Provided by Capitol Consulting, LLC
The oral proceedings for the final version of the proposed rules will take place on Monday, March 9, from 1:00 – 4:00pm. These rules took almost two years and countless hours of meetings and research on all sides to complete. The rules exemplify the culmination of a thorough stakeholder process and a determination to protect the industry. We are happy with the rules as written and have authored a letter of support on behalf of the association that will be sent to the Governor’s office as well as to the Department of Health Services.
At the legislature, we continued to engage in conversations regarding our monitored bills. SB1668 (disposition; remains; authorization; legal decision making), sponsored by Senator Shwanna Bolick has not moved since it went through Committee a few weeks ago. This bill is a combination of HB2181 (death certificates; funeral establishments; timeline) and HB2184 (fetal death; funeral homes) both sponsored by Representative Julie Willoughby (R – Chandler). This legislation extends the timeline for completing and registering death certificates from seven calendar days to 14 days, excluding weekends and holidays. Additionally, it mandates that funeral establishments obtain a disposition-transit permit for the transfer of unborn human remains from a hospital or clinic when specific gestational or weight criteria are met and the woman authorizes the transfer. Lastly, the order of authority for the remains of a deceased minor is modified to defer to any existing legal decision-making awards or parenting plans that assign final authority.
You can track the status of these bills on your live interactive tracking link found here –Skywolf AI– this link will automatically update as the bills move through the process. As always please do not hesitate to let me know if you would like to make any additions or removals from your bill tracking list.
Arizona Legislative Session Weekly Report – Week Eight
You can find your live interactive tracking link here –Skywolf AI– this link will automatically update as the bills move through the process.
This week’s legislative update covers continued contentious legislative activity, as lawmakers navigate major policy debates amid a hyper-partisan environment. We discuss what to expect with only three weeks left before committees stop meeting and focus shifts solely to the floor. We also discuss what the Director Nomination process looks like under a divided government.
As we approach the two month mark of the legislative session, lawmakers continue to move as many bills as possible through the legislative process, culminating in another week of long floor agendas. While the 100 day mark looms in the not so distant future, the odds of an early sine die adjournment are rapidly diminishing. The continued lack of movement on formal budget negotiations also suggests a long road ahead, as the Governor and legislative leadership have still yet to begin budget negotiations in earnest. Further complicating these efforts, the Governor is signaling that any tax conformity measure, which has already been a point of contention this session, must be negotiated as a component of the broader FY 2027 budget package rather than as a standalone measure.
The legislative “bottleneck” is entering a critical juncture as the final countdown begins for bills to clear committees in their second chamber. The push to secure committee agenda assignments creates a high-stakes environment in the final weeks of committee activity, where “strike-everything” amendments often become a key tool for keeping stalled legislation alive. While the focus will soon shift almost entirely to floor debates and third-read votes, aside from the long-anticipated budget bills once negotiations begin, the current volume of remaining legislation will make the coming weeks a busy push to meet the next deadline before regular committees end for the session.
This week, both the House and Senate paused for a concurrent resolution in honor of the late Mark Brnovich, who passed away in early January at 59 years old. His passing marks a huge loss for the Arizona legal and political community. Former Attorney General Brnovich served at the local and state level for nearly his entire professional career, most recently serving as Arizona’s Attorney General. He leaves behind a legacy defined by his dedication to upholding both the Arizona State and United States Constitutions. The formal death resolution was read on the floor, providing a meaningful moment of unity to celebrate the legacy of Mark Brnovich.
The More You Know: Director Nominations
In Arizona, the appointment of state agency directors is a multi-step process that was designed to serve as a check and balance between the executive and legislative branches. While the Governor holds the authority to nominate individuals to lead state departments, the Arizona State Senate holds the power to confirm or reject those nominees. Under state law, director nominees are able to serve for up to one year without being officially confirmed by the Senate.
The Evolving Confirmation Process
In recent years, following the election of Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, this process has undergone a significant structural change, further fueling the partisan divide we see at the Capitol. In 2023, Senate President Warren Peterson (R, Gilbert), established the Director Nominations Committee (DINO), currently chaired by Senator Jake Hoffman (R, Queen Creek). This committee’s majority is held by republicans, 3 to 2, and adds an extra obstacle along the nominee’s path to confirmation.
The Path to Confirmation
When a new governor takes office, they may appoint new directors to each department or choose to retain directors from previous administrations. For example, some directors, such as Tom Buschatzke of the Department of Water Resources, originally appointed by Governor Doug Ducey, have served across multiple administrations. He has held that role for over 10 years. A Governor can also appoint a new director should a vacancy occur.
If the Governor should opt to appoint new directors, the Governor then submits a nominee to the Senate President. To ensure the continuity of state operations, a nominee can serve as an “acting” or “interim” director while preparing for their hearing.
The formal path to confirmation includes:
- Meetings and Preparation: During this time, a nominee generally will choose to have mock committee hearings to practice answering the many questions often posed by the DINO committee. Nominees can also meet with lawmakers on the committee to introduce themselves and discuss their qualifications and plans should they be confirmed.
- DINO Hearing: Nominees then appear before the DINO committee where they undergo rigorous questioning regarding their professional background, qualifications, and objectives for running the department. In some instances, Director Nomination confirmation hearings have taken months or longer to schedule, as the timing of nomination hearings is at the discretion of the committee chair, Senator Jake Hoffman (R – Queen Creek).
- Committee Recommendation: Following questioning and public testimony, committee members vote on whether to recommend the nominee for confirmation. If the nomination is approved by a simple majority of the committee, it advances to the full Senate for final consideration. Prior to the creation of the Director Nominations Committee (DINO), nominees were sent directly to the full Senate for confirmation without first undergoing this committee review process.
- Floor Vote: In order for a nominee to be confirmed, the Senate must vote to confirm them. Should the nominee receive a majority of 16 votes, they have successfully cleared the confirmation process and can continue to serve as director of a department. If the nomination fails either in committee or on the Senate floor, the nominee will typically step down from the position.
For example, in August 2025, Carlos Contreras resigned as interim director of the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) after officially being nominated to the director position in August 2024. He was unable to continue serving because he did not receive Senate approval within one year of his nomination. Contreras appeared before the Senate Director Nominations Committee once during the 2025 legislative session, but a vote was not taken on his nomination before the Legislature adjourned in June.
Legal Scrutiny
The DINO committee has also created additional legal tensions between the legislature and the Governor in its tenure. In 2023, Governor Hobbs submitted 22 nominees, but only half received a DINO hearing, and only six of those were then approved by the full senate. Citing the DINO processes as overly burdensome, Governor Hobbs appointed several “Executive Deputy Directors” that would not require a full Senate confirmation, but could still effectively serve as a Director. This quickly resulted in Senate President Warren Petersen to sue the Governor over her nominations, claiming that these “Executive Deputy Directors” are in fact actual Directors and therefore must constitutionally be approved by the Senate. The Judge sided with the Senate, citing the main issue with the Governor’s maneuver is that she gave those deputies the exact same duties and powers they would have had as Senate-confirmed directors. This ruling forced Governor Hobbs to continue to submit nominees to the Senate and navigate the DINO committee process throughout her first term as Governor.
By the Numbers:
Days of Session: 55
Bills Introduced: 1966
Bills Passed: 14
Bills Signed: 3
Bills Vetoed: 11
Key Dates:
Opening Day: January 12th, 2026
Senate Bill Introduction Deadline: February 2nd, 2026
House Bill Introduction Deadline: February 9th, 2026
Last week to hear bills in committee in chamber of origin: February 16th to February 20th
Final week of committees: March 23rd to March 27th
100th day of session: April 21st, 2026
Budget Deadline (constitutionally required): July 1st, 2026