HB 2951 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - First Regular Session

criminal justice; 2025-2026

HB 2951 establishes the Child and Family Representation Program within Arizona’s Supreme Court to improve legal services for children and parents in dependency cases. The program assesses training quality for court-appointed attorneys, recommends minimum standards and fair compensation, audits compliance, and requires annual reports to lawmakers. It also includes a temporary freeze on salary increases for family law judges (2025-2028) and prohibits judicial officers from serving on outside boards without authorization. Additionally, the bill clarifies how forfeiture funds from racketeering cases may be used for victim services, gang prevention, and law enforcement costs. The bill was vetoed by the governor on June 25, 2025, and did not become law.

Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jun 2025

Committee Review

Jun 2025

House Passage

Jun 2025

Senate Passage

Jun 2025

Vetoed

Jun 2025

Introduced Jun 11, 2025 Vetoed Jun 25, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → House Engrossed Version · 7 edits · Jun 25, 2025

MODERATE

This bill was reorganized from an introduced version to a house engrossed version, adding several new sections and modifying existing ones to expand criminal justice reforms. Key substantive changes include adding a new child and family representation program, creating a new erroneous convictions compensation statute, and modifying various criminal justice funding and administrative provisions.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include new provisions for erroneous conviction compensation, enhanced child representation in dependency proceedings, and additional reporting requirements for criminal justice funds.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new Child and Family Representation Program to ensure high-quality legal representation for children and parents in dependency proceedings, including training, auditing, and compensation recommendations.

ELIGIBILITY

Added Section 13-4005 creating a new erroneous conviction compensation statute allowing convicted persons to seek compensation if they were wrongfully convicted and incarcerated.

TIMELINE

Modified the delayed repeal of Section 12-299.16, which prohibits salary increases for family law judicial officers, to be effective through June 30, 2028.

ENFORCEMENT

Added new reporting requirements for the anti-racketeering revolving fund, including quarterly reports and detailed expenditure tracking.

FISCAL

Modified the fentanyl prosecution fund repeal date from June 30, 2025 to June 30, 2027, extending the fund's availability.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions and procedures for erroneous conviction claims, including expungement requirements and victim compensation provisions.

TECHNICAL

Changed the bill title from 'criminal justice; 2025-2026' to 'relating to court proceedings' and reorganized the statutory text formatting.

Floor votes · House Jun 13, 2025

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 25, 2025

Vetoed

Vetoed by Governor

executive

Jun 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Jun 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Jun 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

Jun 12, 2025

Lower · Passed

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors