AZ Investor

What is the Arizona Corporation Commission?

The Arizona Corporation Commission is a state regulatory body charged with several important responsibilities.  The Commission:

• Governs the offer and sale of securities and investment advice in or from Arizona,
• Licenses investment advisers and their representatives,
• Registers securities dealers and salesmen,
• Regulates several hundred public utilities serving the state, including setting the rates and charges for service and ensuring adequate, reliable service,
• Registers corporations and limited liability companies, and
• Enforces regulations to ensure railroad and pipeline safety.

Who formed the Commission and when?

The authors of the Arizona Constitution created the Commission in 1912 as an agency independent of the legislature, the executive branch or the judiciary.  The Commission is an unusual public entity in that only a handful of other states have constitutionally formed commissions.  Then, as now, the goal was to have an agency that could balance the enormous economic power wielded by large corporations-such as the railroads of that era-with the needs of ordinary citizens.

Read more about what the Commission's Securities Division can do for YOU!

Who Chooses the Commissioners?

You do!  As a registered voter, you choose the Commissioners when you vote in a statewide election.

The Commission is headed by five commissioners.  Each Commissioner serves a four-year term with the ability to serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.  In case of a vacancy, the Governor appoints a replacement of the same political party as the outgoing Commissioner.

The Commissioners decide policy for the agency, act as judges in rate cases and other proceedings and have broad legislative authority in writing rules and regulations.  The ultimate responsibility, for final decisions on granting or denying rate adjustments, enforcing safety and public service requirements and approving securities matters, rests with the Commissioners.

The Commissioners oversee a staff that is organized into eight divisions:  Administration, Corporations, Hearing, Information Technology, Railroad and Pipeline Safety, Securities and Utilities.