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SB1437 - 572R - S Ver
Senate Engrossed
public records;
format; fees
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SENATE BILL 1437
AN
ACT
amending section 39-121.01, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to public records.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section
1.
1. Section
39-121.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
39-121.01.
Definitions; maintenance of records; requests for copies,
printouts, photographs or mailing of public records; index; denial of requests
A. In this article, unless the context otherwise
requires:
1. "Officer" means any person
who is
elected or appointed to hold any elective or appointive
office of any public body and any chief administrative officer, head, director,
superintendent or
chairman
chairperson
of any public body.
2. "Public body" means this state, any
county, city, town, school district, political subdivision or tax-supported
district in this state, any branch, department, board, bureau, commission,
council or committee of the foregoing, and any public organization or agency
,
�that is
supported in whole or in part
by monies from this state or any political subdivision of this state
,
�or
expending
that spends
monies provided by this state or any political subdivision of this state.
B. All officers and public bodies shall maintain all
records, including records as defined in section 41-151,
that
are
reasonably necessary or appropriate to maintain an accurate
knowledge of their official activities and of any of their activities that are
supported by monies from this state or any political subdivision of this state.
C. Each public body
shall be
is
responsible for
the preservation, maintenance
and care of
preserving, maintaining and caring for
that body's public records, and each officer
shall be
is
responsible for
the preservation, maintenance
and care of
preserving, maintaining and caring for
that officer's public records. It
shall be
is
the duty of each such body to carefully secure, protect and
preserve public records from deterioration, mutilation, loss or destruction,
unless
the public record is
disposed of pursuant to
sections 41-151.15 and 41-151.19.
D. Subject to section 39-121.03:
1. Any person may request to examine or be furnished
copies, printouts or photographs of any public record during regular office
hours or may request that the custodian mail a copy of any public record
that is
not otherwise available on the public body's website
to the requesting person. The custodian may require any person
requesting that the custodian mail a copy of any public record to pay in
advance for any copying and postage charges. The custodian of such
records shall promptly furnish such copies, printouts or photographs and may
charge a fee if the facilities are available, except that public records for
purposes listed in section 39-122 or 39-127 shall be furnished
without charge. At the time of the request, the requesting person
shall affirm that the public record is not for a commercial purpose or, if the
public record is for a commercial purpose, that the requesting person will provide
a statement that explains the intended use pursuant to section 39-121.03,
subsection A.
2. If requested, the custodian of the records of an
agency shall also furnish an index of records or categories of records that
have been withheld and the reasons the records or categories of records have
been withheld from the requesting person.� The custodian shall not include in
the index
any
information that is expressly made
privileged or confidential in statute or a court order. This
paragraph shall not be construed by an administrative tribunal or a court of
competent jurisdiction to prevent or require an order compelling a public body
other than an agency to furnish an index. For the purposes of this
paragraph, "agency" has the same meaning prescribed in section 41-1001
but does not include the department of public safety, the department of
transportation motor vehicle division, the department of juvenile corrections
and the state department of corrections.
3. If the custodian of a public record does not have
facilities for making copies, printouts or photographs of a public record that
a person has a right to inspect, the person shall be granted access to the
public record for the purpose of making copies, printouts or
photographs. The copies, printouts or photographs shall be made
while the public record is in the possession, custody and control of the
custodian of the public record and
shall be
is
subject to the supervision of the custodian.
4. On request, Copies of a public
record shall be provided in the least expensive manner possible and
with a preference for providing electronic
copies.�
Except for a public record request involving a video recording from a law
enforcement agency pursuant to section 39-129 or a public record for a
commercial purpose pursuant to section 39-121.03, the fee for a public
record shall be based on material costs only.
E. Access to a public record is deemed denied if a
custodian fails to promptly respond to a request for production of
a
the
public record or fails to
provide to the requesting person an index of any record or categories of
records that are withheld from production pursuant to subsection D, paragraph 2
of this section.
END_STATUTE