Examples

Examples and Recipes

Real-world use cases. Each shows the MCP tool call, the equivalent curl, and what to expect back.

Look up a specific cite

ars_get_section(citation="16-925")

curl "https://ars.cactus.watch/api/ars/16-925"

Returns the full text of A.R.S. § 16-925 (sign disclaimer law). Useful when you know exactly what you want.

Decimal section

ars_get_section(citation="16-121.01")

curl "https://ars.cactus.watch/api/ars/16-121.01"

Decimal sections work the same way. The mirror handles both the citation form (.01) and the URL form (-01) internally.

Search for a topic

ars_search(query="campaign contribution", title=16)

curl "https://ars.cactus.watch/api/ars/search?q=campaign+contribution&title=16"

Returns ranked snippets in Title 16 (Elections). Useful when you don't know the cite.

Find the VRKA sections

ars_search(query="VRKA")

Returns the relevant Prop 211 sections (16-971 through 16-979). VRKA is a specific term that returns clean results.

Browse a title's table of contents

ars_list_sections(title=16, limit=200)

Returns every section in Title 16 with its citation and section name. Useful for "what's actually in this title."

Find a statutory definition

Definitions usually live in the first section of each chapter (e.g., 16-101, 16-901, 16-941, etc.) or in the title's general definitions section.

ars_search(query="definitions", title=16)

Returns sections that define terms. To get a specific definition, narrow further or just look up the section number.

Compare two sections side-by-side

ars_get_section(citation="16-901")
ars_get_section(citation="16-901.01")

Just call twice. Useful for tracking when a base section was amended or split.

Find every place a phrase appears

ars_search(query="independent expenditure", limit=50)

Returns up to 50 sections mentioning the phrase. Use limit to control how many you scan.

Quick civic-research patterns

Sign disclaimer compliance

ars_get_section("16-925")    # the rules
ars_get_section("16-1019")   # ROW provisions
ars_search("disclaimer", title=16, limit=10)

Open records

ars_get_section("39-121")    # general open records statute
ars_search("public records", title=39)

Open meetings

ars_search("open meeting", title=38, limit=20)

Election law overview

ars_list_sections(title=16, limit=359)   # all of Title 16
ars_search("voter registration", title=16, limit=20)

Composing investigations

A typical multi-step civic-research loop:

1. Get oriented: ars_list_titles() to see the landscape
2. Find the right title: narrow to e.g. Title 16 for elections
3. Browse: ars_list_sections(title=16, limit=200) to see section names
4. Search within: ars_search(query="X", title=16) to find specific topics
5. Read deeply: ars_get_section(citation="16-Y") to get full text
6. Cross-reference: repeat for related sections

That's the standard research loop. The MCP makes each step a single tool call instead of a curl + parse + normalize cycle.

Combining with the SOS MCP

For campaign finance work specifically, pair this MCP with the SOS MCP:

• ARS MCP for "what does the law require?"
• SOS MCP for "did this committee comply?"

Example workflow:

1. ars_get_section("16-925") — read the disclaimer requirements
2. sos_committee_transactions(entity_id=...) — see what a committee actually filed
3. sos_vrka_search(filer_id=...) — see if they filed VRKA when they should have
4. Cross-reference against the statutory triggers in ars_get_section("16-973")

That's the full civic-tech research loop.