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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session
AMENDED
driver license voter registration; records
(NOW: lobbyists; filings; attestations)
Purpose
Requires lobbyist registration and expenditure reporting forms submitted to the Secretary of State to be filed under penalty of perjury, rather than under oath or with a notarized form.
Background
According to current statute, penalty of perjury may be defined as either a false sworn statement regarding a material issue, believing it to be false or a false unsworn declaration, certificate, verification or a statement regarding a material issue that the person subscribes as true under penalty of perjury, believing it to be false. Perjury is a class four felony which is punishable by a minimum of 1.5 years imprisonment and a maximum of 3.75 years imprisonment for first‑time felony offenders (A.R.S. §§ 13-702 and 13-2702).
Current statute lists a principal as any person, other than a public body, that employs, retains, engages or uses, with or without compensation, a lobbyist. Principal includes any subsidiary of a corporation. Public body in statute means the Arizona Board of Regents, a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents, the judicial department, any state agency, board, commission or council, any county, any county elected officer who elects to appoint to designated public lobbyist or any city, town, district or other political subdivision of this state that receives and uses tax revenues and that employs, retains, engages or uses, with or without compensation, a designated public lobbyist or authorized public lobbyist (A.R.S. § 41-1231).
Expenditures are defined in statute as a payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value and includes a contract, promise or agreement, whether or not legally enforceable, to make an expenditure that provides a benefit to an individual state officer or employee and that is incurred by or on behalf of one or more principals, public bodies, lobbyists, designated public lobbyist or authorized public lobbyists (A.R.S. § 41-1231).
As defined in statute, a designated lobbyist means the person who is designated by a principal as the single point of contact for the principal and who is listed as the designated public lobbyist by the principal in its registration. A designated public lobbyist means the person who is designated by a public body as the single point of contact for the public body and who is listed as the designated public lobbyist by the public body in its registration (A.R.S. § 41-1231).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund anticipated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires lobbyist registration forms to be filed with the Secretary of State under penalty of perjury, rather than under oath.
2. Requires lobbyist expenditure forms to be filed with the Secretary of State on a form signed under penalty of perjury, rather than on a signed notarized form.
3. Requires all reports and statements pursuant to lobbyist registration and expenditure reporting to be submitted under the penalty of perjury, rather than under oath before an officer authorized to administer oaths.
4. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
· Adopted the strike-everything amendment.
Senate Action
TPS 2/20/19 DPA/SE 7-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 5, 2019
ZD/HB/gs