Law and State Government Research

If you’re looking for information about Arizona state government or Arizona law, we have a great place for you to start.

We’ve assembled a collection of state agency histories that summarize many of the agencies, boards, and commissions that work to carry out laws enacted by the State Legislature. There are currently almost 150 agencies, boards, and commissions, both current and repealed or absorbed, on our website.

Each history provides a revision date so you can tell how current the information is. Attempts are made to update the histories on an annual basis, with an exception for those that no longer exist. Agencies led by an elected official (eg., Governor’s Office, Secretary of State) are not included.

The histories are in alphabetical order and are also searchable not only by title, but by the information within each history.

You can start here for the statutes that authorized the agency, a description of the work it does, whether it is headed by an executive director or board. You can also read about how its responsibilities have changed over time, and a list of statutes, regulations, audits, websites, and other useful information. Links are provided where possible so that researchers can view the primary resource for themselves.

That’s a good place to start.

But if you need assistance, you can always reach us Monday through Friday 8am-4pm at the Polly Rosenbaum History and Archives Building, by calling us at (602)926-3270, or by sending us your question.

Happy researching!

If it’s true, I can still say it, right?

Criminal law in Arizona used to include a prohibition against libel, punished with jail time or a fine. This may be surprising, since Arizona’s Constitution recognizes freedom of speech. Article 2, Section 6 states:

Freedom of speech and press
Every person may freely speak, write, and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right.

 

 

The criminal libel provision began long before Statehood. The Howell Code, adopted by the First Territorial Legislature in 1864, made libel a crime. Unless the jury decided the statement true. Under the Division of “Offenses against the Public Peace and Tranquility” it stated:

Criminal libel was still the law when the Penal Code was published in 1901. It was found at Chapter X on Libel, Sections 220-229. Section 221 stated:

Every person who willfully and with malicious intent to injure another, publishes or procures to be published, any libel, is punishable by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or imprisonment in the territorial prison not exceeding one year.

The law continued to appear after Statehood in 1912. Similar provisions to those in the 1901 Penal Code were included in the 1913 Penal Code at Sections 221-230, in the 1928 Revised Statutes of Arizona at Sections 4617-4622, the 1939 Arizona Code at Sections 43-3501 through 43-3506, the 1952 Supplement to the 1939 Arizona Code, and the first compilation of the Arizona Revised Statutes in 1956 at A.R.S. 13-351 through 13-359.

Criminal libel was part of the criminal code until it was repealed in the reorganization of the Criminal Code in 1977.

In the meantime, a civil action for libel and slander had been created. Laws 1953, Chapter 96, Section 1 created a cause of action in tort for “libel, slander, invasion of privacy, or any other tort founded upon publication”. 

A similar provision is still on the books, at Arizona Revised Statutes Section 12-651, which recognizes a single cause of action for damages for “libel, slander, invasion of privacy or any other tort founded upon a single publication, exhibition or utterance…”

 

So let’s be careful of what we say. We won’t wind up in jail, but we could end up in court.

 

 

Searching Legislative History

One of the most common requests we get at the State of Arizona Research Library is how to research the legislative history of a particular law. How did it come into existence? Who originally came up with the idea for the law? How long did it take to pass? When did it pass? And has it changed since that time?

Our amazing law librarian has come up with this helpful “cheat sheet” of information on how to perform a legislative history. Use it, print it, share it all you like. If you still find yourself stuck or can’t find it online, contact us! We have a lot more material in our physical collection that may be helpful as well.

How To Start

Find the statute in the print Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S.) annotated or an annotated online source. Look for “added by” for the 1^st time it was enacted. If it says “amended by,” there’s an earlier enactment. Look for it in the superseded A.R.S.

Determine the Year

Is it Before 1997? 

1. Find the Session Laws. Session Laws are the enacted version of the legislation. Jot down the bill number, found after the chapter number.
2. Check the bill file. The State of Arizona Research Library has these bill files on microfilm:

• Senate bills between 1969 and 1990.
• House bills between 1971 and 1994.
• After those dates but before 1997, call the Clerk of the House of Representatives at 602-926-3032 or the Senate Resource Center at 602-926-3559.

Before the late 1960’s, the bill file probably doesn’t exist, as most were destroyed in a flood. Your issue may be in the History of the Arizona State Legislature 1912-1967 which included an analysis of major issues, debate, & news coverage by session. It is now on microfiche in the Reading Room but soon it will be digitized! Thank you, Library Services and Technology Act!

3. Use the bill number to check Journals from the Arizona House and Senate. Start by finding the bill number in the index at the end of the volume. Then check each cited page for legislative process and committees that heard the bill. Journals may have text of amendments, floor speeches, & conference committee info. There will be different information in the Journal of each chamber, so be sure to check both!

 

Is it 1989 – 1997?

1. Go to the Arizona Legislature website. Enter the bill number into the search box at top right. You won’t find everything you need, but it’s a convenient source to get started.
2. Next, refer to before-1997 steps above.

 

Is it 1997 or more current?

1. Find the Session Law from the Arizona Legislature website. Set the Year and Session using the yellow drop-down menu at the top. Scroll down to Chapter number. Jot down the bill number.
2. Use the bill tracker from the Arizona Legislature website. Set the correct Year and Session. Enter the 4-digit bill number in search box at the top right. The titles in the blue bar close to the top are links to more information.
3. For committee minutes, jot down committees & dates. Go to Agendas on the left-hand side of the page. Choose Senate or House & select the Committee. Click on the meeting date. Click the blue Committee Minutes link.
4. To search topics, try “search” on the left-hand side and use keywords.
5. Check for interim, special, or study committee reports. Look for some more Legislative Study Committee Reports in our State Documents Collection on the Arizona Memory Project (link does not reflect a complete search of Legislative Committees).

 

Still can’t find what you’re looking for?

Journals may have info on interim, special, & study committees. Check current year and a year or two before. Search our State Documents Collection for Committee reports.

The State of Arizona Archives has some minutes filed by House committees between 1965 and 2016. Jot down the name of committees & meeting dates, then call them at 602-926-3720 or fill out a research request form.

We have numerous newspapers on microfilm, including the Capitol Times & its predecessors. Important and controversial issues of the day often appeared in the news.

To view print material, you can visit us in the Reading Room of the Polly Rosenbaum History and Archives Building located at 1901 W. Madison in Phoenix. We are open Monday through Friday, except on state holidays.