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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session
VETOED
criminal justice; 2025-2026
Purpose
Makes statutory and session law changes relating to criminal justice necessary to implement the FY 2026 state budget.
Background
The Arizona Constitution prohibits substantive law from being included in the general appropriations, capital outlay appropriations and supplemental appropriations bills. However, it is often necessary to make statutory and session law changes to effectuate the budget. Thus, separate bills called budget reconciliation bills (BRBs) are introduced to enact these provisions. Because BRBs contain substantive law changes, the Arizona Constitution provides that they become effective on the general effective date, unless an emergency clause is enacted.
H.B. 2951 contains the budget reconciliation provisions for changes relating to criminal justice.
Provisions
Child and Family Representation Program (Program)
1. Establishes the Program in the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to collaborate with superior courts, judges and attorneys to ensure uniform, high-quality legal representation by attorneys appointed to represent juveniles, parents and guardians during juvenile court proceedings.
2. Requires the Supreme Court to employ administrative and other personnel the court deems necessary to administer the Program, including a child and family representation compliance chief.
3. Requires the Program to enhance the provision of legal representation for children and parents by:
a) assessing the provision and availability of high-quality accessible training in Arizona for counsel for children and parents and for judges who regularly hear dependency matters;
b) making recommendations to the Supreme Court concerning the establishment or modification by court rule of minimum training requirements and practice standards, including appropriate maximum caseloads, minimum responsibilities and duties and practice guidelines for attorneys who serve as counsel in juvenile proceedings;
c) auditing the practice of counsel to ensure compliance with relevant statute, court rules, other directives, policies or procedures and contract provisions;
d) filing ethical complaints against attorneys who violate the rules of professional conduct relating to the representation of children and parents in dependency proceedings;
e) working with the Department of Child Safety, the Office of the Attorney General, judges, attorneys, children and parents who have been impacted by the child welfare system to form partnerships to ensure high-quality legal representation for children and parents;
f) recommending fair and realistic compensation rates that are sufficient to attract and retain experienced attorneys to serve as court appointed counsel for children and parents;
g) seeking to enhance existing funding sources for the provision of counsel services for children and parents, as well as studying the availability of or developing new funding sources;
h) in consultation with state and national interest groups with an understanding of best practices for representing children and parents in dependency proceedings, developing measures to assess and document the effectiveness of counsel and the outcomes achieved by children who are represented by counsel; and
i) assisting foster parents, foster children, biological parents and other persons who have knowledge of an alleged violation with filing ethical complaints related to the representation of children and parents in dependency proceedings.
4. Requires the Program to report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by June 30, annually, on the measures taken to assess and document the effectiveness of counsel.
5. Requires the Legislature, beginning in 2030 and every five years after 2030, to review the Program's outcomes to determine whether the Program should be continued.
Judicial Officers
6. Prohibits an elected or appointed judicial officer or an employee of the judicial branch from serving on any state board, commission, council or task force, unless expressly authorized by the Arizona Constitution.
7. Prohibits a judicial officer or an employee of the judicial branch who handles family law matters from receiving a salary increase, raise, bonus or cost of living adjustment in FY 2026 through FY 2028.
8. Repeals, on July 1, 2028, the prohibition relating to salary increases, raises, bonuses and cost of living adjustments for family law judicial officers and employees.
Judicial Lobbyist Contracting Prohibition
9. Prohibits the judicial branch from contracting for lobbying services.
Arizona Criminal Justice Commission
10. Removes the Director of the AOC as a member of the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC).
Attorney General and County Attorney Litigation Approval
11. Requires the Attorney General and county attorneys to obtain approval from a majority of the members of the Judiciary Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate before filing any election-related legal actions against any person, if the person establishes by prima facie evidence that the legal action is substantially motivated by a desire to deter, retaliate against or prevent the lawful exercise of a constitutional right.
Anti-Racketeering Revolving Fund (Racketeering Fund)
12. Prohibits monies in the Racketeering Fund from being transferred to the state General Fund.
Erroneous Conviction Procedure (Effective January 1, 2026)
11. Allows a claimant, effective January 1, 2026, and notwithstanding any other law, to bring an action in the superior court seeking compensation from the state if the claimant establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the claimant:
a) was convicted of a felony and subsequently incarcerated;
b) did not commit the crime or crimes for which the claimant was convicted;
c) did not commit perjury, evidence fabrication or caused or brought about the conviction by the claimant's own conduct, except that a confession, guilty plea or an admission later found to be false does not constitute committing perjury, fabricating evidence or bringing about the conviction; and
i. the claimant was pardoned based on innocence;
ii. the claimant's judgement of conviction was reversed or vacated and the charges were dismissed or the claimant was found not guilty on retrial; or
iii. the claimant's judgement of conviction was reversed or vacated and the claimant entered and Alford plea or a plea of no contest, while maintaining a claim of innocence, after the conviction was overturned, reversed or vacated on direct appeal or postconviction review when the claimant otherwise would have been entitled to a new trial.
12. Requires all pleadings to be entitled "In The Matter Of The Erroneous Conviction Of ____".
13. Requires the action to be brought in the county of conviction, or Maricopa County, within two years of:
a) the claimant's conviction being overturned or vacated and the charges dismissed, the claimant being found not guilty on retrial, or the claimant entering into a plea of no contest, whichever occurs later;
b) the claimant being pardoned based on innocence; or
c) the general effective date if the claimant was convicted, incarcerated and released from custody before the general effective date.
14. Requires the claimant to serve the Attorney General (AG) with a copy of the claim, to which the AG must respond within 30 days or, on the showing of a good cause, receive a 30-day extension.
15. Allows the claimant and AG to stipulate an additional extension of time for the AG's response.
16. Requires the court to decide the claim and specifies that the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure apply.
17. Requires the court to enter an order granting the erroneous conviction claim if the AG does not object in response to the claim.
18. Requires the court to order and hold an evidentiary hearing if the AG objects to the claim.
19. Requires the grant or denial of the court order to include findings of fact and conclusions of law.
20. Allows a claimant to request the action and erroneous conviction ruling be sealed.
21. Stipulates that the court's decision to grant or deny an erroneous conviction claim is not res judicata on any other proceedings.
22. Allows a claimant to file a direct appeal for a denied erroneous conviction claim.
Erroneous Conviction Compensation
23. Establishes the Erroneous Convictions Fund to be administered by the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) for the purpose of funding successful erroneous conviction claims.
24. Specifies that monies in the Erroneous Convictions Fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from lapsing.
25. Requires, if the court enters an order granting the claim, the court to award compensation, paid in one lump sum to the claimant, as follows:
a) 200% of the median household income in Arizona for each year the claimant was incarcerated, as it existed on the date the claimant was incarcerated and as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers, with an amount for any partial year required to be prorated in order to compensate the claimant for the portion of the year in which the claimant was incarcerated;
b) $25,000 per year for each year the claimant spent on death row, or each year that the claimant was registered as a sex offender;
c) reimbursement of not more than $100,000 for reintegrative services and mental and physical health care costs that the claimant incurred for the time period between the claimant's release from custody and the entry of judgement;
d) reimbursement for unreimbursed costs, fines, fees or surcharges that were imposed on the claimant as a result of the erroneous conviction, as well as restitution that was paid by or on behalf of the claimant;
e) reasonable attorney fees and costs of not more than $25,000 unless the court authorizes a greater total on a finding of good cause shown.
26. Prohibits the claimant from receiving compensation for any period of time for which the claimant was concurrently serving another sentence for a condition of another offense for which the claimant was lawfully incarcerated.
27. Allows the claimant to request additional compensation not to exceed $500,000.
28. Requires the court, upon such request, to hold an evidentiary hearing and consider the pro per status of the claimant in determining whether additional compensation is warranted.
29. Allows the claimant to present evidence of other damages the claimant suffered arising from or related to the claimant's arrest, prosecution, conviction and incarceration.
30. Specifies that additional amounts awarded to the claimant must be paid from the Erroneous Convictions Fund.
31. Specifies court awarded compensation as outlined does not constitute gross income for tax purposes.
32. Entitles a claimant to additional services from licensed or accredited state institutions, agencies or providers within Arizona, including:
a) mental health treatment for up to 52 clinical hours at a maximum of $250 per hour, within 12 months after the court's order awarding compensation;
b) up to 120 credit hours at any postsecondary educational institution, vocational school or trade school; and
c) up to four financial planning or literacy classes or consultations within twelve months after the court's order awarding compensation.
33. Requires the court to deduct from the claimant's entitled erroneous conviction monies any amount awarded to or received by the claimant in a civil action or settlement agreement, if the claimant has prevailed in a related civil action against or entered into a related settlement agreement with the state or a political subdivision thereof.
34. Specifies any amount deducted from a claimant's compensation must:
a) not include any sums paid to an attorney;
b) not include any costs of litigation; and
c) be awarded to the state.
35. States that any future damages awarded to the claimant from an action against a unit of government in Arizona relating to the erroneous claim must be offset by the compensation award received as outlined.
36. Prohibits the compensation award from being offset by any expenses incurred by the state, or a political subdivision thereof, including:
a) any expenses incurred to secure the claimant's custody or to feed, clothe or provide medical services for the claimant; and
b) the value of any services or reduction in fees for service, or value thereof to be provided to the claimant that may be awarded to the claimant under this legislation.
37. Requires the court, if it finds the claimant to be entitled to compensation, to issue a finding that the claimant was erroneously convicted and served a specific amount of time erroneously incarcerated.
38. Requires the clerk of the court to send a certified copy of the order to ADOA for payment from the Erroneous Convictions Fund, which must then remit the payment to the claimant within 45 days.
39. Requires any claims for reimbursement for specified services entitled to the claimant to be paid by the ADOA 14 days of receipt of a claim.
Expungement Order
40. Requires the court, regardless of whether the claimant has a historical prior felony conviction, to order the associated convictions and arrests expunged from all applicable state and federal systems and the records sealed.
41. Specifies the expungement order must state:
a) the claimant's current full name;
b) the claimant's full name at the time of arrest and conviction, if it is different than the current full name;
c) the claimant's sex, race and date of birth;
d) the offense for which the claimant was arrested and convicted;
e) the dates of the claimant's arrest and conviction;
f) the identity of the arresting law enforcement agency and convicting court;
g) that the order expunges any record of the claimant's arrest, charge, conviction or adjudication and sentence;
h) that the claimant's civil rights are restored, including the right to possess a firearm, unless the claimant is otherwise not eligible for restoration of civil rights on unrelated grounds;
i) that the clerk of the court must notify DPS, the prosecuting agency and arresting law enforcement agency, if applicable, of the expungement order; and
j) that the clerk of the court must seal all records relating to the expunged arrest, charge, conviction or adjudication and sentence and allow the records to be accessed only by the claimant or the claimant's attorney.
42. Requires the court to provide a certified copy of the expungement order to DPS.
43. Directs DPS to expunge and destroy any biological samples, including DNA and fingerprint sample and provide confirmation of this action to the court.
44. Specifies the above directive does not require DPS to destroy samples or a profile record that is associated with the claimant relating to an unrelated offense.
45. Requires DPS to seal and separate the expunged record from other DPS records and inform the appropriate state and federal law enforcement agencies, at no cost to the claimant.
46. Requires the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) to seal and separate the expunged record from other ADCRR records.
47. Prohibits the ADCRR from making information related to the expunged conviction publicly available through any department database.
48. Requires the arresting and prosecuting agencies to clearly identity in each agency's files and electronic records that the claimant was erroneously convicted and that the arrest, charge, conviction or adjudication and sentence are expunged.
49. Prohibits the arresting and prosecuting agencies from making any records of the expunged arrest, charge, conviction or adjudication and sentence available as a public record to anyone except the claimant or claimant's attorney.
50. Requires, pursuant to the expungement order, the claimant to be treated as not having been arrested for or convicted of the expunged offense and prohibits the expunged arrest, charge, adjudication, conviction or sentence from being used in a subsequent prosecution by a prosecution agency or court for any purpose.
51. Allows a claimant to state they have never been arrested for, charged with, adjudicated delinquent for, convicted of or sentenced for the offense that is the subject of the expungement.
Victim Compensation
52. Entitles a victim of a crime in which an erroneous conviction judgement has been granted to reimbursement for mental health treatment.
53. Specifies a victim's entitlement for reimbursement is for up to 52 clinical hours, within 12 months after the court's order awarding compensation, at a maximum of $250 per hour.
54. Specifies the victim does not need to establish any other eligibility to receive the reimbursement.
Misconduct by City or County Employee
55. Allows the AG to request the court to make findings of fact that there is evidence of misconduct on the part of a city or county employee.
56. Requires the court, if requested by the AG, to make findings of fact regarding whether there is evidence of misconduct on the part of a city or county employee.
57. Allows the court to make such findings on its own motion if it is not requested by the AG.
58. Requires a city or county, if the court makes findings of misconduct by city or county employees that resulted in the pardoning, reversal or vacating of a conviction, to reimburse all payments made to the claimant from the Erroneous Convictions Fund.
59. Requires reimbursements for claims paid for outlined compensation to be paid within 45 days of the payment from the Erroneous Convictions Fund to the claimant, or within 14 days for outlined services claims.
Prosecution Reimbursement
63. Requires counties to first establish an intergovernmental agreement with the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) prior to filing a claim for prosecution reimbursement.
64. Requires ADCRR, upon receipt of the claim, to file the claim with the Arizona Department of Administration and pay the claim accordingly.
State Aid to Juvenile Proceedings Fund (Juvenile Proceedings Fund)
65. Modifies the distribution formula for the Juvenile Proceedings Fund, retroactive to July 1, 2025, by requiring distributions to be based on the proportional share of filings for each county in the most recent fiscal year for which juvenile dependency case filing figures are available.
66. Prohibits distributions from exceeding $250,000 in any fiscal year for a single county.
67. Requires ACJC, if a county distribution is projected to exceed $250,000, to distribute monies more than this amount to the remaining counties based on the proportional share of juvenile dependency case filings statewide for each county, less the juvenile dependency case filings from the counties that have reached the maximum fiscal year distribution.
Fentanyl Prosecution Diversion and Testing Fund (Fentanyl Fund)
68. Delays, from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2027, the repeal date of the Fentanyl Fund.
Miscellaneous
69. Contains a statement of legislative findings.
70. Makes technical and conforming changes.
71. Becomes effective on the general effective date, with a delayed effective date as noted.
Governor's Veto Message
The Governor indicates in her veto message that H.B. 2951, and this version of the FY 2026 budget as a whole, does not provide adequate funding for health care coverage and K-12 education and inadequately addresses priorities such as childcare affordability, veteran homelessness and public safety. The Governor encourages working in a productive fashion to deliver a bipartisan solution for Arizonans.
House Action Senate Action
APPROP 6/12/25 DP 11-7-0-0 3rd Read 6/26/25 16-11-3
3rd Read 6/13/25 31-0-29
Vetoed by the Governor 6/25/25
Prepared by Senate Research
June 26, 2025
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