SB1076 - 501R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 16-351, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-351. Limitations on appeals of validity of nomination petitions; disqualification of candidate

A. Any elector filing any court action challenging the nomination of a candidate as provided for in this chapter shall do so no later than 5:00 p.m. of the tenth day, excluding Saturday, Sunday and other legal holidays, after the last day for filing nomination papers and petitions. The elector shall specify in the action the petition number, line number and basis for the challenge for each signature being challenged. Failure to specify this information shall result in the dismissal of the court action. Within ten days after the filing of the action, the superior court shall hear and render a decision on the matter. Such decision shall be appealable only to the supreme court, and notice of appeal shall be filed within five days after the decision of the superior court in the action. The supreme court shall hear and render a decision on the appeal promptly.

B. Any elector may challenge a candidate for any reason relating to qualifications for the office sought as prescribed by law, including age, residency or professional requirements, if applicable.

C. Any elector may challenge a nomination petition for the reason that the candidate's campaign committee, the candidate's exploratory committee or any other political committee or any of those committees' officers, agents, employees or members obtained petition signatures before the filing of the committee's statement of organization or before the filing of the five hundred dollar threshold exemption statement pursuant to section 16-902.01. Signatures obtained before the filing of the committee's statement of organization or five hundred dollar threshold exemption statement are void and shall not be counted in determining the legal sufficiency of the petition.

C. D. In any action challenging a nomination petition, the following persons are indispensable parties to the action and shall be named and served as defendants:

1. The candidate whose petition is the subject of the challenge.

2. The officer with whom the petitions are required to be filed.

3. The board of supervisors and the recorder of each county or the clerk of each city or town who is responsible for preparing the ballots that contain the challenged candidate's name.

D. E. For the purposes of an action challenging nomination petitions, the board of supervisors and the recorder of each county or the clerk of each city or town responsible for preparing the ballots that contain the challenged candidate's name and each person filing a nomination petition under this chapter appoints the officer with whom the candidate files the nomination paper and petitions as the person's agent to receive service of process. Process in an action challenging a nomination petition shall be served immediately after the action is filed and in no event more than twenty‑four hours after filing the action, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays. Immediately on receipt of process served on the officer as agent for a person filing a nomination petition, the officer shall mail the process to the person and shall notify the person by telephone of the filing of the action.

E. F. Notwithstanding the system used pursuant to section 16‑163, subsection D, the most current version of the general county register at the time of filing of a court action challenging a nomination petition shall constitute the official record to be used to determine on a prima facie basis by the challenger that the signer of a petition was not registered to vote at the residence address given, or at the address on the general county register if a mailing address was given, on the date of signing of the petition. This subsection does not preclude the challenged candidate from introducing into evidence a certified copy of the registration form of any signer of a petition dated on or before the date of the signing of the petition if the registration form is in the possession of the county recorder but has not yet been filed in the general county register.

F. G. In addition to the procedures set forth in this section, all petitions that have been submitted by a candidate who is found guilty of petition forgery shall be disqualified and that candidate shall not be eligible to seek election to a public office for a period of not less than five years. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 16-902.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-902.01. Registration of political committees; contents; amendment

A. Each political committee that intends to accept contributions or make expenditures of more than five hundred dollars shall file a statement of organization with the filing officer in the format prescribed by the filing officer before accepting contributions, making expenditures, distributing any campaign literature or circulating petitions for signatures. Each political committee that intends to accept contributions or make expenditures of five hundred dollars or less shall file a signed exemption statement in a form prescribed by the filing officer that states that intention before making any expenditures, accepting any contributions, distributing any campaign literature or circulating petitions for signatures. If a political committee that has filed a five hundred dollar threshold exemption statement receives contributions or makes expenditures of more than five hundred dollars, that political committee shall file a statement of organization with the filing officer in the format prescribed by the filing officer within five business days after exceeding the five hundred dollar limit.

B. The statement of organization of a political committee shall include all of the following:

1. The name, address and type of committee.

2. The name, address, relationship and type of any sponsoring organization.

3. The names, addresses, telephone numbers, occupations and employers of the chairman and treasurer of the committee.

4. In the case of a candidate's campaign committee, the name, address, office sought and party affiliation of the candidate.

5. A listing of all banks, safety deposit boxes or other depositories used by the committee.

C. Except as prescribed by subsection E of this section, on the filing of a statement of organization, a political committee shall be issued an identification number in the format prescribed by the filing officer.

D. The political committee shall file an amended statement of organization reporting any change in the information prescribed in subsections B and F of this section within five business days after the change.

E. A standing political committee shall file a statement of organization with the secretary of state and in each jurisdiction in which the committee is active, and only the secretary of state shall issue an identification number for the committee. The statement of organization shall include a statement with the notarized signature of the chairman or treasurer of the standing political committee that declares the committee's status as a standing political committee. The secretary of state may charge an annual fee for the filing.

F. For a political committee that makes expenditures in an attempt to influence the results of a ballot proposition election, the statement of organization shall include in the name of the political committee the official serial number for the petition, if assigned, and a statement as to whether the political committee supports or opposes the passage of the ballot measure. On completion of the designation of statewide ballot propositions by number as prescribed in section 19‑125, the secretary of state is authorized to and shall amend the name of the political committee by attaching to the statement of organization the ballot proposition number as a substitute for the official serial number in the name of the political committee. The secretary of state shall promptly notify the political committee of the amended political committee name and shall make that information available to the public. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 16-903, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-903. Candidate's campaign committees; exploratory committees; designation; candidate as agent; civil penalty

A. Each candidate who intends to receive contributions or make expenditures of more than five hundred dollars in connection with a campaign for office shall designate in the format prescribed by the filing officer a political committee for each election to serve as the candidate's campaign committee. The candidate shall make the designation pursuant to this subsection by filing a statement of organization before making any expenditures, accepting any contributions, distributing any campaign literature or circulating any petitions for signatures. Each candidate who intends to receive contributions or make expenditures of five hundred dollars or less shall file a signed exemption statement in the format prescribed by the filing officer that states that intention before making any expenditures, accepting any contributions, distributing any campaign literature or circulating petitions for signatures. If a candidate who has filed a five hundred dollar exemption statement receives contributions or makes expenditures of more than five hundred dollars, that candidate shall file a statement of organization with the filing officer within five business days after exceeding the five hundred dollar limit.

B. An individual who receives contributions or makes expenditures of more than five hundred dollars for the purpose of determining whether the individual will become a candidate for election to an office in this state shall designate in the format prescribed by the filing officer a political committee to serve as the individual's exploratory committee. The individual shall make the designation pursuant to this subsection before making any expenditures, accepting any contributions, or distributing any campaign literature or collecting any petition signatures.

C. An individual may have only one exploratory committee in existence at one time. A candidate may have only one campaign committee designated for each election, but a candidate may have more than one campaign committee simultaneously in existence.

D. A political committee that supports or has supported another candidate or more than one candidate may not be designated as a candidate's campaign committee.

E. Any candidate who receives a contribution or any loan for use in connection with the campaign of that candidate for election or who makes a disbursement in connection with that campaign shall be deemed as having received the contribution or loan or as having made the disbursement as an agent of the candidate's campaign committee for purposes of this article.

F. An elected official is not deemed to have offered himself for nomination or election to an office or to have made a formal, public declaration of candidacy within the meaning of section 38‑296 solely by his designation of a candidate campaign committee.

G. A person who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty imposed as prescribed in section 16‑924 of up to three times the amount of money that has been received, expended or promised in violation of this section or up to three times the value in money for an equivalent of money or other things of value that have been received, expended or promised in violation of this section. END_STATUTE