HB 2165 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

veterans; state park fees; exemption

HB 2165 exempts Arizona veterans from state park admission fees. Veterans must present their military ID to receive the exemption, which covers the veteran and up to three additional people in per-person fee systems or all passengers in the same vehicle for per-vehicle fees. The bill directly affects eligible veterans visiting Arizona state parks. This change modifies existing fee policies under Section 8 of Arizona Revised Statutes § 41-511.05 without altering other park operations or fee structures.

Issues: ✓ Veterans

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 8, 2026 Last action Mar 31, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → House Engrossed Version (03/09/2026) · 6 edits · Mar 9, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add new powers for the Arizona State Parks Board, including providing advisory services to local park boards, reimbursing volunteers for travel expenses, managing a land conservation grant program, and requiring background checks for volunteers interacting with children. Additionally, the veteran fee exemption was expanded to include active duty military, National Guard, and reservists, and the list of acceptable identification documents was updated to include driver licenses with veteran designations.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded by adding four new powers (Sections 10-13) to the State Parks Board and updating the eligibility criteria for fee exemptions to include more military categories and additional forms of identification.

SCOPE

Added authority for the State Parks Board to provide advisory services to city and county park boards.

FISCAL

Added authority to develop a grant program and adopt guidelines for allocating monies in the land conservation fund.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for volunteers collecting fees or interacting with children to submit fingerprints for criminal background checks.

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded the veteran fee exemption to include members of the U.S. Military, National Guard, and reserve units, not just veterans.

DEFINITION

Updated the list of acceptable identification documents for fee exemption to include driver licenses with veteran designations in addition to military and VA cards.

ENFORCEMENT

Strengthened the legislative review process for board rules by adding specific instructions on what the board must do if the legislature modifies a rule.

Floor votes · House Mar 9, 2026

How they voted

52–0

Passed · 8 other

Total votes 60

Mar 9, 2026

D Democratic27

21 Yea 6

77% Yea

R Republican33

31 Yea 2

93% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 31, 2026

Upper · Passed

DPA

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

upper

Mar 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors