PREFILED NOV 24 2021
|
REFERENCE TITLE: violations of state law; schools |
|
State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-fifth Legislature Second Regular Session 2022
|
|
HB 2009 |
|
|
|
Introduced by Representative Kaiser
|
AN ACT
amending section 41-194.01, arizona revised statutes; relating to the attorney general.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 41-194.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
41-194.01. Violations of state law by counties, cities, towns, school districts and charter schools; attorney general investigation; report; withholding of state shared revenues or classroom site fund monies; notice of violation
A. At the request of one or more members of the legislature, the attorney general shall investigate any ordinance, regulation, order or other official action adopted or taken by the governing body or governing board of a county, city, or town, school district or charter school or any written policy, written rule or written regulation adopted by any agency, department or other entity of the county, city or town that the member alleges violates state law or the Constitution of Arizona.
B. The attorney general shall make a written report of findings and conclusions as a result of the investigation within thirty days after receipt of the request and shall provide a copy of the report to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the member or members of the legislature making the original request and the secretary of state. If the attorney general concludes that the ordinance, regulation, order, written policy, written rule or other action under investigation:
1. Violates any provision of state law or the Constitution of Arizona, the attorney general shall provide notice to the county, city, or town, school district or charter school, by certified mail, of the violation and shall indicate that the county, city, or town, school district or charter school has thirty days to resolve the violation. If the attorney general determines that the county, city, or town, school district or charter school has failed to resolve the violation within thirty days, the attorney general shall:
(a) Notify:
(i) For a violation by a county, city or town, the state treasurer, who shall withhold and redistribute state shared monies from the county, city or town as provided by section 42-5029, subsection L and from the city or town as provided by section 43-206, subsection F.
(ii) For a violation by a school district or charter school, the department of education, which shall withhold ten percent of the monthly classroom site fund monies that the school district or charter school is eligible to receive under section 15-977, except that the department of education may not withhold any monies that are transferred to the classroom site fund pursuant to section 37-521, subsection B or section 42-5029, subsection E, paragraph 10.
(b) Continue to monitor the response of the governing body or governing board, and when the offending ordinance, regulation, order or action is repealed or the violation is otherwise resolved, the attorney general shall notify:
(i) The governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the member or members of the legislature making the original request that the violation has been resolved.
(ii) The state treasurer or the department of education to restore the distribution of state shared revenues or classroom site fund monies to the county, city, or town, school district or charter school.
2. May violate a provision of state law or the Constitution of Arizona, the attorney general shall file a special action in the supreme court to resolve the issue, and the supreme court shall give the action precedence over all other cases. The court shall require the county, city or town to post a bond equal to the amount of state shared revenues paid to the county, city or town pursuant to sections 42-5029 and 43-206 in the preceding six months.
3. Does not violate any provision of state law or the Constitution of Arizona, the attorney general shall take no further action pursuant to this section.
C. Before a member of the legislature may request an investigation by the attorney general of any written policy, written rule or written regulation adopted by any agency, department or other entity of a county, city or town pursuant to subsection A of this section, the member of the legislature shall first provide a written notification of the alleged violation of state law or the Constitution of Arizona to the chief executive officer or governing body of the county, city or town. If the county, city or town does not repeal or otherwise resolve the violation within sixty days after receiving the notification, the member or members of the legislature may request an investigation by the attorney general pursuant to this section.
D. A school district or charter school that has classroom site fund monies withheld pursuant to this section may not reduce the pay or benefits of an employee who is a teacher, instructional staff or classified staff in any manner during the same fiscal year in which the school district or charter school had monies withheld pursuant to this section.