Assigned to ED FOR COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1602
type 03 districts; student count
Purpose
Requires, for the property tax levied in a common school district not within a high school
district (Type 03 district) by a county board of supervisors (county BOS), the property tax to be
equal to the countywide average per pupil equalization base for high school pupils multiplied by
the student count, rather than number of, high school pupils in the Type 03 district during the prior
school year.
Background
Students who reside in a Type 03 district but attend another school district for high school
are enrolled in the school district of the student's attendance for the purposes of determining student
count and apportionment of state aid (A.R.S. § 15-824).
Laws 2022, Chapter 285 requires a county BOS to annually levy, at the time of levying
other taxes, an additional tax in each Type 03 district equal to the product of: 1) the countywide
average per pupil equalization base for high school pupils; and 2) the number of the district's
resident high school pupils during the prior school year. The Arizona Department of Education
(ADE) must, by July 1, annually provide each county BOS with the countywide average per pupil
equalization base for high school pupils, the number of the district's resident high school pupils
during the prior school year and any other information request by the county BOS for the purposes
of levying the property tax. Monies collected by the property tax must be added to county aid for
equalization assistance and distributed to school districts in the same manner as the state
equalization tax rate.
Student count means average daily membership for the prior fiscal year before the current
year (A.R.S. § 15-901).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires, for the property tax levied in a Type 03 district by a county BOS, the property tax to
be equal to the countywide average per pupil equalization base for high school pupils
multiplied by the student count, rather than number of, high school pupils in the Type 03
district during the prior school year.
2. Requires the ADE to annually provide each county BOS with the countywide average per pupil
equalization base for high school pupils and the student count, rather than number of, high
school pupils in the Type 03 district during the prior school year.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 12, 2024
MH/slp