courts; fees; assessments
HB 2265 prevents courts in Arizona from charging indigent defendants (low-income individuals) fees or requiring repayment for public defender services. It specifically bans administrative assessments of up to $25 and prohibits courts from ordering repayment for legal costs, including in juvenile or mental health proceedings. The bill also establishes new court filing fees for a "fair jury improvement fund" (excluding criminal trial filings), with fees collected to supplement, not replace, existing county funding for public defense. These changes directly affect individuals qualifying for court-appointed counsel under Arizona law.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Jun 2026
Senate Passage
Jun 2026
Signed into Law
Jun 2026
Introduced Jan 15, 2026
Signed Jun 19, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
Senate Engrossed Version (06/09/2026)
→
Chaptered Version
·
3 edits
MINOR
This bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 195, replacing the draft Senate version. The substantive legal text regarding legal service reimbursements and appellate filing fees remained unchanged, but the document now includes official approval dates from June 2026.
Scope change
The bill's scope of applicability did not change; the text of the Arizona Revised Statutes was identical in both versions.
TIMELINE
Added official dates indicating the bill was approved by the Governor on June 19, 2026, and filed with the Secretary of State on June 22, 2026.
TECHNICAL
Updated the document title and header to reflect its status as 'Chapter 195' rather than a draft 'Senate Engrossed Version'.
Removed draft headers and formatting markers used during the legislative review process.
Floor votes · Senate Jun 9, 2026 · House Feb 23, 2026
How they voted
24–5
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 30
Jun 9, 2026
D
Democratic13
100% Yea
R
Republican17
64% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
17
Key actions
9
Committee
3
Amendments
2
Jun 19, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by Governor
executive
Jun 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
PASSED
lower
Jun 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
PASSED
upper
Jun 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
DPA
upper
Mar 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
DP
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
DP
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
PASSED
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Lower · Passed
DPA
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
DP
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Neal Carter
RRepublican
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