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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session |
House: GOV DP 4-3-0-0-0 | Third Read 31-25-3-0-1Senate: ATT DPA/SE 6-4-0-0 | Third Read |
HCR2048:
elected officials; salary; prohibition
NOW: military families; scholarship accounts
Sponsor: Representative Way, LD 15
Senate Engrossed
The Senate adopted a strike-everything amendment that does the following:
Overview
Subject to voter approval, amends the Arizona Constitution to prohibit the state from confiscating monies from any scholarship account of a student who is a child of a military family if prescribed criteria are met. Declares a bill enacted into law or a measure approved by the voters on or after November 1, 2026, that violates the prohibition is void.
History
To be eligible to participate in the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program, a child must be a qualified student. A qualified student is an Arizona resident who meets prescribed eligibility categories or who is eligible to enroll in an Arizona public school and who does not otherwise qualify for an ESA. An Arizona resident who is the child of a parent who is a United States Armed Forces member and who is on active duty or was killed in the line of duty is considered to be a qualified student (A.R.S. §§ 15-2401 and 15-2401.01).
To enroll a qualified student in the ESA Program, the qualified student's parent must sign an agreement. Upon signing the agreement, the qualified student's ESA is funded in an amount equal to 90% of the sum of the base support level and additional assistance calculated if that student were attending a charter school (A.R.S. § 15-2402).
Provisions
1. Prohibits the state from confiscating monies from any scholarship account of any student who is a child of a military family if:
a. the scholarship account is established and maintained by the state pursuant to a program that designates any student who is a child of a military family and who satisfies enrollment requirements as eligible to receive scholarship monies; and
b. the student may use monies in the scholarship account for tuition or fees at eligible postsecondary educational institutions.
2. Specifies the criteria for the prohibition does not limit the prohibition to scholarship account programs that are established and maintained by the state for only children of military families.
3. Stipulates that if a bill enacted into law or a measure approved by the voters on or after November 1, 2026, violates the prohibition, the entire bill or measure is void.
4. Prohibits a court from severing any portion of a bill or measure that violates the prohibition.
5. Defines child of a military family as a student who is a child of a person who:
a. is serving on active duty as a United States Armed Forces member;
b. was serving on active duty as a United States Armed Forces member when the student's eligibility was initially determined; or
c. was a member of the United States Armed Forces and killed in the line of duty.
6. Includes, in confiscate, seizing, transferring or otherwise taking monies from a scholarship account.
7. Excludes, from confiscate, acts related to the closure of a scholarship account if:
a. the student or account holder is found personally responsible for illegal activity or wrongdoing in a proceeding in which the student or account holder receives individualized due process of law;
b. the student or account holder voluntarily closes or fails to renew a scholarship account;
c. the student graduates from an eligible postsecondary educational institution; or
d. the student is ineligible to maintain a scholarship account because the student did not enroll in an eligible postsecondary educational institution for a period of at least four consecutive years after graduating from high school.
8. Defines eligible postsecondary educational institution as an:
a. Arizona public university;
b. Arizona community college; or
c. accredited private postsecondary educational institution.
9. Cites this legislation as the Military Families College Savings and Scholarship Protection Act.
10. Directs the Secretary of State to submit this proposition to the voters at the next general election.
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14. Initials CH HCR 2048
15. 6/12/2026 Page 0 Senate Engrossed
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