Legislative & Board of Accountancy Update | June 2024

Arizona Legislature Completes Budget - Adjourns Sine Die

Arizona's Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session, adjourned Sine Die on Saturday, June 15th at 9:55 p.m. The 2024 legislative session lasted 160 days with a total of 1,660 bills and 138 resolutions and memorials introduced for a total of 1,798 pieces of legislation. 

Following months of budget discussions and extended adjournments, the governor, president of the Senate and speaker of the House of Representatives negotiated a budget proposal that cuts state spending in an effort to close the nearly $1.8 billion deficit. The state's budget is implemented through a series of budget bills (BRBs). These bills were introduced last week and were quickly pushed through the process with bipartisan support, along with remaining bills of importance. The budget bills now await the governor's signature. Gov. Hobbs has ten days to sign or veto legislation that has made it to her desk. 

For more detailed information on the legislative session and budget proposal, stay tuned for the ASCPA Advocate - Session Wrap-up. 

Arizona State Board of Accountancy

At the June meeting, the Board elected Robert Edward Dubberly, CPA, to be the board president for the next year. He will serve with Stephen J. Rodis, CPA, as secretary and Brandon Richard Eggleston, CPA, as treasurer. 

Volunteers Needed for State Board Positions

As of July 2024, there will be an opening for a public member position on the Arizona State Board of Accountancy. The Board is comprised of seven members, five of which are CPAs. The remaining two positions are reserved for public members. Per state statute, public members 

• cannot hold a CPA certificate
• must have professional or practical experience in using accounting services and financial statements
• and they must be qualified to make judgments about the qualifications and conduct of CPAs and CPA firms. 

Board members are appointed by the Governor. If you know anyone who meets these qualifications and may be interested in volunteering their time, please contact Emily Webb. 

There are several volunteer opportunities for CPAs as well, which can be found online.

JLBC Fiscal Highlights

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) released the Monthly Fiscal Highlights for April. The report shows a 1.6% increase of general fund revenues from April 2023. Unfortunately, April collections were $9 million below JLBC’s initial January baseline revenue forecast.

Thankfully, withholding tax collections were $72 million above forecast, but tax refunds issued in April were higher than expected resulting in a forecast loss of $78 million. Additionally, April sales tax revenue was $12 million (or 0.1%) below April 2023, which surprised budget analysts. 

Overall, collections resulted in a net forecast gain of $3 million. In January 2024, General Fund revenue collections totaled $1.48 billion, which is 3.9% below January 2023. January revenues generated a modest forecast gain of $6 million above the baseline budget forecast.

Click here to see the full report. 

2024 State Election Information

As you are likely aware, 2024 is an election year! This year’s Primary Election will take place on Tuesday, July 30, followed by the General Election on Tuesday, November 5. You can find candidate information for federal, state and legislative races on the Secretary of State’s website.  County Election information is found on their respective websites. A full listing of County Election web pages and contacts can be found, here.

If you are unsure of your Legislative District, you can use the AZ IRC Official Legislative Map to enter your address and find your district.

Important Dates:

July 1 - Voter Registration Deadline
July 30 – Primary Election
November 5 – General Election