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SB1588 - 572R - I Ver
REFERENCE TITLE:
legislative vacancies; appointment
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SB 1588
Introduced by
Senator
Bolick
AN
ACT
Amending section 41-1202, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to legislative vacancies.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 41-1202, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
41-1202.
Vacancy in legislature; precinct committeemen; appointment;
definition
A. If a vacancy occurs or exists in the legislature
and the vacant seat was represented by a political party that is organized
pursuant to title 16, chapter 5, article 2 and that has at least thirty elected
committeemen who are from precincts that are in the legislative district and
that are in the county in which the vacancy occurred, the following apply:
1. The secretary of state shall immediately notify
the state party chairman of the appropriate political party of the
vacancy. Within three calendar days after notification of the
vacancy by the secretary of state, the state party chairman of the appropriate
political party or the chairman's designee shall give written notice of the
meeting for selecting nominees to fill the vacancy to all elected precinct
committeemen of the appropriate political party from precincts that are in the
legislative district and that are in the county in which the vacancy occurred.
2. The meeting prescribed by paragraph 1 of this
subsection shall occur within five calendar days after the date of the written
notice of the meeting for selecting nominees if the legislature is in session,
if
the governor has called a special session or if the
presiding officer or minority leader of the house in which the vacancy has
occurred notifies the chair of the board
of supervisors of the
same county as the person elected to or appointed to the office immediately
before the vacancy
that a special session is pending
or within twenty-one calendar days after the
date of notice of the vacancy from the secretary of state if the legislature is
not in session, the governor has not called a special session and the chair of
the board has not been notified that a special session is pending.
3. At the meeting for selecting nominees to fill the
vacancy, those elected precinct committeemen shall nominate by a majority vote
three qualified electors to fill the vacancy who meet the requirements for
service in the legislature, who belong to the same political party and who
reside at the time of nomination in the same district and county as the person
elected to or appointed to the office immediately before the vacancy.
4. The meeting to select nominees to fill the
vacancy is subject to title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1, and the state party
chairman of the appropriate political party shall oversee the
nominations. Fifty percent or more of the elected precinct
committeemen of the district who are in the legislative district and from the
county in which the vacancy occurred, or their proxies, meeting together
constitutes a quorum for the purposes of this subsection. A precinct
committeeman may choose to allow the use of a proxy that:
(a) Is given by the precinct committeeman to another
elected precinct committeeman for the legislative district in which the vacancy
occurred for use at the meeting to fill the vacancy.
(b) Only is valid for the length of the meeting for
which it was given.
(c) Is attested by a notary public or two witnesses.
5. The state party chairman of the appropriate
political party shall immediately forward the names of the three persons named
pursuant to paragraph 3 of this subsection to the board of supervisors of the
county of residence of the person elected or appointed to the office
immediately before the vacancy occurred.
�
the
board of supervisors may also consider for appointment any current or
previously elected official who meets the requirements for service in the
legislature, who belongs to the same political party and who resides at the
time of nomination in the same legislative district and county as the person
elected to or appointed to the office immediately before the vacancy.
The
board of supervisors shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy from the three
nominees submitted
or from any
current
or previously elected official that the board of supervisors considered for
appointment
pursuant to this paragraph
. If the legislature is in
session,
if
the governor has called a special session or
if the presiding officer or minority leader of the house in which the vacancy
has occurred notifies the chair of the board
of supervisors of
the same county as the person elected to or appointed to the office immediately
before the vacancy
that a special session is pending, the board of
supervisors shall make the appointment within ten calendar days after receiving
the names and if the legislature is not in session,
the
governor has not called a special session and the chair of the board has not
been notified that a special session is pending
, the board of supervisors
shall make the appointment within twenty-one calendar days after receiving the
names.� If the board of supervisors fails to fill the vacancy from the three
nominees
or from the CURRENT OR PREVIOUSly ELECTED OFFICIAL THAT
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CONSIDERED FOR APPOINTMENT
within the time
prescribed by this paragraph, the state party chairperson shall appoint from
among the three nominees submitted to the county board of supervisors
or from
THE CURRENT
OR PREVIOUSly ELECTED OFFICIAL THAT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CONSIDERED FOR
APPOINTMENT
a person to fill the vacancy within three calendar days
after the time for the board of supervisors to fill the vacancy has elapsed.
6. If the elected precinct committeemen of the
appropriate political party fail to nominate by a majority vote three qualified
electors to fill the vacancy at the meeting to select nominees as prescribed by
paragraph 3 of this subsection, the state party chairman shall immediately
notify the board of supervisors of the appropriate county and the board of
supervisors shall fill the vacancy as provided in subsection B of this
section. The time frame for appointing a citizens panel shall run
from receipt of notification from the state party chairman.
B. If a vacancy occurs in the legislature and the
vacant seat was represented by a political party that is organized pursuant to
title 16, chapter 5, article 2 and that has fewer than thirty elected
committeemen who are from precincts that are in the legislative district and
that are in the county in which the vacancy occurred or if the vacant seat was
not represented by a political party that is organized pursuant to title 16,
chapter 5, article 2, the following apply:
1. The secretary of state shall immediately notify
the board of supervisors of the county of residence of the person elected to or
appointed to the office immediately before the vacancy of the vacancy.
2. Within seven calendar days after notification of
the vacancy by the secretary of state, the board of supervisors shall appoint a
citizens panel to submit to the board the names of three qualified electors to
fill the vacancy who meet the requirements for service in the legislature and
who belong to the same political party and reside at the time of nomination in
the same district and county as the person elected to or appointed to the
office immediately before the vacancy. If the person elected to or appointed
to the office immediately before the vacancy was not registered with a
political party that is organized pursuant to title 16, chapter 5, article 2,
the qualified electors shall be qualified electors who are not registered with
a political party that is organized pursuant to title 16, chapter 5,
article 2.
3. The meeting of the citizens panel prescribed by
paragraph 2 of this subsection shall occur within five calendar days after the
citizens panel is appointed by the board of supervisors if the legislature is
in session, the governor has called a special session or the chair of the board
of supervisors
has been notified that a special session
is pending, or within twenty-one calendar days after the citizens panel is
appointed if the legislature is not in session, the governor has not called a
special session and the chair of the board
of supervisors
has not been notified that a special session is pending.
4. The board of supervisors, by a majority vote of
the board, shall
appoint one person from the list of
names submitted by the citizens panel to fill the vacancy
or may
consider for appointment any current or previously elected official who meets
the requirements for service in the legislature, who belongs to the same
political party and who resides at the time of nomination in the same
legislative district and county as the person elected to or appointed to the
office immediately before the vacancy
. If the legislature is
in session, if the governor has called a special session or if the presiding
officer or minority leader of the house in which the vacancy has occurred
notifies the chair of the board that a special session is pending, the board of
supervisors shall make the appointment within ten calendar days after receiving
the names and if the legislature is not in session, the governor has not called
a special session and the chair of the board has not been notified that a
special session is pending, the board of supervisors shall make the appointment
within twenty-one calendar days after receiving the names. If
the board of supervisors fails to fill the vacancy from the three nominees
or from the current or previously elected
official that the board of supervisors considered for appointment
within
the time prescribed, the state party chairman shall appoint a person to fill
the vacancy from the three nominees submitted
or from the
current or previously elected official that the board of supervisors considered
for appointment
and shall make that appointment within three calendar
days after the time for the board of supervisors to fill the vacancy has
elapsed.�
C. If any person who is nominated pursuant to
subsection A or B of this section withdraws from consideration, the state party
chairman of the appropriate political party shall immediately nominate an
alternative qualified elector to fill the vacancy who meets the requirements
for service in the legislature, who belongs to the same political party and who
resides at the time of nomination in the same district and county as the person
elected to or appointed to the office immediately before the vacancy.
D. For the purposes of this section,
"appropriate political party" means the same political party of which
the person who was elected to or appointed to the office was a member
immediately before the vacancy occurred except that if the person vacating the
office changed political party affiliation after taking office, the person who
is appointed to fill the vacancy shall be of the same political party that the
vacating officeholder was when the vacating officeholder was elected or appointed
to that office.
END_STATUTE