House Engrossed

 

violations of state law; schools

 

 

 

 

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-fifth Legislature

Second Regular Session

2022

 

 

 

HOUSE BILL 2009

 

 

 

An Act

 

repealing section 41-194.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by Laws 2021, chapter 403, section 18; amending section 41-194.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by Laws 2016, chapter 35, section 1; 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. Repeal

Section 41-194.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by Laws 2021, chapter 403, section 18, is repealed.

Sec. 2. Section 41-194.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by Laws 2016, chapter 35, section 1, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE41-194.01. Violations of state law by counties, cities, towns and school districts; attorney general investigation; report; withholding of state shared revenues or classroom site fund monies

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 or school district 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 or school district, by certified mail, of the violation and shall indicate that the county, city, or town or school district has thirty days to resolve the violation. If the attorney general determines that the county, city, or town or school district 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, the department of education, which shall withhold ten percent of the monthly classroom site fund monies that the school district 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 or school district.

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 revenue revenues paid to the county, city or town pursuant to section 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. A school district 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 had monies withheld pursuant to this section. END_STATUTE