Read the full stored bill text
SB1152 - 572R - S Ver
(Sections
1-502 and 46-140.01 ─ failed to obtain the three-fourths
vote pursuant to article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona.)
Senate Engrossed
immigration
verification; public benefits; asylum
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SENATE BILL 1152
AN
ACT
amending sections 1-502 and 46-140.01,
Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to immigration status.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section
1.
Subject
to the requirements of article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona,
section 1-502, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
1-502.
Eligibility for state or local public
benefits; documentation; violation; classification; citizen suits; court costs
and attorney fees; definition
A. Notwithstanding
any other state law and to the extent allowed by federal law, any agency of
this state or a political subdivision of this state that administers any state
or local public benefit shall require each natural person who applies for the
state or local public benefit to submit at least one of the following documents
to the entity that administers the state or local public benefit demonstrating
lawful presence in the United States:
1. An Arizona driver
license issued after 1996 or an Arizona nonoperating identification license.
2. A birth
certificate or delayed birth certificate issued in any state, territory or
possession of the United States.
3. A United States
certificate of birth abroad.
4. A United States
passport.
5. A foreign passport
with a United States visa.
6. An I-94 form
with a photograph.
7. A United States
citizenship and immigration services employment authorization document or
refugee travel document.
8. A United States
certificate of naturalization.
9. A United States
certificate of citizenship.
10. A tribal
certificate of Indian blood.
11. A tribal or
bureau of Indian affairs affidavit of birth.
B. For the purposes
of administering the Arizona health care cost containment system, documentation
of citizenship and legal residence shall conform with the requirements of title
XIX of the social security act.
C. To the extent
allowed by federal law, an agency of this state or political subdivision of
this state may allow tribal members, the elderly and persons with disabilities
or incapacity of the mind or body to provide documentation as specified in
section 6036 of the federal deficit reduction act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171; 120
Stat. 81) and related federal guidance in lieu of the documentation required by
this section.
D. Any person who
applies for state or local public benefits shall sign a sworn affidavit stating
that the documents presented pursuant to subsection A of this section are true
under penalty of perjury.
E. Failure to report
discovered violations of federal immigration law by an employee of an agency of
this state or a political subdivision of this state that administers any state
or local public benefit is a class 2 misdemeanor. If that employee's
supervisor knew of the failure to report and failed to direct the employee to
make the report, the supervisor is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.
F. This section shall
be enforced without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability or
national origin.
G. Any person who is
a resident of this state has standing in any court of record to bring suit
against any agent or agency of this state or its political subdivisions to
remedy any violation of any provision of this section, including an action for
mandamus. Courts shall give preference to actions brought under this
section over other civil actions or proceedings pending in the court.
H. The court may
award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to any person or any official or
agency of this state or a county, city, town or other political subdivision of
this state that prevails by an adjudication on the merits in a proceeding
brought pursuant to this section.
I. A
natural person who has a pending asylum application before an immigration court
under 8 united states code section 1158 is ineligible to receive any state or
local public benefit until an immigration judge issues an order granting
asylum.
I.
J.
For
the purposes of this section, "state or local public benefit" has the
same meaning prescribed in 8 United States Code section 1621, except that it
does not include commercial or professional licenses, postsecondary education,
benefits provided by the public retirement systems and plans of this state or
services widely available to the general population as a whole.
END_STATUTE
Sec.
2.
Subject
to the requirements of article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona,
section 46-140.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
46-140.01.
Verifying applicants for public
benefits; violation; classification; citizen suits; definition
A. An
agency of this state and all of its political subdivisions, including local
governments, that are responsible for the administration of state and local
public benefits that are not federally mandated shall do all of the following:
1. Verify the
identity of each applicant for those benefits and verify that the applicant is
eligible for benefits as prescribed by this section.
2. Provide any other
employee of this state or any of its political subdivisions with information to
verify the immigration status of any applicant for those benefits and assist
the employee in obtaining that information from federal immigration
authorities.
3. Refuse to accept
any identification card issued by
the
this
state or any political subdivision of
this state, including a driver license, to establish identity or determine
eligibility for those benefits unless the issuing authority has verified the
immigration status of the applicant.
4. Require all
employees of
the
this
state and its
political subdivisions to make a written report to federal immigration
authorities for any violation of federal immigration law by any applicant for
benefits
and
that is discovered by the employee.
B. Failure to report
discovered violations of federal immigration law by an employee is a class 2
misdemeanor.� If that employee's supervisor knew of the failure to report and
failed to direct the employee to make the report, the supervisor is guilty of a
class 2 misdemeanor.
C. A
natural person who has a pending asylum application before an immigration court
under 8 united states code section 1158 is ineligible to receive any state or
local public benefit until an immigration judge issues an order granting
asylum.
C.
D.
This
section shall be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity
or national origin.� Any person who is a resident of this state shall have
standing in any court of record to bring suit against any agent or agency of
this state or its political subdivisions to remedy any violation of any
provision of this section, including an action for mandamus. Courts
shall give preference to actions brought under this section over other civil
actions or proceeding pending in the court.
E. For
the purposes of this section, "state or local public benefit" has the
same meaning prescribed in section 1-502.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 3.
Requirements for
enactment; three-fourths vote
Pursuant to article IV, part 1,
section 1, Constitution of Arizona, sections 1-502 and 46-140.01,
Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, are effective only on the
affirmative vote of at least three-fourths of the members of each house
of the legislature.