Source: https://www.azag.gov/sgo-opinions/I00-031
Timestamp: 2015-07-05 07:50:52
Document Index: 291732336

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 41', '§ 41', '§ 41', '§ 41', '§ 41', '§ 48']

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HomeBan on Lobbyists Paying for Entertainment for state Officers or Employees Ban on Lobbyists Paying for Entertainment for state Officers or Employees
Opinion No:I00-031 (R00-047)
Re: Ban on Lobbyists Paying for Entertainment for state Officers or Employees
To: The Honorable Betsey BaylessArizona Secretary of State
a payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value andincludes a contract, promise or agreement, whether or not legally enforceable, to make an expenditure that provides a benefit to an individual state officer or state employee and that is incurred by or on behalf of one or more principals, public bodies, lobbyists, designated public lobbyists or authorized public lobbyists.
A.R.S. § 41-1231(11). The statute prohibits both making and accepting the expenditures for entertainment. Violations may result in criminal or civil penalties. A.R.S. §§ 41-1237(A) (class 1 misdemeanor); -1231.01 (civil penalties).
A.R.S. § 41-1231(20). A State officer is a person “who is duly elected, appointed or retained through election to any state office, or a member of any state board, commission or council, and includes a member of the [L]egislature.” A.R.S. § 41-1231(22). A State employee is “an employee of the [L]egislature, a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona [B]oard of [R]egents, the judicial department or a State office, agency, board, commission or council.” A.R.S. § 41-1231(21).
The legislative record does not indicate why the Legislature failed to include the proposed language that addressed reimbursement. The failure to include that language could indicate the Legislature’s intent to allow reimbursement or it could indicate a determination that the definition of “expenditure,” which includes loans, advances and other payments, already adequately covered the issue. Cf.Norman J. Singer, Sutherland on Statutory Construction, § 48.18 (6th ed. 2000) (legislative action on proposed amendments). AG Opinions Archive