General Information
The Arizona State Retirement System administers its benefits and programs in accordance with applicable state and federal law, and administrative rules.
Title 29 of the Arizona State Constitution , addresses the funding, investments and membership of public retirement systems, which includes the ASRS.
For a summary of retirement legislation passed in recent sessions, you may view:
Summary of 2018 Retirement Legislation
Summary of 2017 Retirement Legislation
Summary of 2016 Retirement Legislation
Summary of 2015 Retirement Legislation
Summary of 2014 Retirement Legislation Summary of 2013 Retirement Legislation For prior year Retirement Legislation summaries, please contact the ASRS.
Legislative Updates
During on-going sessions of the Arizona State Legislature, the ASRS provides a summary of retirement-related legislation under consideration and tracks the progress of selected bills.
View the ASRS Bill Tracker
Legislative Information
For further details and information regarding current Arizona legislation of any kind, you can visit the Arizona State Legislature pages. These sites provide detailed bill summaries, committee schedules and live proceedings from the Arizona House or Senate floor.
Arizona House of Representatives
Defined Contribution & Retirement Study Committee
Ever wonder how a bill becomes law?
Legislative Process, Arizona, and the Role of the ASRS
Arizona, like every other State besides Nebraska, has a bicameral Legislature, meaning that it is made up of two separate chambers or bodies--the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House has 60 members, two from each Arizona Legislative District, and the Senate has 30 members, one from each District. Legislators are elected to two-year terms, and are term-limited after four terms or eight years. Arizona has no staggering of terms, so every member of the Legislature is up for reelection every two years.
The Arizona Legislature meets once annually for their Regular Session. Regular Session starts on the second Monday in January, and is scheduled to last for 100 days, however the House and Senate can mutually vote to extend the Regular Session beyond the 100 days. This happens regularly. The Legislature can also be called by the Governor into a Special Session to pass laws on a single issue.
In order to become law, a bill must be voted through both chambers (see How a Bill Becomes a Law below). Usually, a bill will be introduced in one chamber, pass through public hearings and debate and then be sent to the other chamber for similar processes. In order to reach the Governor's desk, both chambers must take a final vote on an identical version of the bill. Then the Governor may sign or veto the bill. Unless the bill says otherwise, the bill will become effective 90 days after the Legislature closes business for the Regular Session (called sine die). As with every political process, there are twists, turns, and other nuances that can further complicate the course of a bill.
The ASRS's role in the process is two-fold: the Board votes to ask the Legislature to pass certain bills (sometimes technical or IRS required and sometimes substantive plan design changes), and the ASRS responds to bills that are not sponsored by the ASRS Board. We regularly communicate with Legislators, Staff, ASRS members, and Arizona's citizens about whether a particular bill would cost the Trust Fund money, save money, have other administrative impacts, or hurt or benefit long-term stability, among other things. ASRS monitors legislative proceedings, and will testify in public Committees as needed. In the end, our roles as Fiduciaries is imperative and drives our actions and decision-making.
I am happy to discuss the Legislative process or specific bills with you. Just e-mail me.