HB2768 amends Arizona Revised Statutes §16-192, which pertains to the use of public resources in elections. The bill introduces new procedures for handling complaints alleging that public resources were used to influence an election. It requires the Attorney General (AG) or a county attorney to promptly evaluate whether such a complaint presents an actual or potential conflict of interest. If a conflict is found, the complaint must be referred to a county attorney within 30 days, and the complainant must be notified with an explanation of the conflict. If no conflict is found, the AG or county attorney must disclose any financial benefits received from entities named in the complaint within the past year and inform the complainant of their right to request a special investigator. If the AG or county attorney fails to follow these procedures, their investigative findings are null and void. The bill also makes minor language changes, such as replacing "permitted" with "allowed" and standardizing the penalty amount to "$5,000" for clarity.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 16-192
House Engrossed Version: 16-192