Code Commission
AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
Authority
In 1899, the Territorial Legislature established a Code Commission to revise the laws of the Territory of Arizona. The Commission submitted a report in January, 1901 and the revisions were adopted as Act No. 69 of the Twenty-First Legislative Assembly. See Preface: Revised Statutes of Arizona Territory, 1901.
A second Code Commission was created in 1912 to codify the Revised Statutes of 1901, to incorporate subsequent acts of the Territorial Legislature and the acts of the first state legislature. The Commission’s draft also included additional subjects which were required due to the change from the territorial to the state form of government. The revisions were enacted by Laws 1912, Chapter 12. See Preface: Revised Statutes of Arizona, 1913 Civil Code.
A subsequent Code Commission was established in 1951 to revise, codify and annotate the laws of the state. The revisions were enacted in January, 1956. See Laws 1951, Chapter 103; Laws 1953, Chapter 1; Laws 1954, Chapter 43; Laws 1955, Chapter 1; and Laws 1956, Third Special Session, Chapter 3.
Function
Code Commissions have been established periodically to codify, revise, renumber, update and annotate territorial and state laws. Commissioners have included judges, elected officials and attorneys. Commission responsibilities have included incorporating changes and updates, as well as determining a method of arrangement, dividing various subjects into Titles, Chapters and Articles, maintaining historical and statutory notes, amendments, annotations, notes of decisions, cross references and reviser’s notes. Revisions do not include substantive changes to laws or policies.
In 1956, the responsibility for continuing code revision was assigned to the Director of the Arizona Legislative Council. A.R.S. §41-1304.01 authorizes Legislative Council to prepare revisions of Arizona Revised Statutes for submission to the Legislature. Legislative Council is also required to prepare an annual report on defects and to edit and arrange laws enacted during each session for publication. A.R.S. §41-1304.02 outlines limitations and requirements to revise and prepare statutes for publication.
History
The Twentieth Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Arizona authorized the Governor to appoint a “Commission consisting of three competent lawyers, with discretion and authority to revise the laws of the Territory of Arizona and to eliminate all crude, imperfect and contradictory matter, and also to insert such new provisions as they may deem necessary and proper.” Governor Murphy appointed a commission on March 16, 1899. The Commission completed its work, submitted a report in January, 1901 and the Legislature adopted the recommended language which included the Code, U.S. Constitution, the Organic Law of the Territory and the related acts of Congress.
Laws 1951, Chapter 103 established a five-member Code Commission, responsible for revising, codifying and annotating the laws of the state. The Commission was required to report its progress at the following legislative session. The Commission was authorized to employ personnel, purchase supplies and rent space as needed to complete its duties. In addition, the Commission was authorized to enter into negotiations with publishing houses to publish the code when completed. The measure appropriated $60,000 for the purposes of the act. The measure included an emergency clause and became effective on March 28, 1951 upon signature of the Governor.
The Chairman of the Code Commission, Wesley Bolin, issued a progress report on January 12, 1953. He explained the estimated time of completion was difficult to determine as approximately one-third of the revision work had been completed at the time of the report. He recommended the time to complete the project be extended to June 30, 1954 and requested an additional legislative appropriation.
Laws 1953, Chapter 1 repealed and rewrote certain sections of the measure enacted in 1951. The measure increased the membership to seven; appropriated $65,000 to carry out the purposes of the act; and required the Commission to complete its duties by June 30, 1954. The remainder of the provisions of the 1953 act were essentially the same as those in the 1951 measure.
Laws 1954, Chapter 43 extended the time for the Commission to complete its work to February 1, 1955. The measure also appropriated an additional $65,000 to prepare, print and distribute the revised statutes of 1955.
Laws 1955, Chapter 1 extended the time for the Commission to complete its work until February 1, 1956 and appropriated $45,000 to the Commission to prepare, print and distribute the revised statutes of 1956.
In 1955, Governor McFarland called the Legislature into special session three times to consider revisions of the laws of the state which had been written by the Code Commission over the previous five years. The first and second special sessions, on October 24 and November 28, 1955 ended without completing the task of revision. A third call was made to begin special session on December 20 at 11:39 p.m. to consider revising the state code of law and to revise laws relating to reimbursement for members, employees and officers of the legislature for subsistence, incidentals and lodging. The call was amended on December 27 to add an additional subject related to an appropriation to cover expenses incurred by the Arizona National Guard while patrolling highways and preventing automobile accidents. The third special session adopted the code revision, as well as the other measures, and adjourned sine die on January 7, 1956. See Laws 1956, Third Special Session, Chapter 3 and the calls for special session for additional information.
Laws 1956, Chapter 2 appropriated $23,337 to the Code Commission for amounts due to West Publishing for printing and distribution of the Arizona Revised Statutes in bill form. An emergency measure, it became effective January 31, 1956 upon signature of the Governor. That same year the Department of Library and Archives received a $5,000 appropriation as part of their budget for “code distribution.” See Laws 1956, Chapter 164 (page 342).
Laws 1956, Chapter 129 authorized Legislative Council to rewrite and revise A.R.S. titles, chapters and articles from time to time in simplified style and phraseology to submit to the Legislature.
Laws 1957, Chapter 81 outlined the process for the Secretary of State (SOS) to distribute statutes and journals of the Legislature and listed the specific offices and officials that would receive copies. The SOS was also authorized to sell printed copies of session laws and journals to the public at cost. The provisions have since been repealed and authority to publish and sell legislative journals and session laws currently lies with the Legislature. See A.R.S. §§41-1171 to 41-1177.03.
Sources
- Civil Code 1901: Preface and Sections 99 through 102
- Civil Code 1913: Preface and Sections 60 to 63
- Revised Code 1928, section 24
- Revised Code 1939, Supplement 1952, Section 4-202
- Arizona Revised Statutes
- Session Laws
- Laws 1912, Chapter 12
- Laws 1921, Chapter 110
- Laws 1931, Chapter 60
- Laws 1941, Chapter 16
- Laws 1951, Chapter 103
- Laws 1953, Chapter 1
- Laws 1954, Chapter 43
- Laws 1955, Chapter 1
- Laws 1956, Chapter 2, Chapter 129 and Chapter 164
- Laws 1957, Chapter 81
Report by the Code Commission to the First Regular Session of the Twenty-first Legislature, State of Arizona. January 12, 1953.
For more description of legislative action to adopt code revisions in 1912, 1913, and the 1950s, see History of the Arizona State Legislature, 1912-1966
