HB 4044 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

public safety parity fund

Arizona's HB 4044 (Public Safety Parity Fund) directs how proceeds from the sale of forfeited digital assets (like cryptocurrency) are allocated. Specifically, if a digital asset sale generates over $300,000, half of the excess amount must be deposited into the newly designated Public Safety Parity Fund. The bill requires these sales to occur through state-approved platforms and mandates secure digital storage for seized assets. This primarily affects law enforcement agencies that seize digital assets in criminal cases and the Public Safety Parity Fund, which will use the funds for public safety purposes.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 9, 2026 Last action Mar 17, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → House Engrossed Version (03/09/2026) · 4 edits · Mar 9, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was reorganized and updated to establish a new 'Public Safety Parity Fund' designed to help the Department of Public Safety and Department of Corrections retain employees. It creates a new budget stabilization fund to generate investment earnings, which are then split to fund public safety salaries. Additionally, the rules for selling seized digital assets were updated to ensure proceeds are distributed fairly between anti-racketeering funds and the new public safety fund.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a general act relating to the Department of Public Safety to a specific financial mechanism for employee retention, while also clarifying the handling of digital asset forfeitures.

FISCAL

Created a new 'Public Safety Parity Fund' and a 'Budget Stabilization Fund' to generate investment earnings for employee retention pay.

Updated digital asset forfeiture rules to mandate that proceeds over $300,000 be split 50/50 between the anti-racketeering fund and the new public safety parity fund.

TIMELINE

Established a new timeline requiring the Department of Corrections to deposit 40% of the new fund's earnings into the parity compensation fund starting June 30, 2027.

REQUIREMENT

Replaced the previous text regarding digital asset sales with new provisions requiring sales through state-approved cryptocurrency exchanges to ensure accurate valuation.

Floor votes · House Mar 9, 2026

How they voted

35–17

Passed · 8 other

Total votes 60

Mar 9, 2026

D Democratic27

6 Yea 15 Nay 6

55% Nay

R Republican33

29 Yea 2 Nay 2

87% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

lower

Feb 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors