Official Summary Text
SB1271 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet
Assigned to
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PASSED BY COW
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR
S.B. 1271
businesses; crime
reporting; penalty; prohibition
Purpose
Prohibits a
municipality from imposing a fine or penalty on a business or commercial entity
(business) that is based on the number or frequency of public safety or
emergency services made by the business or the monetary value of property that
has been damaged or stolen, except if the request for public safety or
emergency services is malicious, knowingly false or frivolous.
Background
A person commits
false reporting by initiating or circulating a report of a bombing, fire,
offense or other emergency knowing that such a report is false and intending
that the report will cause action of any sort by an official or volunteer
agency organized to deal with emergencies, or that it will place a person in
fear of imminent serious physical injury or that it will prevent or interrupt
the occupation of any building, room, place of assembly, public place or means
of transportation. A person who commits false reporting that results in an
emergency response or investigation of false reporting and who is convicted of
a violation is liable for the expenses that are incurred due to the emergency
response or the investigation of the commission of false reporting except if
the person is a juvenile. False reporting is a class 1 misdemeanor, except that
a second or subsequent violation is a class 6 felony (
A.R.S.
� 13-2907
).
There is no
anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
1.
Prohibits a municipality from enacting, enforcing or maintaining an
ordinance, rule, regulation, policy or practice that imposes a fine or any
other penalty on a business based on the number or frequency of requests for
public safety assistance or emergency services made by the business at any
location of the business or that is based on the monetary value of property
that belongs to the business that has been damaged or stolen.
2.
Allows
a municipality to impose a fine or any other penalty on a business that is
based on the number or frequency of requests for public safety assistance or
emergency services made by the business or that is based on the monetary value
of property that belongs to the business that has been damaged or stolen if:
a)
the requests for public safety assistance or emergency services made by
the business are malicious, knowing false or frivolous; or
b)
the
municipality has provided the business with a written notice indicating that
the municipality has determined that prior public safety assistance or
emergency services made by the business are malicious, knowingly false or
frivolous.
3.
Specifies that the prohibition on a municipality imposing a fine or
penalty based on the frequency of public safety services does not apply to
faulty or repeated nonemergency alerts from alarm systems.
4.
Becomes effective of the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by
Committee of the Whole
�
Exempts faulty or repeated nonemergency alerts from alarm systems
from the prohibition on a municipality imposing a fine or penalty based on the
frequency of public safety services.
Senate
Action
GOV����� 2/4/26���������� DP��������� 6-1-0
Prepared by
Senate Research
February 26,
2026
AN/ci
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
Chapter 0166 - 572R - S Ver of SB1271
Senate Engrossed
businesses; crime
reporting; penalty; prohibition
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
CHAPTER 166
SENATE BILL 1271
AN
ACT
amending title 9, chapter 4, article 8,
arizona revised statutes, by adding section 9-500.54; relating to
municipal authority.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 9, chapter 4, article 8,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 9-500.54, to read:
START_STATUTE
9-500.54.
Businesses; crime reporting; municipal penalties; prohibition;
exception
A. A municipality may not enact,
enforce or maintain an ordinance, rule, regulation, policy or practice that
imposes a fine or any other penalty on a business or commercial entity that is
based on the number of or frequency of requests for public safety assistance or
emergency services made by the business or commercial entity at any location of
the business or commercial entity or that is based on the monetary value of
property that belongs to the business or commercial entity that has been damaged
or stolen.
B. Notwithstanding subsection A of
this section, a municipality may enforce or maintain an ordinance, rule,
regulation, policy or practice that imposes a fine or any other penalty on a
business or commercial entity that is based on the number of or frequency of
requests for public safety assistance or emergency services made by the
business or commercial entity at any location of the business or commercial
entity or that is based on the monetary value of property that belongs to the
business or commercial entity that has been damaged or stolen if both of the
following apply:
1. The requests for public safety
assistance or emergency services made by the business or commercial entity are
any of the following:
(
a
) malicious.
(
b
) knowingly
false.
(
c
) frivolous.
2. the municipality has provided the
business or commercial entity with a written notice indicating that the
municipality has determined that prior requests for public safety assistance or
emergency services made by the business or COMMERCIAL entity are malicious,
knowingly false or frivolous.
C. This section does not apply to
faulty or repeated nonemergency alerts from alarm systems. For the purposes of
this subsection, "alarm system" has the same meaning prescribed in
section 32-101.
END_STATUTE
APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR JUNE 19, 2026.
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE JUNE 22, 2026.