DPS; legal representation; appropriation
HB 2993 amends Arizona law to clarify when state agencies can hire their own legal counsel. Typically, agencies must use the Attorney General's office for legal representation, but exceptions allow them to hire outside lawyers if the Attorney General is disqualified (e.g., due to a conflict of interest) or in specific cases like pesticide complaints involving the Department of Agriculture. The bill also requires agencies with their own legal divisions (funded by non-general revenue) to reimburse the state general fund for legal services provided by the Attorney General. This affects all state agencies, including the Department of Public Safety (DPS), by defining their legal representation options and reimbursement obligations.
Bill status
vetoed
4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Vetoed
Mar 2026
Introduced Feb 5, 2026
Vetoed Mar 12, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced Version
→
House Engrossed Version (03/02/2026)
·
3 edits
·
Mar 9, 2026
MINOR
The bill was reformatted from an introduced version to a house engrossed version, correcting the title reference from the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Law. A significant new exemption was added, allowing the Department of Public Safety to hire its own legal counsel without the Attorney General's approval. Additionally, a $6.4 million appropriation was added to fund these new legal services for the Department of Public Safety from a consumer protection revolving fund.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded by explicitly exempting the Department of Public Safety from the general rule that state agencies cannot hire their own attorneys, thereby allowing them to secure independent legal representation.
ELIGIBILITY
Added the Department of Public Safety to the list of state agencies exempt from the requirement to use the Attorney General for legal services.
FISCAL
Added a $6,400,000 appropriation from the consumer protection-consumer fraud revolving fund to pay for the Department of Public Safety's legal services.
TECHNICAL
Corrected the bill title and formatting to reflect the Department of Law instead of the Department of Public Safety in the main statutory text.
Floor votes · House Mar 2, 2026
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
15
Key actions
7
Committee
1
Amendments
3
Mar 12, 2026
Vetoed
Vetoed by Governor
executive
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
PASSED
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
DP
upper
Mar 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
DP
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
PASSED
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
DPA
lower
Feb 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
DPA
lower
Feb 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
DPA
lower
1 primary · 30 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Steve Montenegro
RRepublican
Co
Alex Kolodin
RRepublican
Co
Beverly Pingerelli
RRepublican
Co
Chris Lopez
RRepublican
Co
David Livingston
RRepublican
Co
David Marshall
RRepublican
Co
Gail Griffin
RRepublican
Co
James Taylor
RRepublican
Co
Jeff Weninger
RRepublican
Co
John Gillette
RRepublican
Co
Joseph Chaplik
RRepublican
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