SB 1618

House Engrossed
  Senate Bill
military affairs
  commission
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SENATE BILL 1618
AN
ACT
Amending sections 26-261 and 26-262,
Arizona Revised Statutes; Amending Title 26, chapter 1, article 7, Arizona
Revised Statutes, by adding section 26-264; relating to military affairs.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 26-261, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE26-261. Military affairs commission; confidential discussions and
information; definition
A. The military affairs commission is established.
The commission membership consists of:
1. Sixteen The
following members who are appointed by the governor and
who include the following:
(a) Twelve members who reside in a community
in which a military installation is located. Of this group, six
members shall have expertise in military affairs and six members shall be local
elected officials.
(b) Four members who represent private
property interests in the territory in the vicinity as defined in section 28-8461
or in a community in which a military installation is located.
2. One member who represents private
property interests in the territory in the vicinity as defined in section 28-8461
or in a community in which a military installation is located and who is
appointed by the president of the senate.
3. One member who represents private
property interests in the territory in the vicinity as defined in section 28-8461
or in a community in which a military installation is located and who is
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(a) four
members who are currently serving in or, within five
years preceding the effective date of this amendment to this section, retired
from the united states armed forces or the national guard, who are EXPERIENCED
IN WORKING WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PLANNING, PROGRAMMING,
BUDGETING AND EXECUTION PROCESSES, OR SUCCESSOR PROCESSES, and who are at least
the following ranks:
(i) If a
COMMISSIONED officer, A LIEUTENANT in the united states
navy or captain in another branch of the armed forces of
the united states.
(ii) If a
warrant officer, A Chief warrant officer two.
(iii) If an
enlisted noncommissioned officer, A Master sergeant, first sergeant, senior
chief petty officer or senior master sergeant.
(iv) Senior
executive service.
(b) seven members who represent each community military support
organization RECOGNIZED by a military installation in this state or the
national guard.
(c) Two members
who have congressional experience and expertise on military and defense policy.
(d) Two members
who are from organizations that represent members of the national defense and
academic research and development industries.
(e) Two members who are from organizations that represent
members within the national DEFENSE and aerospace industries.
2. The
PRESIDENT of the senate or the president's designee.
3. The speaker of the house of
representatives or the speaker's designee.
4. Four six nonvoting advisory members who are
not counted for the purpose of determining a quorum,
consisting of:
(a) The
adjutant general or a designee of the adjutant general.
(b) A representative of a military
installation commander who is appointed by the governor.
(b) the
chairperson or cochairperson of the arizona commanders summit successor
organization that regularly convenes all military installation commanders in
this state.
(c) A representative from a federal
agency involved in land use issues who is appointed by the governor.
(c) Two members
who are from a state or federal agency required for commission matters and who
are appointed by the cochairpersons of the military affairs commission.
(d) The state land commissioner or a
designee of the commissioner.
(d) The chief
executive officer of the arizona commerce authority or the chief executive
officer's designee.
(e) The
chairperson of the arizona board of regents or the chairperson's designee.
B. The military affairs commission shall have
geographic diversity in its membership. The governor shall designate
two of the governor's appointees as cochairpersons of the
commission. unless otherwise PROVIDED, members
or designees of the commission shall not send alternates to represent them at
commission meetings. The voting members shall serve six-year
terms.
C. The department of emergency and military affairs and the office of defense innovation shall jointly
staff the commission.
D. The commission shall:
1. Meet at least annually twice each year.
2. Meet on a regular basis with the governor, the
president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, either
individually or collectively, to provide recommendations on military issues and industries related to national defense and report on the
progress of the military affairs commission.
3. Annually meet with the appropriate legislative
committees that have jurisdiction over military installations.
4. Advise the governor and the legislature on
matters affecting the operational viability of Arizona military facilities,
including military installations, military training routes, military restricted
airspace, military ranges or areas under the jurisdiction of an
active unit of the any uniformed armed services of
the United States or any reserve or national guard
component of the uniformed armed services of the United States of this state, as well as any matters affecting
the retention of existing and attraction of new defense-related businesses.
5. Develop criteria, including
accountability requirements, for awarding monies from the military installation
fund established by section 26-262.
6. Review applications for monies to
be awarded from the military installation fund.
7. Annually recommend to the
department of emergency and military affairs a priority listing of monies with
available resources.
8. Recommend to the department of
emergency and military affairs how the monies in the military installation fund
should be awarded.
9. 5. Proactively
assist with coordination among the United States military operating in Arizona,
the congressional delegation, the governor, the state legislature and state and
local leaders.
10. 6. proactively recommend executive,
legislative and federal actions necessary to sustain military operations and
enhance the this state's
preparedness to respond to potential
attract new missions and prevent military facilities from closure or
downsizing.
7. Proactively recommend executive,
legislative and federal actions necessary to RETAIN EXISTING AND ATTRACT NEW
DEFENSE-RELATED BUSINESSES.
11. 8. Study
issues relating to veterans, active duty, national guard and reserve members of
the United States armed forces, military families and
other military quality of life issues.
9. recommend to the arizona finance
authority and the Arizona industrial development authority projects in this
state that require funding and that do any of the
following:
(a) enhance the
military value of area military installations and defense facilities.
(b) Provide
assistance to communities that are negatively impacted by base REALIGNMENTs or
closure or by loss of a mission for an economic development project.
(c) Provide
assistance to communities that are positively impacted by BASE REALIGNMENTs or
CLOSURE for an infrastructure project.
(d) Supplement
the community economic redevelopment value of a closed military installation or
defense facility.
10. submit a report on or before
September 1 of each even-numbered year to the governor, the president of
the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives about military
installations and defense-related businesses in this
state. The report must include all of the following:
(a) an economic
impact statement describing in detail the effect of the military and defense
industry on the economy of this state.
(b) a statewide
assessment of federal and national guard military installations and current
missions.
(c) a statewide
strategy to attract new military missions and defense-related business,
including specific actions that add military value to existing military
installations.
(d) A list of
state and federal activities that have a significant impact on active military
installations and current missions.
(e) A statement
identifying all of the following:
(i) The state
and federal programs and services that assist communities impacted by military
base closures or realignments and the efforts to coordinate those programs.
(ii) the
efforts to coordinate state agency programs and services that assist
communities in retaining active military installations and current missions.
(iii) An
evaluation of initiatives to retain existing and attract new defense-related
businesses.
11. Develop criteria, including
accountability requirements, for awarding monies from the military installation
fund established by section 26-262.
12. Subject to legislative
appropriation, do all of the following with respect to the military
installation fund established by section 26-262:
(a) Review
applications for monies to be awarded.
(b) Annually
recommend to the department of emergency and military affairs a priority
listing of monies with available resources.
(c) Recommend
to the department of emergency and military affairs how monies should be
awarded.
E. State agencies shall cooperate
with and assist the commission with the following:
1. Preparing the report required by
subsection d, paragraph 10 of this section, including
providing information about regulations, policies, programs and services that
may impact communities dependent on military installations, defense-related
businesses and the viability of existing military missions in this state.
2. Supporting an installation
commander who requests assistance in preparing an evaluation of that
installation based on criteria for the installation by the united states
department of defense for mission retention or assignment or the base realignment
and closure process.
E. F. Discussions
that are related to the federal government's process to determine the closure,
realignment, relocation, expansion or forced structure reduction of military
installations and to proprietary alternatives to this state's military base
closure or realignment strategies are not subject to title 38, chapter 3,
article 3.1.
F. G. Information that is developed or obtained by the
commission and that pertains to proprietary strategies of
the commission or that is related to the relocation of military units is
confidential and is not subject to title 39, chapter 1, including documents
related to the federal government's process to determine the closure,
realignment, relocation, expansion or forced structure reduction of military
installations until the federal government has issued a final, unappealable
decision in that process or, in the event of litigation, a court of competent
jurisdiction has entered a final, unappealable order regarding the closure,
realignment, relocation, expansion or forced structure reduction of the
military installations. If the commission enters into a
confidentiality agreement with a third party, the commission may disclose
information that is deemed confidential pursuant to this subsection to that
third party.
G. H. For
the purposes of this section, "military installation" means a
military airport or ancillary military facility as defined in section 28-8461
or any real property that services, supports or is used by the military. END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 26-262, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE26-262. Military installation fund; rules; application review; award and
use of monies; reporting requirements; definitions
A. The military installation fund is established
consisting of revenues made available to the fund from any lawful source.� The
adjutant general shall administer the fund. On notice from the adjutant
general, the state treasurer shall invest and divest monies in the fund as
provided by section 35-313, and monies earned from investment shall be
credited to the fund. The fund is exempt from the provisions of
section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations.
B. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated
for the purposes of this section.
C. The department, in conjunction with the military
affairs commission established by section 26-261, shall adopt by rule
procedures for acquiring property and for receiving and
evaluating applications and awarding the monies as provided by subsection G of
this section. If acquisition proposals and applications
for monies exceed the amount available in the fund, the department may request
applicants to reduce the amount of monies requested in the
applications or deny or award reduced amounts.
D. The department shall prepare each
ACQUISITION proposal and receive each application for fund monies and
shall forward each acquisition proposal and application
to the military affairs commission. The military affairs commission shall
review each acquisition proposal and application and
recommend to the department both all
of the following:
1. Each applicant
that should be awarded monies from the fund.
2. The dollar amount
that each applicant pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection should be
awarded from the fund.
3. Each acquisition, in the name of
this state, by gift, grant, purchase or any other lawful manner, of real
property, property rights and related buildings and infrastructure that is
vital to the preservation or enhancement of a military installation in a high
noise or accident potential zone as defined in section 28-8461 or in an area
that is vital to the operation and support of a military installation in
accordance with subsection G, paragraph 1 of this section.
E. The department shall consider the military
affairs commission's recommendations and shall decide how the monies in the
fund shall will be awarded disbursed among the acquisition proposals and
fund applicants. The department, after reviewing the recommendations by
the military affairs commission, shall make the monies in the fund available
for the purpose of military installation preservation and enhancement
projects.� Except as provided in subsection F of this section, after the
department makes an award A decision
the department shall award disburse
the monies.
F. If the department does not comply with the
military affairs commission's recommendation for the awards disbursements, within five days after the department's
decision the department shall report in writing to the military affairs
commission, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of
representatives and the governor. The report shall include the award disbursement
decision of the department and the recommendation of the military affairs
commission. The department shall not distribute monies from the fund
to the applicants for at least sixty days after the report is received.
G. The department shall:
1. Award up to eighty percent
of the monies in the fund for the following purposes, except that up to twenty
percent of this amount may be awarded disbursed to cities, towns and counties for the purpose of
acquiring private land for the purposes as
prescribed in paragraph 2 of this subsection:
(a) Acquisition of private property for the purpose
of preserving a military installation.
(b) Acquisition of real estate and rights to real
estate and otherwise preserving real estate from development or mitigating
impacts on development in high noise or accident potential zones as defined in
section 28-8461 and or in
areas as required to support a military installation.
(c) Acquisition of
real estate, property rights and related infrastructure that are vital to the preservation preserving or enhancement of enhancing a military
installation.
(d) Structural
renovations or construction of building modifications or improvements that
mitigate or attenuate impacts in high noise or accident potential zones.
(e) Removal of structures or improvements that are
necessary for acquisition of to acquire
private property for the purpose of preserving a military installation.
(f) Management of acquired property that is
necessary to preserve and enhance military missions and military installations.
2. Except as provided by subsection M of this
section, award disburse
twenty percent of the monies in the fund to cities, towns and counties for:
(a) Military installation preservation and
enhancement projects or analytical reports or studies that are requested by
federal or state agencies or military facilities in this state.
(b) Investment in or construction of capital
improvements or infrastructure for the purpose of preserving a military
installation.
(c) Structural renovations or construction of
building modifications or improvements that mitigate or attenuate impacts in
high noise or accident potential zones.
(d) Removal of structures or improvements that are
necessary for acquisition of to acquire
private property for the purpose of preserving a military installation.
(e) Management of acquired property that is
necessary to preserve and enhance military missions and military installations.
H. Before awarding disbursing monies pursuant to subsection G of this section, the
department shall submit a report of the proposed awards disbursements to the joint committee on capital review for
review. The legislature shall review the distribution formula
prescribed in subsection G of this section at least once every four years.
I. Monies in the fund may be awarded disbursed for debt service on bonds issued by a political
subdivision for the purpose of acquisition of private property for the purpose
of preserving a military airport or ancillary military facility as defined in
section 28-8461 if the land acquisition occurs after December 31, 2004.
J. The department shall annually report the awards disbursements
made pursuant to this section. The report shall be in writing and
shall be sent to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of
representatives and the governor. The department shall send a copy
of this report to the secretary of state.
K. The department
may:
1. notwithstanding
section 37-803, transfer any real estate, property rights and related
infrastructure that are acquired pursuant to this section to any other
governmental agency for the purposes of preserving or enhancing military
installations in this state.
2. Sell
or otherwise dispose of any real estate, property rights and related
infrastructure that are acquired pursuant to this
section. The conveyance shall be made to the highest and most
responsible bidder at a public sale held for that purpose.
3. After
establishing, laying out or substantially completing an improvement to real
property, convey the real property or any interest in the real property that
the department determines is not necessary, useful or convenient for the use of
the improvement by the department. The conveyance shall be made to
the highest and most responsible bidder at a public sale held for that purpose.
4. Lease or sublease at fair rental value any real
estate or related infrastructure that is acquired pursuant to this
section. A lease or sublease that is granted pursuant to this
paragraph is exempt from section 41-2752.
L. Before
any conveyance, lease or sublease pursuant to subsection K, paragraph 2, 3 or 4
of this section, the department shall ensure that the use or development of any
real estate, property rights and related infrastructure, real property or
improvements to real property complies with section 28-8481.
M. If monies remain after the award DISBURSEMENT of monies pursuant to subsection G, paragraph 2
of this section, the department may use the remaining monies and any monies
received pursuant to subsection K, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this section for
either of the following:
1. The purposes prescribed in subsection G,
paragraph 1 of this section.
2. Projects or studies necessary to preserve or
enhance military missions and military installments in this state.
N. notwithstanding section 37-803, any
agency of this state may accept title to and manage real estate, property
rights and related infrastructure that are acquired pursuant to this section.
O. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Department" means the department of
emergency and military affairs.
2. "Military installation" has the same
meaning prescribed in section 26-261. END_STATUTE
Sec. 3. Title
26, chapter 1, article 7, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding
section 26-264, to read:
START_STATUTE26-264. Military affairs commission fund
The military
affairs commission fund is established consisting of legislative
appropriations, gifts, donations, contributions, grants and monies made
available to the fund from any lawful source to support the activities of the
military affairs commission. The department of emergency and
military affairs shall administer the fund.� monies in the fund are
continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190
relating to lapsing of appropriations.� On notice from the adjutant general,
the state treasurer shall invest and divest monies in the fund as provided by
section 35-313, and monies earned from investment shall be credited to the
fund. END_STATUTE
Sec. 4. Retention of members
Notwithstanding section 26-261,
Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, all persons serving as
members of the military affairs commission on the effective date of this act
may continue to serve until the expiration of their normal terms.� All subsequent
appointments shall be made as prescribed by statute.
Sec. 5. Legislative findings
The legislature finds that:
1. The educational,
workforce and people-to-people exchange programs between Arizona and Taiwan,
which develop the skilled workforce on which this state's defense-related
businesses and national defense research and development industries depend,
should be expanded, including all of the following:
(a) Arizona students
studying in Taiwan.
(b) Internship
opportunities in Taiwan's public and private sectors.
(c) Academic and research
collaboration.
(d) Workforce training in
semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries.
2. Given that Arizona's
military installations and defense-related businesses depend on secure and
resilient international supply chains and on reliable cooperation among trading
partners, the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 (xxvi) does not
determine Taiwan's political status and should not be used to exclude Taiwan
from international participation.
3. Taiwan's meaningful
participation in international organizations, including the World Health
Organization, World Health Assembly, International Civil Aviation Organization,
United Nations framework convention on climate change and international
criminal police organization, supports public health preparedness, aviation
safety and law enforcement cooperation and supports the stable and secure
environment on which this state's military installations and defense industries
rely.
4. Strengthening relations
between the United States of America and Taiwan and between the State of
Arizona and Taiwan in the areas of trade, investment, technology, education,
workforce development and cultural and governmental exchanges strengthens this
state's defense industrial base.
5. The continued expansion
of cooperation between Arizona and Taiwan in semiconductors, artificial
intelligence, advanced manufacturing and related innovation sectors is
beneficial, and Taiwan, through major Taiwanese semiconductor investment in
this state, is a critical partner in the secure and resilient supply chains on
which Arizona's military installations and national defense industries depend.
6. The establishment of
Taiwan's trade and investment service center in Phoenix and its role in
enhancing bilateral economic engagement and investment cooperation enhance this
state's capacity to attract and retain military missions and defense-related
business.