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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session |
House: HHS DP 7-5-0-0
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HB 2085: gender transition; minors; prohibitions.
Sponsor: Representative Fink, LD 27
Caucus & COW
Overview
Establishes prohibitions on gender transition procedures and referrals provided by physicians or other health professionals for individuals under 18 years old.
History
Laws 2022, Chapter 104 prohibits medical and osteopathic physicians from providing irreversible gender reassignment surgery to any person who is under 18 years of age.
A physician may provide any of the following to persons under 18 years of age: 1) services to an individual born with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development, including individuals with irresolvable ambiguous external biological sex characteristic; 2) services provided upon diagnosis of a sexual development disorder and a determination that, through genetic or biochemical testing, the individual does not have normal sex chromosome structure, sex steroid hormone production or sex steroid hormone action; 3) treatment of an infection, injury, disease or disorder that is caused or exacerbated by the performance of gender transition procedures, regardless of whether the procedure was performed in compliance with state and federal laws; or 4) any procedure undertaken due to a physical disorder, injury or illness that would place the individual in imminent danger of death or impairment of major bodily function, unless surgery is performed.
Provisions
1. Prohibits a physician or other health professional from:
a. providing a gender transition procedure to any individual who is under 18 years of age; and
b. referring any individual who is under 18 years of age to another health professional for a gender transition procedure. (Sec. 1)
3. Prohibits a gender transition procedure from being provided to any individual who is under 18 years of age in the following situations:
a. by or in a health care facility owned in this state, county or local government; or
b. by a physician or other health professional who is employed by this state, county or local government. (Sec. 1)
4. Prohibits the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System from providing reimbursement of costs or coverage for a gender transition procedure to any individual under the age of 18. (Sec. 1)
5. Deems it unprofessional conduct for any health professional to make a referral or provide a gender transition procedure to any individual who is under 18 years of age and subjects the health professional to disciplinary action by the respective health profession regulatory board or licensing entity. (Sec. 1)
6. Allows any individual to assert an actual or threatened violation as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding and obtain compensatory damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief or any other appropriate relief. (Sec. 1)
7. Requires an individual to bring a claim for a violation no later than two years after the date the cause of action accrues. (Sec. 1)
8. Allows an individual under 18 years of age to bring an action throughout the individual's minority through a parent or next friend and bring an action in the individual's own name on attaining 18 years of age until 20 years after attaining 18 years of age. (Sec. 1)
9. Allows an action to be commenced and relief to be granted in a judicial proceeding without regard to whether the individual commencing the action has sought or exhausted available administrative remedies. (Sec. 1)
10. Specifies that in any action or enforcement proceeding, the prevailing party who establishes a violation must recover reasonable attorney fees. (Sec. 1)
11. Permits the Attorney General to bring an action to enforce compliance with these prohibitions. (Sec. 1)
12. Clarifies this does not deny, impair or otherwise affect any right or authority of the Attorney General, this state or any agency, state officer or employee acting under any law to institute or intervene in any proceeding. (Sec. 1)
13. Defines the following terms:
a. cross-sex hormones;
b. gender transition procedure;
c. puberty-blocking drugs; and
d. public monies. (Sec. 1)
14. Contains an effective date of April 1, 2027. (Sec. 2)
15. Delays the effective date so that minors who are currently using puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones have time for appropriate medication tapering and discontinuation under the care of the minor's physician or other health professional. (Sec. 2)
16. Makes technical and conforming changes. (Sec. 1)
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Initials AG HB 2085
1/15/2026 Page 0 Caucus & COW
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