SB 1686 Arizona Senate · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

Charlie Kirk; Don Bolles; memorial

SB 1686 designates a specific area east of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix as the "Wesley Bolin and Charlie Kirk Freedom Plaza." The bill honors Charlie Kirk, a veteran, and Don Bolles, a journalist, by naming the plaza after them. It amends state law to include this plaza within the Capitol complex's designated areas for maintenance and public access. The bill does not create new funding or policy changes but formally establishes the memorial's name and location.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 5, 2026 Last action Mar 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Senate Engrossed Version (03/04/2026) · 6 edits · Mar 4, 2026

MODERATE

This bill was rebranded from a memorial bill for Charlie Kirk and Don Bolles into a broader act amending multiple Arizona Revised Statutes to rename the state capitol plaza and establish memorials for both individuals. The text was cleaned up to remove redundant headers and formatting errors, while the core policy changes include renaming the plaza to the 'Wesley Bolin and Charlie Kirk Freedom Plaza' and authorizing memorials for Charlie Kirk and Don Bolles that must be privately funded.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a simple memorial authorization to include statutory amendments affecting the management of the veterans' donations fund, the jurisdiction over the state capitol grounds, and the procedures for erecting monuments within the governmental mall.

SCOPE

The plaza previously known as 'Wesley Bolin Plaza' is now officially designated as the 'Wesley Bolin and Charlie Kirk Freedom Plaza'.

New memorials are authorized for Charlie Kirk and Don Bolles to be placed in the renamed plaza, with provisions stating that public funds cannot be used for their construction.

Section 41-1304.05 was updated to expand the legislative council's jurisdiction to include the newly named plaza and specific parking areas adjacent to it.

REQUIREMENT

Section 41-608 was amended to include new subsections (H, I) regarding administrative funding and investment rules for the veterans' donations fund, and subsection C was updated to reference the new plaza name.

Section 41-1363 was amended to clarify that monuments outside the new plaza boundaries are not subject to the same restrictions as those within the plaza.

TIMELINE

The memorials for Charlie Kirk and Don Bolles are set to be repealed from and after September 30, 2029, indicating a temporary authorization period.

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

Mar 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors