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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
candidate financial disclosures; public officers
Purpose
Specifies that a candidate for state or local office is deemed to be in compliance with the financial disclosure requirement for filing nomination papers, if the candidate has filed the financial disclosure statement required of public officers for that year.
Background
Every public officer who qualified as a public officer at any time during the preceding calendar year must file, by January 31, a verified financial disclosure statement with the Secretary of State (SOS) that covers the preceding calendar year, except as prescribed for public officers appointed to fill a vacancy and public officers with a final term that expires less than 31 days into the immediate, following calendar year. The financial disclosure statement must be filed on a form prescribed by the SOS and a public officer is not required to disclose any information that is privileged under law (A.R.S. § 18-444).
A candidate for public office must file, at the time of filing the candidate's nomination paper, a financial disclosure statement that covers the preceding 12-month period and contains the same information that is required to be disclosed by current public officers each year. For a nomination paper for state or local office to be accepted by the filing officer, the candidate filing the nomination paper must provide a financial disclosure statement and a declaration of qualification and eligibility for that office. Additionally, a filing officer may not accept the nomination paper of a candidate for state or local office if the person: 1) is liable for an aggregate amount, in any combination, of at least $1,000 in fines, penalties, late fees or administrative or civil judgements, including interests or costs, that have not been fully satisfied at the time of the attempted nomination paper filing; and 2) the liability arose from failure to comply with prescribed requirements relating to campaign contributions and expenses (A.R.S. §§ 16-311 and 38-543).
Public officer means a member of the Legislature and any judge of the court of appeals or the superior court, or a person holding an elective office the constituency of which embraces the entire geographical limits of Arizona. Members of the U.S. Congress are not public officers. Local public officer means a person holding an elective office of an incorporated city or town, a county or a groundwater replenishment district (A.R.S. § 38-541).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Specifies that a candidate for state or local office is:
a) in compliance with the requirement that the candidate provide the financial disclosure statement for that office when submitting the candidate's nomination paper, if the candidate has already filed the financial disclosure statement required of public officers for that year; and
b) not required to file an additional financial statement for that year.
2. Makes technical changes.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
January 16, 2026
ZD/KS/ci