The proposed bill would amend several sections of the Arizona Revised Statutes related to initiatives and referendums, expanding the requirements for petition circulators and the compliance standards for local measures. Specifically, it would require paid circulators to verbally disclose their state of residence and their status as paid circulators when approaching potential signers, as well as to wear a visible badge indicating the same. Additionally, the bill would apply the strict compliance standard currently required for statewide initiatives to local initiatives and referendums, ensuring that all circulators, including non-residents, must register with the Secretary of State before collecting signatures.

Furthermore, the bill would prohibit any circulator from receiving payment based on the number of signatures collected for any initiative or referendum, not just statewide measures. It would also allow any applicable filing officer to disqualify signatures collected by unregistered circulators and mandate that any municipal or county initiative proposing mandatory expenditures must disclose the funding sources for those expenditures in the initiative description. Overall, these changes aim to enhance transparency and accountability in the initiative process at both state and local levels.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 19-102, 19-102.01, 19-118, 19-118.01, 19-141, 19-101, 19-121, 19-142, 19-143, 16-452, 19-121.01, 16-101
Senate Engrossed Version: 19-102, 19-102.01, 19-118, 19-118.01, 19-141, 19-101, 19-121, 19-142, 19-143, 16-452, 19-121.01, 16-101