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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session |
Senate: GOV DPA 4-1-2-0 | Third Read 16-10-4-0-0 |
SB 1665: state agencies; hiring practices; appeals
Sponsor: Senator Bolick, LD 2
Committee on Government
Overview
Requires each Arizona agency to adopt a standardized hiring process for all employee positions and outlines an appeal process.
History
The State Personnel Board (Board) consists of five members appointed by the Governor with no more than three members of the same political party. One member is required to be someone who has managed a component or unit of government or industry with more than 20 employees for more than five years, one member must be a professional personnel administrator, one a state of Arizona employee, one a person active in business and one member of the public. All members serve for a term of three years. Members may not become a candidate for any elective public office or accept any appointive office or employment in the State Personnel System, except the state of Arizona employee appointed. Members, except the person designated as the state employee, are eligible to receive compensation of $100 for each meeting attended, prorated for partial days for each meeting attended. Further, the Board must hear and review appeals and may adopt rules it deems necessary for the administration of hearing and complaints (A.R.S. §§ 41-781, 41-782).
Provisions
1. Directs each Arizona agency to adopt a standardized hiring process for all employee positions, including the following grading components:
a. weighted grade;
b. interview panel grade; and
c. overall grade. (Sec. 1)
2. Instructs agencies to consider the length and relevance of the candidate's experience and education, as well as any specific skills and certifications, to calculate their weighted grade. (Sec. 1)
3. Requires an additional numerical score for each candidate that participates in a formal interview. (Sec. 1)
4. Mandates a panel of at least two interviewers to conduct the interview. (Sec. 1)
5. Directs the weighted grade and the interview grade panel to be combined to create a final, overall grade out of 100 for each candidate. (Sec. 1)
6. Requires the scoring criteria and the method for combining the grades to be published in the job posting. (Sec. 1)
7. Instructs Arizona and each agency to complete the entire hiring process within 90 days. (Sec. 1)
8. Directs the Board to intervene to ensure the completion of the hiring process and the selection of a final candidate, in the case of the hiring process exceeding 90 days. (Sec. 1)
9. Mandates an agency to provide written notice to each candidate who is eliminated from hiring consideration and the reason the candidate did not meet the requirements for consideration. (Sec. 1)
10. Allows any candidate who participated in the weighted grade and the interview panel grade and was not hired to appeal the hiring decision to the Board if both the following occur:
a. the appeal is made within three business days after the final hiring decision announcement; and
b. the appeal is based on a claim that the hiring process for all positions was not followed, the agency's hiring of another candidate was arbitrary considering their overall grade or that the process exceeded 90 days. (Sec. 1)
11. Directs the Board to review the grades and documentation of the appealing candidate and the selected candidate in order to determine if the hiring decision violated this legislation. (Sec. 1)
12. Permits the Board, if a violation is found, to direct the agency to reconsider the decision or take any other appropriate action, including appointing a hearing officer to conduct an administrative review. (Sec. 1)
13. Allows the Board to require an agency to do all of the following:
a. reopen the hiring process;
b. modify the job posting; and
c. take any other necessary actions to comply with this legislation. (Sec. 1)
14. Stipulates that this legislation does not apply to the following:
a. the Governor's Office; or
b. any members of a board or commission appointed by the Governor. (Sec. 1)
15. Permits any candidate to be directly hired by an agency if the candidate meets a weighted numeric grade of at least 90. (Sec. 1)
16. Requires the hiring decision and specific position filled to be announced through the agency's official website. (Sec. 1)
17. Asserts that any candidate, internal or external, can appeal the direct hire. (Sec. 1)
18. Cites the legislation as the State Agency Hiring Reform Act. (Sec. 2)
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22. Initials ML/MN SB 1665
23. 3/6/2026 Page 0 Government
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