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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
campaign spending; personal security
Purpose
Allows a candidate committee to spend campaign monies for the personal security of the candidate and the candidate's family members.
Background
An expenditure is any purchase, payment or other thing of value that is made by a person for the purpose of influencing an election. A person may make any expenditure that is not prohibited by law, except that statute outlines certain items that are not considered an expenditure (A.R.S. §§ 16-901 and 16-921).
When filing a campaign finance report, a candidate must include an itemized list of all disbursements in excess of $250 during the reporting period together with the total of all disbursements in each prescribed category, including expenditures categorized as: 1) independent expenditures that are made to advocate for the election or defeat of a candidate; 2) expenditures to advocate the passage or defeat of a ballot measure; and 3) expenditures to advocate for or against the issuance of a recall election order or for the election or defeat of a candidate in a recall election. An entity that makes independent expenditures or ballot measure expenditures that exceed $1,000 during a reporting period must file an expenditure report with the filing officer for the applicable reporting period (A.R.S. § 16-926).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Allows a candidate committee to spend campaign monies for the personal security of the candidate and the candidate's family members.
2. Requires expenditures to be reported in campaign finance reports.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
January 16, 2026
ZD/MY/ci