The secretary of state of Arizona is an elected position in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. Since Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor, the secretary stands first in the

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. The secretary also serves as acting governor whenever the governor is incapacitated or out of state. The secretary is the keeper of the

Seal of Arizona The Great Seal of the State of Arizona. According to Article 22, Section 20 of the State of Arizona Constitution by the Arizona State Legislature: Design Section 20. "The seal of the State shall be of the following design: In the background sha ...

and administers oaths of office. The current secretary is Democrat

Katie Hobbs Kathleen Marie Hobbs (born December 28, 1969) is an American politician and social worker who is the governor-elect of Arizona, having been elected in 2022. She has served as the 21st secretary of state of Arizona since 2019. A member of the ...

Duties

The secretary is in charge of a wide variety of other duties as well. The secretary is in charge of four divisions: * The secretary is in charge of the ''Arizona Advance Directive Registry'', which is the official state repository of

advance directives An advance healthcare directive, also known as living will, personal directive, advance directive, medical directive or advance decision, is a legal document in which a person specifies what actions should be taken for their health if they are no ...

such as

living will ''Living Will'' is an American comedy film starring Ryan Dunn, Gerard Haitz and April Scott. Cast *Ryan Dunn - Belcher *Gerard Haitz - Will *April Scott - Krista Production In 2011, the domestic distribution rights to the film were purchased ...

s, Medical Powers of Attorney, and Mental Health Powers of Attorney. * The ''Business Services Division'' is responsible for registering

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

trade name A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

s, and

lien A lien ( or ) is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the ''lienee'' and the per ...

s under the

Uniform Commercial Code The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), first published in 1952, is one of a number of Uniform Acts that have been established as law with the goal of harmonizing the laws of sales and other commercial transactions across the United States through U ...

. This division also issues

apostille The Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, also known as the Apostille Convention, is an international treaty drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). ...

s, files intergovernmental agreements and notices of public meetings, and regulates notaries public,

employment agencies An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One ...

, sports agents, out-of-state landlords, telemarketers, and

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ...

s. The Business Services Division is responsible for chartering

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

s, on the other hand, are the responsibility of the

Arizona Corporation Commission The Arizona Corporation Commission is the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Arizona, established by Article 15 of the Arizona Constitution. Arizona is one of only fourteen states with elected commissioners. The Arizona Constitution expli ...

. * ''The Elections Division'' is responsible for administering all elections in the state, and certifying their results. This division also regulates

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

and

campaign finance Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political a ...

. * The ''Public Services Division'' is responsible for filing bills from the Arizona Legislature, registering and publishing administrative

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

s, and publishes the Arizona Blue Book, which is an informational guide to the government of Arizona. The secretary administers the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.

History

The longest-served secretary is

Wesley Bolin Wesley Bolin (July 1, 1909 – March 4, 1978) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 15th governor of Arizona between 1977 and 1978. His five months in office mark the shortest term in office for any Arizona governor. Pr ...

, who served 12 full terms (including the last two-year term one and the first four-year term), and 1 partial term for a total of 28 years, 9 months, 18 days (or 10,518 days). Bolin was also the shortest-serving governor, ascending to the governorship in 1977 after Raúl Héctor Castro resigned, and serving only 5 months before his death. The second-longest-serving is James H. Kerby who was elected to 6 two-year terms in 1923–1929, and again in 1933–1939. He is also the only one to serve non-consecutively in the office. The shortest tenure goes to John C. Callaghan who died 20 days after his inauguration. Only two Secretaries of State have been elected governor without having first ascended to the office upon the death, resignation, or impeachment of a sitting governor: Sidney P. Osborn and

. Osborn was also the first governor to die in office, making Dan Garvey the first Secretary of State to ascend to the position. Since then, four other Secretaries of State have become governor through filling a vacancy.

Duties

History

Officeholders

See also

Notes

References

External links