Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official page posted by the Arizona Legislature, fetched 2026-08-28. Where this bill amends existing law, language marked for deletion in the official page appears here in brackets. This is the introduced version. The official bill page.
REFERENCE TITLE: business property; theft; penalties; prohibition State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session 2026 HB 2460 Introduced by Representative Kupper AN ACT amending title 9, chapter 4, article 8, arizona revised statutes, by adding section 9-500.54; amending title 11, chapter 2, article 4, arizona revised statutes, by adding section 11-269.31; relating to business property. (TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE) Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona: Section 1. Title 9, chapter 4, article 8, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 9-500.54, to read: START_STATUTE9-500.54. Business property; theft; penalties; prohibition; enforcement; state preemption; definitions A. Notwithstanding any other law, a municipality may not adopt or enforce any ordinance, rule or regulation that imposes a penalty on a business for the theft of the movable property of the business. B. A municipality may not enforce a penalty that does any of the following: 1. Imposes fines or fees for abandoned movable property that belongs to a business that is found off of the property of the business. 2. Requires a business to pay for the retrieval, storage or disposal of movable property that belongs to the business and that has been RETRIEVED or collected by the municipality. 3. Mandates that a business certify compliance with municipal retrieval programs under the threat of imposing a penalty if the noncompliance by the business is based on the theft of the movable property that belongs to the business. C. A municipality may do any of the following: 1. Notify a business of the location of movable property that belongs to the business and allow the business to voluntarily RETRIEVE the movable property without imposing any fee. 2. Institute criminal or civil penalties against a person who is responsible for the theft of movable property that belongs to a business. 3. Enact general nuisance abatement ordinances, rules or regulations that do not specifically include imposing a penalty on a business for THE theft of movable property that belongs to the business. D. The attorney general or any business may bring an action in the superior court to enjoin a municipality from enforcing an ordinance, rule or regulation that is prohibited by this section. A business that prevails in an action brought pursuant to this subsection is entitled to recovery of reasonable attorney fees and costs. E. The regulation of the theft of movable property of a business is of statewide concern. The regulation of the theft of movable property of a business pursuant to this section is not subject to further regulation by a municipality. F. For the purposes of this section: 1. "Business" means any commercial enterprise that owns or provides movable property for use by the customers of the business. 2. "movable property": (a) means tangible property that is owned by a business that is intended for temporary use by the customers of the business. (b) Includes shopping carts and hand-held baskets. 3. "Theft" means unauthorized taking, removing or abandoning movable property that belongs to a business by a person other than the owner of the business or an owner's authorized agent. END_STATUTE Sec. 2. Title 11, chapter 2, article 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 11-269.31, to read: START_STATUTE11-269.31. Business property; theft; penalties; prohibition; enforcement; state preemption; definitions A. Notwithstanding any other law, a county may not adopt or enforce any ordinance, rule or regulation that imposes a penalty on a business for the theft of the movable property of the business. B. A county may not enforce a penalty that does any of the following: 1. Imposes fines or fees for abandoned movable property that belongs to a business that is found off of the property of the business. 2. Requires a business to pay for the retrieval, storage or disposal of movable property that belongs to the business and that has been RETRIEVED or collected by the municipality. 3. Mandates that a business certify compliance with county retrieval programs under the threat of imposing a penalty if the noncompliance by the business is based on the theft of the movable property that belongs to the business. C. A county may do any of the following: 1. Notify a business of the location of movable property that belongs to the business and allow the business to voluntarily RETRIEVE the movable property without imposing any fee. 2. Institute criminal or civil penalties against a person who is responsible for the theft of movable property that belongs to a business. 3. Enact general nuisance abatement ordinances, rules or regulations that do not specifically include imposing a penalty on a business for THE theft of movable property that belongs to the business. D. The attorney general or any business may bring an action in the superior court to enjoin a county from enforcing an ordinance, rule or regulation that is prohibited by this section. A business that prevails in an action brought pursuant to this subsection is entitled to recovery of reasonable attorney fees and costs. E. The regulation of the theft of movable property of a business is of statewide concern. The regulation of the theft of movable property of a business pursuant to this section is not subject to further regulation by a county. F. For the purposes of this section: 1. "Business" means any commercial enterprise that owns or provides movable property for use by the customers of the business. 2. "movable property": (a) means tangible property that is owned by a business that is intended for temporary use by the customers of the business. (b) Includes shopping carts and hand-held baskets. 3. "Theft" means unauthorized taking, removing or abandoning movable property that belongs to a business by a person other than the owner of the business or an owner's authorized agent. Sec. 3. Severability If a provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable. Sec. 4. Legislative findings The legislature finds that: 1. Theft of business property, including shopping carts, imposes significant financial burdens on businesses through no fault of their own. 2. Local ordinances that penalize businesses for a theft or abandonment of their property by third parties, including criminals or unauthorized users, unfairly shifts responsibility from perpetrators to victims. 3. Penalties imposed by local ordinances discourage business investment, increase operational costs and may lead to higher prices for consumers. 4. It is the policy of this state to protect businesses from undue regulations that penalize them for crimes committed against them. Sec. 5. Short title This act may be cited as the "Completely Asinine Rule Termination (CART) Act".
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