county seal; authority; sheriff's posse, the official text

House Engrossed

county seal;
authority; sheriff's posse

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HOUSE BILL 2270

AN
ACT

amending sections 11-251.17 and 11-441,
arizona revised statutes; relating to county authority.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 11-251.17, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE11-251.17. Use of county seal, logo or insignia restricted; county offices;
cease and desist order; violation; classification; exception

A. A person may use, display or otherwise employ any
facsimile, copy, likeness, imitation or other resemblance of the county seal, logo or insignia or another visual or textual identifier OF the COUNTY, whether identical or substantially similar, that implies affiliation with the county only
after obtaining the approval of the board of supervisors of that
county. The board of supervisors may grant a certificate of approval
on application by any person showing good cause for the use of the county seal, logo or insignia or another visual or textual identifier OF the COUNTY for a proper purpose. No person other
than a county department may use the county seal [for the purpose
of advertising or promoting], logo or insignia or another
visual or textual identifier OF the COUNTY to advertise
or promote the sale of any article of merchandise within this state or
for promoting any other commercial purpose. The board of supervisors
may adopt rules for the use of the county seal, logo or insignia
or another visual or textual identifier OF the COUNTY or
any facsimile, copy, likeness, imitation or other resemblance of the county
seal, logo or insignia or another visual or textual identifier
OF the COUNTY, including rules for the use of the
county seal, logo or insignia or another visual or textual
identifier of the county for official county
business.

B. A person may use, display or
otherwise employ any facsimile, copy, likeness, imitation or other resemblance
of the logo, insignia or another visual or textual identifier of a county
office, whether identical or substantially similar, that implies affiliation
with that county office only after obtaining the approval of the elected
official in control of that county office. The elected official in
control of the appropriate county office may grant a certificate of approval on
application by any person showing good cause for using the logo, insignia or
another visual or textual identifier of that county office for a proper
purpose.  A person other than a county department may not use the logo,
insignia or another visual or textual identifier of a county elected office to
advertise or promote the sale of any article of merchandise within this state
or for promoting any other commercial purpose. The board of
supervisors may act to adopt rules for the use of the logo, insignia or another
visual or textual identifier for any county office or any facsimile, copy,
likeness, imitation or other resemblance of the logo, insignia or another
visual or textual identifier of any county office, including rules for the use
of the logo, insignia or another visual or textual identifier of any county
office for official county business. The board may also act on a
request of a county elected official for the county office to which the
requesting county official is elected.

[B.] C. If
the county maintains a website, it shall display on its website the adopted
seal, LOGO OR INSIGNIA and the text of subsection A of
this section.

[C.] D. The
board of supervisors shall issue a cease and desist order to any person who is
in violation of this section. If the person fails to comply with the
cease and desist order, the person is guilty of a class 3 misdemeanor.

E. Subsections A and B of this
section do not limit the ability of a person to use a county seal, logo or
insignia to engage in satire or parody. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 11-441, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE11-441. Powers and duties

A. The sheriff shall:

1. Preserve the peace.

2. Arrest and take before the nearest magistrate for
examination all persons who attempt to commit or who have committed a public
offense.

3. Prevent and suppress all affrays, breaches of the
peace, riots and insurrections that may come to the knowledge of the sheriff.

4. Attend all courts, except justice and municipal
courts, when an element of danger is anticipated and attendance is requested by
the presiding judge and obey lawful orders and directions issued by the judge.

5. Take charge of and keep the county jail,
including a county jail under the jurisdiction of a county jail district, and
the prisoners in the county jail.

6. Endorse on all process and notices the year,
month, day, hour and minute of reception and issue to the person delivering the
process or notice, on payment of fees, a certificate showing the names of the
parties, the title of the paper and the time of reception.

7. Serve process and notices in the manner
prescribed by law and certify under the sheriff's hand on the process or
notices the manner and time of service, or if the sheriff fails to make
service, the reasons for failure, and return them without
delay. When returnable to another county, the sheriff may enclose
such process or notices in an envelope, addressed to the officer from whom
received, and deposit the envelope postage prepaid in the post
office. The return of the sheriff is prima facie evidence of the
facts stated in the return.

8. Secure, as soon as
possible, the home of a deceased person located outside the boundaries of an
incorporated city or town if the sheriff is unable to determine or locate the
heirs or executor of the deceased person.

B. The sheriff, in
executing the duties prescribed in subsection A, paragraphs 1 through 4 of this
section, may command the aid of as many inhabitants of the county as the
sheriff deems necessary.

C. The sheriff shall conduct or coordinate within
the county search or rescue operations involving the life or health of any
person or may assist in such operations in another county at the request of
that county's sheriff. The sheriff may request assistance from any
persons or agencies in fulfilling duties under this subsection. A
search and rescue unit established or recognized by a county may possess human
remains as defined in section 36-301 for the purpose of training canines
used for search and rescue work. The sheriff or the sheriff's
designee shall keep an inventory of all human remains that are kept for the
purpose of training search and rescue canines. The inventory must be
updated when the search and rescue unit receives human remains or disposes of
human remains that are no longer useful to the search and rescue
unit. Each search and rescue unit that possesses human remains for
the purpose of training search and rescue canines shall establish policies and
standard operating procedures for access to, the inventory of and the
possession and disposal of human remains kept for the purpose of training
search and rescue canines.

D. The sheriff, in executing the duties prescribed
in this section, may request the aid of volunteer posse and reserve
organizations located in the county.

E. The sheriff may assist in executing the duties
prescribed in this section in another county at the request of that county's
sheriff.

F. The sheriff may require any prisoner who is on
work release to reimburse the county for reasonable expenses incurred in
connection with the release.

G. The board of supervisors of a county bordering
Mexico may adopt an ordinance pursuant to chapter 2 of this title allowing the
sheriff to prevent the entry from this state into Mexico at the border by any
resident of this state who is under eighteen years of age if the minor is
unaccompanied by a parent or guardian or does not have written consent for
entry from the minor's parent or guardian. The authority of the
sheriff is only to prevent entry and not to otherwise detain the minor. This
subsection does not limit the authority of the sheriff pursuant to any other
law. A county is not civilly or criminally liable for not adopting
an ordinance pursuant to this subsection.

H. Notwithstanding
section 13-3112, the sheriff may authorize members of the sheriff's
volunteer posse who have received and passed firearms training that is approved
by the Arizona peace officer standards and training board to carry a deadly
weapon without a permit while on duty.

i. THE SHERIFF has THE EXCLUSIVE
RIGHT TO NAME ANY POSSE that is ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE and to
dissolve any posse that operates under the sheriff's jurisdiction.