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Chapter 0007 - 572R - S Ver of SB1029
Senate Engrossed
candidate committees;
posthumous closure
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
CHAPTER 7
SENATE BILL 1029
AN
ACT
amending sections 16-933, 16-934
and 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 16-933, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
16-933.
Transfer and disposal of committee monies; limitations
A. A committee that intends to terminate shall
dispose of surplus monies as follows:
1. Return surplus monies to the contributor.
2. Contribute surplus monies pursuant to and within
the limits prescribed in article 1.2 of this chapter.
3. In the case of a candidate committee, contribute
surplus monies to a candidate committee for another candidate under the
following conditions:
(a) The candidate committee makes the contribution
after the time period for filing a nomination paper pursuant to section 16-311,
subsection A.
(b) The candidate associated with the candidate
committee that makes the contribution did not file a nomination paper to run
for election in the current election cycle.
(c) In the case of a candidate committee for
legislative office, the candidate committee makes the contribution when the
legislature is not in regular legislative session.
(d) The candidate committee makes the contribution
within the limits prescribed for individuals in section 16-912.
4. Donate surplus monies to a nonprofit organization
that has tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue
code.
5. In the case of a statewide or legislative
candidate committee and subject to section 41-133, transfer surplus
monies to the candidate's officeholder expense account.
B. Surplus monies shall not be used for or converted
to personal use.
C. This section does not preclude the repayment of a
loan to a committee.
D. For the purposes of this section,
on the death of a candidate, that candidate's candidate committee is deemed to
have the intention to terminate the committee.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 16-934, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
16-934.
Termination statement; filing; contents
A. A committee may terminate only when the committee
treasurer files a termination statement with the filing officer with whom the
committee's statement of organization was filed.
B. In the termination statement, the committee
treasurer shall certify under penalty of perjury that all of the following
apply:
1. The committee will no longer receive any
contributions or make any disbursements.
2. The committee either:
(a) Has no outstanding debts or obligations.
(b) Has outstanding debts or obligations, or both,
that are all more than five years old, and that the committee's creditors have
agreed to discharge the debts and obligations and have agreed to the
termination of the committee.
3. Any surplus monies have been disposed of and that
the committee has no cash on hand.
4. All contributions and expenditures have been
reported, including any disposal of surplus monies.
C. A filing officer may reject the termination
statement if it appears to the filing officer that the requirements in
subsection B of this section have not been satisfied.
D. After a termination statement is filed, a
committee:
1. Is not required to file any subsequent campaign
finance reports.
2. Shall have no further receipts or disbursements
without filing a new statement of organization.
E. A standing committee may terminate its activities
in a particular reporting jurisdiction, and remain active in other reporting
jurisdictions, by filing a statement of that intent with the filing officer in
each reporting jurisdiction.
F. Notwithstanding any other law, if
a deceased candidate was serving as the treasurer for that candidate's own
candidate committee, the following individuals in the following order of
priority are authorized to act as the treasurer for that committee for the
purposes of this section and section 16-933 after the candidate's death
unless an alternate treasurer was previously designated by the deceased
candidate:
1. If the candidate provided for
allocation of an unexpended balance through a will or trust, the personal
representative of the will or the trustee of the trust.
2. The surviving spouse of the
deceased candidate.
3. The next of kin of the deceased
candidate.
4. An individual who is appointed by
the court.
G. An individual who serves as the
treasurer pursuant to subsection F of this section shall note on the
termination statement that the candidate is deceased and shall provide the
filing officer with documentation that verifies the candidate's death.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 3. Section 16-937, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
16-937.
Failure to file; penalties; notice; suspension; waiver
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
$10
for each day that the filing is late during the first
fifteen days after the filing deadline and
twenty-five
dollars
$25
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.
F. On compliance with section 16-934,
a filing officer may waive any penalties accrued under this section from a
candidate committee's failure to file a report if the report was due after that
candidate's death.
END_STATUTE
APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR MARCH 27, 2026.
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE MARCH 27, 2026.