections on the construction of capital improvements, the costs of capital
improvements and the costs of capital improvements in progress or completed
since the prior meeting and the future capital bonding plans of the school
district. The school district shall include in the public meeting a
discussion of the school district's use of state capital aid and voter-approved
capital overrides in funding capital improvements, if any.

L. If an election is held to change the purpose or
list of capital projects authorized by prior voter approval to issue bonds
pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 5 of this section, the following
requirements apply:

1. The election may be held only on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

2. Not later than thirty-five days before the
election, the school district shall mail an informational pamphlet prepared by
the county school superintendent to each household in the school district that
contains a qualified elector. The informational pamphlet shall contain, at a
minimum, the following information:

(a) The date of the election.

(b) The voter's polling place and the times it is
open.

(c) A statement as to why the election was called.

(d) A complete list of each proposed capital
improvement that is in addition to the initial capital improvements presented
in the informational pamphlet when the bonds were approved and the proposed
cost of each improvement, including a separate aggregation of capital
improvements for administrative purposes as defined by the school facilities
oversight board.

(e) A complete list of each capital improvement that
was presented in the informational pamphlet when the bonds were initially
approved and that is proposed to be eliminated or to have its cost reduced, and
the proposed cost of each improvement, including a separate aggregation of
capital improvements for administrative purposes as defined by the school
facilities oversight board.

(f) Arguments for and against the proposed change,
if submitted, as provided by section 15-481, subsection B, paragraph
9. The ballot arguments for the proposed change shall be signed as
the governing board of the school district without listing any member's
individual name for the arguments for the proposed change.

3. The ballot shall contain the words "change
capital improvements, yes" and "change capital improvements,
no", and the voter shall signify the voter's desired choice.

4. If the election is to add a purpose that was not
on the initial ballot, the ballot shall list the purpose that is proposed to be
added.

M. If an election is held to extend the time to
issue bonds pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 6 of this section, the
following requirements apply:

1. The election may be held only on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

2. Not later than thirty-five days before the
election, the school district shall mail an informational pamphlet prepared by
the county school superintendent to each household in the school district that
contains a qualified elector. The informational pamphlet shall contain,
at a minimum, the following information:

(a) The date of the election.

(b) The voter's polling place and the times it is
open.

(c) A statement as to why the election was called.

(d) Arguments for and against the proposed change,
if submitted, as provided in section 15-481, subsection B, paragraph
9. The ballot arguments for the proposed change shall be signed as
the governing board of the school district without listing any member's
individual name for the arguments for the proposed change.

3. The ballot shall contain the words "extend
time to issue bonds, yes" and "extend time to issue bonds, no",
and the voter shall signify the voter's desired choice.

N. Notwithstanding any
other law, the question of whether to approve the issuance of bonds for the
construction, acquisition and equipment of school buildings in the district,
the purchase of new school buses and the purchase of necessary sites for school
buildings may be submitted to the voters in a single ballot proposition, except
that bonds for the following purposes must be stated in a separate proposition:

1. The construction,
acquisition or equipment of any of the following:

(
a
) A
stadium with seating capacity for more than one thousand spectators.

(
b
) A
natatorium.

(
c
) Recreational
facility other than a gymnasium, playground or play area.

(
d
) A
performing arts facility.

(
e
) Housing
for teachers as determined by the district to be necessary to have a sufficient
number of teachers for the district.

(
f
) Administrative
buildings.

2. An acquisition or
update of technology equipment, other than equipment used for school security
purposes or technology infrastructure integral to the construction of a
facility.

O. The question of
whether to approve the issuance of bonds for a building described by subsection
N, paragraph 1 of this section must be printed on the ballot as a separate
ballot proposition regardless of whether that building is proposed as part of
the same complex or building that contains traditional classroom facilities.
Each separate ballot proposition required by this subsection must state the
principal amount of the bonds to be issued that constitutes the cost for
construction of that portion of the building or complex attributable to the
building described by subsection N, paragraph 1 of this section or to the
traditional classroom facilities, as applicable.
END_STATUTE