firearms transactions; merchant codes; prohibition

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's effectiveness may vary depending on how strictly government entities adhere to the prohibition against record-keeping.

Firearms Transactions; Merchant Codes; Prohibition

SB1058 establishes the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, which prevents government entities from keeping records of privately-owned firearms and prohibits payment card networks from using merchant codes to distinguish firearm retailers.

What This Bill Does

• Preempts government entities from knowingly maintaining lists or records about privately owned firearms or their owners, except for criminal investigations or as required by law.
• Prohibits payment card networks from requiring or incentivizing the use of merchant category codes that distinguish firearm retailers from other types of stores.
• Requires the Attorney General and county attorneys to investigate alleged violations and take legal action against violators if they do not cease violating conduct within 30 business days after receiving written notice.
• Allows for civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation if a person or entity does not stop violating the law after being notified.

Who It Names or Affects

• Government entities that might keep records of firearms or their owners.
• Payment card networks and merchants who use merchant category codes.

Terms To Know

Merchant Category Code

A code assigned to a retailer based on the types of goods and services offered, used by payment card networks.

Payment Card Network

An entity that provides infrastructure for debit or credit card transactions and accepts various forms of payment cards.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify the exact penalties if a government entity keeps records contrary to the law.
• It is unclear how this act will affect existing laws requiring certain records in criminal investigations.

Official Summary Text

SB1058 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet

Assigned to
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COMMITTEE

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session

FACT SHEET FOR
S.B. 1058

firearms transactions;
merchant codes; prohibition

Purpose

Establishes the
Second
Amendment Financial Privacy Act
(Act) which preempts a government entity
from keeping a record of privately-owned firearms or firearm owners, prohibits
a merchant category code from distinguishing firearm retailers from other
retailers and requires the Attorney General (AG) or county attorney to enforce
the Act as prescribed.

Background

The Arizona
Constitution grants an individual citizen the right to bear arms in defense of the
individual or the State of Arizona. An individual or corporation may not
organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men (
Ariz.
Const. art. 2 � 26
). The State of Arizona or any political subdivision of
the state may not enact or implement any additional fee, tax, assessment, lien
or other encumbrance on the transfer of a firearm between two private parties.
A
private party
is a person who is not a prohibited possessor under
state or federal law and does not include a person who possesses a federal
firearms license and primarily engages in the business of selling, trading or
purchasing firearms (
A.R.S.
� 44-7852
).

A
firearm
is
any loaded or unloaded handgun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun or other
weapon that will expel or that is designed to or may readily be converted to
expel a solid projectile by the action of expanding gases (
A.R.S.
� 44-7851
).

����������� There is no
anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.

Provisions

1.

Preempts a government entity from knowingly keeping or causing to be
kept any list, record or registry of privately owned firearms or the owners of
firearms.

2.

Excludes, from the preemption, records kept in the course of a criminal
investigation or prosecution or as otherwise required by law.

3.

Prohibits a payment card network from requiring or incentivizing the use
of a merchant category code in a manner that distinguishes a firearm retailer
from other retailers.

4.

Prohibits a person and covered entity from assigning a merchant category
code that distinguishes a firearm retailer from other retailers.

5.

Entitles the AG or county attorney the exclusive authority to enforce
the Act.

6.

Requires the AG or county attorney to investigate any reasonable alleged
violation of the Act and, if a violation is found, provide written notice to
that person, covered entity or government entity.

7.

Requires a person, covered entity or government entity to cease the
violating conduct within 30 business days after receiving written notice.

8.

Requires the AG or county attorney to file an injunction against a
person, covered entity or government entity that fails to cease the violating
conduct within 30 business days of notice.

9.

Requires a court to grant the injunction and attorney fees and costs if
the court finds that the person, covered entity or government entity has not
ceased the violating conduct.

10.

Requires,
if a person, covered entity or government entity purposely fails to comply with
the injunction after 30 days of being properly served, the AG or county
attorney to petition the court to seek a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each
violation.

11.

Requires a
court, when assessing the civil penalty, to consider factors resulting from the
violation, including the financial resources of the violator and the harm or
risk of harm to the public.

12.

Specifies
that a court order that imposes a civil penalty must be stayed pending any
appeal of the court's order.

13.

States that
it is a defense to any proceeding initiated pursuant to the Act that a merchant
category code was required by law.

14.

Designates
the remedies set forth in the Act as exclusive remedies for any violation of
the Act.

15.

Designates
this legislation as the
Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act.

16.

Defines
assign

as a covered entity's policy, process or practice that labels, links or
otherwise associates a merchant category code with a merchant or a payment card
transaction in a manner that allows a covered entity or any other entity that
facilitates or processes the payment card transaction to identify whether a
merchant is a firearm retailer or whether a transaction involves the sale of
firearms or ammunition.

17.

Defines a
merchant
category code
as a code that is approved by an international organization
for standardization or an equivalent successor organization specifically for
firearm retailers and assigned to a retailer based on the types of good and
services the retailer offers to a customer.

18.

Defines the following terms:

a)

ammunition

includes cartridge cases, primers, bullets and propellant powder that is
designed for use in any firearm;

b)

a
covered
entity
is an entity, or agent of the covered entity, that establishes a
relationship with a retailer for the purpose of processing credit card, debit
card or prepaid transactions;

c)

a
firearm
retailer
is any person or covered entity that is physically located in
Arizona and engaged in the lawful selling or trading of firearms, antique
firearms or ammunition; and

d)

a
payment
card network
is any covered entity, or agent of the covered entity, that
provides the proprietary services, infrastructure and software to conduct debit
or credit card transaction authorizations, clearances and settlements and
accepts as a form of payment a brand of debit card, credit card or other device
that may be used to carry out debit or credit transactions.

19.

Defines
terms.

20.

Makes
conforming changes.

21.

Becomes
effective on the general effective date.

Prepared by Senate Research

January 16, 2026

KJA/hk

Current Bill Text

SB1058 - 572R - S Ver

Senate Engrossed

firearms
transactions; merchant codes; prohibition

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SENATE BILL 1058

AN
ACT

amending section 44-7851, arizona
revised statutes; amending title 44, chapter 36, article 1, arizona revised
statutes, by adding section 44-7853; relating to firearm transactions.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1. Section 44-7851, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
44-7851.

Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Ammunition" includes:

(
a
) Cartridge
cases.

(
b
) Primers.

(
c
) Bullets.

(
d
) Propellant
powder that is designed for use in any firearm.

2. "Assign" means a covered
entity's policy, process or practice that labels, links or otherwise associates
a merchant category code with a merchant or a payment card transaction in a
manner that allows a covered entity or any other entity that facilitates or
processes the payment card transaction to identify whether a merchant is a
firearm retailer or whether a transaction involves the sale of firearms or
ammunition.

3. "Covered entity" means
any entity, or agent of the covered entity, that establishes a relationship
with a retailer for the purpose of processing credit card, debit card or
prepaid transactions.

1.

4.
"Firearm"
means any loaded or unloaded handgun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun or other
weapon that will expel or that is designed to or may readily be converted to
expel a solid projectile by the action of expanding gases.

5. "Firearm retailer" means
any person or covered entity that is both of the following:

(
a
) PHYSICALLY
located in this state.

(
b
) Engaged in
the lawful selling or trading of FIREARMS, antique firearms or ammunition.

6. "Government entity"
means this state or any political subdivision of this state, including any
board, governmental body, agency or instrumentality of this state.

7. "Merchant category code"
means a code that is both of the following:

(
a
) Approved by
an INTERNATIONAL organization for STANDARDIZATION or an equivalent successor
organization specifically for firearm retailers.

(
b
) Assigned to
a retailer based on the types of good and services the retailer offers to a
customer.

8. "Payment card" means a
credit card, charge card or debit card or any other card that is issued to a
customer and that allows the customer to PURCHASE goods or services from a
merchant.

9. "Payment card network"
means any covered entity, or agent of the covered entity, that does both of the
following:

(
a
) Provides
the proprietary services, infrastructure and software to conduct debit card or
credit card transaction authorizations, clearances and settlements.

(
b
) Accepts as
a form of payment a brand of debit card, credit card or other device that may
be used to carry out debit or credit transactions.

10. "Payment card
transaction" means any transaction in which a payment card is accepted as
payment.

11. "Person" means a
natural person.

2.

12.
"Private
party" means a person who is not a prohibited possessor under state or
federal law and does not include a person who possesses a federal firearms
license and who primarily engages in the business of selling, trading or
purchasing firearms.

3.

13.
"Transfer"
means when a person gives, loans, offers for sale, wills or in any manner
offers another person a firearm for any lawful purpose and the person is not a
prohibited possessor under state or federal law.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title 44, chapter 36, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 44-7853, to read:

START_STATUTE
44-7853.

Firearm transactions; merchant category codes; registry;
exceptions; attorney general; county attorney; civil penalty; injunction

A. Except for records kept during the
regular course of a criminal investigation or prosecution or as otherwise
required by law, a government entity may not knowingly keep or cause to be kept
any list, record or registry of privately owned firearms or the owners of the
firearms.

B. A payment card network may not
require or incentivize the use of a merchant category code in a manner that
distinguishes a firearm retailer from other retailers.

C. A person and covered entity may
not assign a firearm retailer a merchant category code that distinguishes a
firearm retailer from other retailers.

D. the attorney general or a county
attorney shall investigate a reasonable allegation of a violation of this
section. If the attorney general or county attorney finds a
violation, the attorney general or county attorney shall provide written notice
to the person, covered entity or government entity that violated this section,
and the person, covered entity or government entity shall cease the conduct
that led to the violation within thirty business days after receiving notice. If
a person, covered entity or government entity does not cease the conduct that
led to the violation within thirty business days after receiving written notice
from the attorney general or county attorney, the attorney general or county
attorney shall file an injunction against that person, covered entity or
government entity.� If the court finds that the person, covered entity or
government entity violated this section and has not ceased the activity that
constitutes the violation, the court shall grant the injunction and award attorney
fees and costs.� If a person, covered entity or government entity purposely
fails to comply with the court's injunction after thirty days of being properly
served, the attorney general or county attorney shall petition the court to
seek a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each violation. The
court shall consider factors resulting from the violation, including the
financial resources of the violator and the harm or risk of harm to the public,
when assessing the civil penalty.� A court order that imposes a civil penalty
pursuant to this subsection shall be stayed pending any appeal of the court's
order.�

E. The attorney general or county
attorney has exclusive authority to enforce this section.� The remedies set
forth in subsection D of this section are the exclusive remedies for any
violation of this section.

F. It is a defense to any proceeding
that is initiated pursuant to this section that a merchant category code was
required by law.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 3.
Short title

This act may be cited as the
"Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act".