SCR 1027 Arizona Senate · 57th Legislature - First Regular Session

elections; foreign contributions; certification; donations

Arizona's SCR 1027 (a proposed law requiring voter approval) prohibits foreign nationals from funding election administration or ballot measure activities. It requires vendors providing election services to certify they receive no foreign donations (with annual updates), and mandates government entities to report these vendors quarterly. Violations can lead to contract termination, misdemeanor charges ($5,000+ penalties for intentional violations), or civil lawsuits by citizens seeking $1,000/day in damages until compliance. The bill directly affects election vendors, ballot initiative committees, and local governments handling election services. It applies to all election-related spending, excluding "common goods" like standard office supplies.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 10, 2025 Last action Mar 26, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Senate Engrossed Version · 6 edits · Mar 6, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add two new sections (16-923 and 16-919) that were not in the original version, expanding its scope to cover ballot measure expenditures and foreign contributions. The definition of 'foreign national' was broadened to include foreign governments and political parties, and the enforcement penalties for violations were increased. Several formatting and structural changes were made to standardize the document layout.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded from only election administration and general foreign contributions to also include ballot measure expenditures and specific certification requirements for influencing ballot initiatives.

SCOPE

Added Section 16-923 requiring recordkeeping for ballot measure expenditures for two years after the election cycle ends.

Added Section 16-919 prohibiting foreign nationals from influencing ballot measure outcomes and requiring certifications about foreign contributions.

DEFINITION

Expanded the definition of 'foreign national' to explicitly include foreign governments, subdivisions, municipalities, and foreign political parties.

ENFORCEMENT

Increased civil penalties for violations from a flat $5,000 per violation to $5,000 per violation plus $1,000 per day of noncompliance.

REQUIREMENT

Added a 48-hour certification requirement for contributors to report their foreign national status and confirm no prohibited contributions exceeding $100,000 in the prior four years.

TECHNICAL

Changed the bill title from 'SCR 1027 - Introduced Version' to 'Senate Engrossed Version' and updated the reference title formatting.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

Mar 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Mar 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

DPA

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors