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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, First Regular Session
campaign finance; contributions; disclosures; itemization
Purpose
Requires a candidate committee, political action committee or political party (committee) campaign finance report to include contributions from out-of-state individuals. Requires a committee to report every individual in-state contributor of $50 or less after the committee receives a combined total of $5,000 from in-state contributors.
Background
A committee must submit regular campaign finance reports with the appropriate filing officer. Campaign finance reports must include financial information for the reporting period, including: 1) cash on hand; 2) total receipts; 3) an itemized list of disbursements above $250 in statutorily outlined categories; and 4) the total sum of all receipts and disbursements. The total receipts for the reporting period must include contributions from individual's that exceed $50 for the election cycle. Additionally, the campaign finance report must include the aggregate amount of contributions from all individuals whose contributions do not exceed $50 for the election cycle (A.R.S. § 16-926). A contribution includes any money, advance, deposit or other thing of value that is made to a person for the purpose of influencing an election (A.R.S. § 16-901).
Political action committees and political parties must file a campaign finance report for each calendar quarter without an election, and prelection and postelection reports for each calendar quarter with an election. Candidate committees must file campaign finance reports during the four calendar quarters preceding the general election for the office for which the candidate is seeking election (A.R.S. § 16-927).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires a committee campaign finance report to include:
a) contributions from out-of-state individuals, including identification of the contributor's occupation and employer; and
b) the aggregate amount of contributions from in-state individuals, rather than all individuals, whose contributions do not exceed $50 for the election cycle.
2. Requires a committee, after receiving a combined total of $5,000 from in-state contributors who each contributed an individual aggregate of $50 or less, to report every subsequent individual in-state contributor, and the amount and date of each contribution.
3. Makes technical and conforming changes.
4. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 3, 2021
MH/ML/gs