SB 1239 Arizona Senate · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

sex offenders; statute of limitations

SB 1239 removes the statute of limitations for specific serious sex offenses and related crimes in Arizona, meaning prosecutors can file charges at any time, regardless of how long ago the offense occurred. This directly affects individuals accused of violent sexual assaults under Section 13-1423 or violations of Sections 13-2308.01, 13-2308.03, 13-3212, or 13-3824. The bill amends Arizona Revised Statutes Section 13-107 to place these offenses in a category with no time limit for prosecution, while maintaining standard time limits (7 years for class 2-6 felonies, 1 year for misdemeanors) for other crimes. The change does not alter existing penalties but expands the window for prosecution of these specific offenses.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 21, 2026 Last action Mar 23, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version Senate Engrossed Version (03/03/2026) · 1 edit · Mar 3, 2026
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted from a standard legislative introduction to a formal Senate engrossed version, adding official headers and session details. The substantive legal text regarding time limitations for prosecuting crimes in Arizona remained unchanged, with only minor punctuation adjustments.
Scope change
No change in the scope or applicability of the law; the bill covers the same offenses and time limits as the original version.
TECHNICAL

The document structure was updated to include official Senate engrossed headers and session information, while the core legal content was preserved with minor punctuation fixes.

Floor votes

How they voted

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

Actions timeline

Total actions
10
Key actions
4
Committee
2
Mar 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
DP
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
PASSED
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
DP
upper
Jan 28, 2026
Upper · Passed
DP
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Janae Shamp
Janae Shamp
RRepublican
AZ
29