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REFERENCE TITLE: aggravated driving; suspended; revoked; license |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session 2026
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HB 2498 |
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Introduced by Representative Way
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AN ACT
Amending sections 13-702 and 28-3473, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 28, chapter 8, article 8, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 28-3484; relating to aggravated driving.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 13-702, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
13-702. First time felony offenders; sentencing; definition
A. Unless a specific sentence is otherwise provided, the term of imprisonment for a first felony offense shall be the presumptive sentence determined pursuant to subsection D of this section. Except for those felonies involving a dangerous offense or if a specific sentence is otherwise provided, the court may increase or reduce the presumptive sentence within the ranges set by subsection D of this section. Any reduction or increase shall be based on the aggravating and mitigating circumstances listed in section 13-701, subsections D and E and shall be within the ranges prescribed in subsection D of this section.
B. If a person is convicted of a felony without having previously been convicted of any felony and if at least two of the aggravating factors listed in section 13-701, subsection D apply, the court may increase the maximum term of imprisonment otherwise authorized for that offense to an aggravated term. If a person is convicted of a felony without having previously been convicted of any felony and if the court finds at least two mitigating factors listed in section 13-701, subsection E apply, the court may decrease the minimum term of imprisonment otherwise authorized for that offense to a mitigated term.
C. The aggravated or mitigated term imposed pursuant to subsection D of this section may be imposed only if at least two of the aggravating circumstances are found beyond a reasonable doubt to be true by the trier of fact or are admitted by the defendant, except that an aggravating circumstance under section 13-701, subsection D, paragraph 11 shall be found to be true by the court, or in mitigation of the crime are found to be true by the court, on any evidence or information introduced or submitted to the court or the trier of fact before sentencing or any evidence presented at trial, and factual findings and reasons in support of these findings are set forth on the record at the time of sentencing.
D. The term of imprisonment for a presumptive, minimum, maximum, mitigated or aggravated sentence shall be within the range prescribed under this subsection. The terms are as follows:
Felony Mitigated Minimum Presumptive Maximum Aggravated
Class 2 3 years 4 years 5 years 10 years 12.5 years
Class 3 2 years 2.5 years 3.5 years 7 years 8.75 years
Class 4 1 year 1.5 years 2.5 years 3 years 3.75 years
Class 5 .5 years .75 years 1.5 years 2 years 2.5 years
Class 6 .33 years .5 years 1 year 1.5 years 2 years
E. The court shall inform all of the parties before sentencing occurs of its intent to increase or decrease a sentence to the aggravated or mitigated sentence pursuant to this section. If the court fails to inform the parties, a party waives its right to be informed unless the party timely objects at the time of sentencing.
F. A person who is convicted pursuant to section 28-3484 shall be sentenced pursuant to the mandatory minimum prescribed by that section. The court may not suspend any part of the sentence and may not grant probation, a pardon or early release until the person has served the minimum term of incarceration imposed by section 28-3484.
F. g. For the purposes of this section, "trier of fact" means a jury, unless the defendant and the state waive a jury in which case the trier of fact means the court.
Sec. 2. Section 28-3473, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
28-3473. Driving on a suspended, revoked or canceled license; violation; classification
A. Except as provided in section 28-3482, a person may not operate a motor vehicle on a public highway if the person's privilege to drive a motor vehicle is suspended, revoked, canceled or refused or if the person is disqualified from driving.
B. A person who violates this section is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor except if the person is found guilty of violating section 28-3484, the person is guilty of a class 5 felony.
C. Each conviction pursuant to this section shall be reported to the department, and the department shall maintain a record of conviction for the purposes of determining repeat offenses for sentencing purposes under section 28-3484.
Sec. 3. Title 28, chapter 8, article 8, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 28-3484, to read:
28-3484. Aggravated driving on a suspended license; violation; classification
A. A person is guilty of a class 5 felony if the person violates section 28-3473 and has been convicted of five or more separate violations of section 28-3473 within the previous eighty-four months.
B. A person who is convicted pursuant to this section shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than four months. The court may not suspend any part of the sentence and may not grant probation, a pardon or early release until the person has served the mandatory minimum of four months imprisonment.
C. For the purposes of this section, multiple violations of section 28-3473 which arise from the same series of acts shall be considered one offense.
D. This section applies only to violations which occurred on or after January 1, 2019.