ARIZONA STATE SENATE
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DANIEL LAWLER |
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LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH INTERN |
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ANNA NGUYEN |
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LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH ANALYST GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE Telephone: (602) 926-3171 |
RESEARCH STAFF
TO: MEMBERS OF THE SENATE
GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
DATE: March 25, 2025
SUBJECT: Strike everything amendment to H.B. 2233, relating to government
Purpose
Requires the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to take a majority vote at a public meeting and publish the ACC's position online before the ACC, ACC staff or any registered lobbyist on behalf of the ACC may advocate for or against any legislation, regulation or rule. Requires the Attorney General (AG), at the request of the Legislature to investigate a violation of the requirement that the ACC publicly vote before advocating on any legislation, regulation or rule. Subjects the ACC or a Commissioner to a $500 penalty for each instance of noncompliance.
Background
The Arizona
Constitution establishes the ACC to regulate public service corporations,
facilitate the incorporation or organization of companies under Arizona law,
oversee railroad and pipeline safety, and regulate the sale of securities. The
ACC consists of five members elected at the general election and who serve for
four-year terms. The Arizona Constitution authorizes the Legislature to
prescribe commissioner qualifications by law and allows the Legislature to
enlarge the powers and extend the duties of the ACC and prescribe rules and
regulations to govern proceedings instituted by and before it. The ACC may
supervise and regulate every public service corporation in Arizona. In
supervising and regulating public service corporations, the ACC may adopt rules
that: 1) protect the public against deceptive, unfair and abusive business
practices;
2) provide that account information and related propriety information are
confidential unless specifically waived by the customer in writing; and 3)
ensure that public service corporations that employ the services of a
contractor for interior household energy service comply with all municipal
permit and inspection standards and applicable life safety codes (Ariz. Const. art. 15;
A.R.S.
§ 40-202).
A Commissioner must not knowingly communicate with any person, representing an industry or public service corporation whose interests will be affected by ACC decisions, and whose intent is to influence any decision, legislation, policy, or rulemaking within the ACC’s jurisdiction, unless that person has registered as a lobbyist with the ACC prior to making or attempting to make such communication. Lobbyist registration is administered by the ACC and is separate from other statutory lobbyist registration requirements. The ACC must make lobbyist registration information available on the ACC's website. The information provided must be consistent with the lobbyist registration form prescribed by the Secretary of State, which includes the lobbyist’s current and former list of clients (ACC Code of Ethics).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires the ACC, before the ACC, ACC staff or any registered lobbyist on behalf of the ACC may advocate for or against any federal or state legislation, regulation or rule to:
a) take a majority vote at a publicly noticed meeting; and
b) publish the ACC's position on both the ACC's website where the information may be easily accessed by the public and the Arizona Legislative Information System or another comparable system that is used by the Legislature or the Governor's Regulatory Review Council to track bills and public support or opposition to legislation.
2. Requires the AG, at the request of one or more members of the Legislature, to investigate whether the ACC or a Commissioner violated the outlined requirement that the ACC publicly vote before advocating on any legislation, regulation or rule.
3. Subjects the ACC or a Commissioner who is found in violation of the requirement that the ACC publicly vote before advocating on any legislation, regulation or rule to a civil penalty of $500 for each instance of noncompliance.
4. Specifies that the requirement that the ACC publicly vote before advocating on any legislation, regulation or rule does not prevent a Commissioner from representing the Commissioner's own position as an individual.
5. Makes technical changes.
6. Becomes effective on the general effective date.