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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session |
Senate: JUDE DP 4-3-0-0 | Third Read 17-13-0-0-0 |
SB 1656: family court; professional personnel; requirements
Sponsor: Senator Finchem, LD 1
Committee on Judiciary
Overview
Amends the process the court must follow when appointing professional personnel and provides guidelines and requirements for professional personnel once they are appointed.
History
The court, in any legal decision-making or parenting time proceeding, can seek the advice of professional personnel, whether employed by the court on a regular basis or not. The advice given will be in writing and must be made available by the court to counsel, upon request, under such terms as the court determines. Counsel can examine any professional personnel as a witness consulted by the court, unless that right is waived (A.R.S. § 25-405).
Provisions
1. Requires any court seeking advice from professional personnel to schedule an evidentiary hearing during which the court must:
a. identify the person the courts seek to appoint;
b. specify, in writing, the scope of appointment and duties of the person; and
c. assess the ability of each parent to pay any fees associated with the person being appointed. (Sec. 1)
2. Allows each parent, before the aforementioned evidentiary proceeding, to conduct discovery and depose the proposed professional personnel. (Sec. 1)
3. Requires the court, after the appointment of the professional personnel, to provide a specific notice to both parents and to provide in writing:
a. whether either parent objected to the appointment;
b. the specific scope of appointment and specific duties of the appointed person;
c. the circumstances that required the person to be appointed;
d. information on how either party may object to or ask for clarification on the appointed person's report;
e. an explanation of the factors considered by the court when apportioning the appointed person's fees between the parents; and
f. the number of times the person has previously been appointed by the court. (Sec. 1)
4. Requires an appointed professional, in the event he needs more time to complete the report, to file a written request with the court that specifically describes the reason for the additional time. (Sec. 1)
5. Requires any appointed professional personnel to make an audio or video recording of each interaction he has with a parent or child over the course of the appointment and entitles the parents of the child to make audio or video recordings of any interaction with the appointed professional. (Sec. 1)
6. Requires professional personnel to be licensed and in good standing with the professional's licensing agency. (Sec. 1)
7. Mandates complaints regarding any appointed professional's conduct or ethics that cannot be resolved by the parents to be directed to the professional's licensing agency. (Sec. 1)
8. Stipulates that professional personnel cannot claim qualified immunity during the course of their appointment. (Sec. 1)
9. Allows a parent to bring up a civil action against any appointed professional personnel for a deviation from the ethics and standards of the professional's licensing requirements and requires any action to be commenced within 4 years. (Sec. 1)
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13. Initials NM/NP SB 1656
14. 3/19/2026 Page 0 Judiciary
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