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Arizona Senate adopts rule change, approves several House bills and rejects one on elections
Summary
On March 31, 2025, the Arizona Senate approved an amendment to Senate Rule 7(a) and passed multiple House measures on health care, controlled substances and property law while rejecting a bill on election conduct.
The Arizona Senate on March 31 adopted an amendment to its internal rules and took final action on several House bills, approving measures on health care, controlled substances and condominium law while voting down a bill on election conduct.
The Senate approved a proposed amendment to Senate Rule 7(a) as moved on the floor; the measure passed by roll call, 17 ayes, 12 nays and 1 not voting. Senators who explained their votes expressed concern about the timing and notice of the committee changes that prompted the rule amendment. "We're not sure why this is being occurring, why is the committee being changed after committees have ended," said Senator Sundarization, explaining a no vote. Senator Farnsworth said he volunteered to take on additional responsibilities and defended acting now so he could "start now and work over the interim on transportation issues." The rule amendment was recorded as adopted and entered into the journal.
Beyond internal rules, the Senate recorded final actions on a slate of House bills. House Bill 2012, described on third reading as relating to health care (various Arizona Revised Statutes citations were read), passed the Senate by a roll call of 17 ayes, 12 nays and 1 not voting and was ordered transmitted to the House. House Bill 20 45, described as amending Arizona Revised Statutes sections relating to the conduct of elections, failed on third reading; the clerk recorded 14 ayes, 15 nays and 1 not voting.
Other measures cleared the Senate and were transmitted to the House. The chamber passed House Bill 21 45 (relating to the Department of Health Services), House Bill 22 91 (relating to controlled substances) and House Bill 23 22 (relating to condominium law); the clerk recorded that these bills passed in open session and were to be transmitted to the House. Several senators used their opportunity to explain votes on particular bills. On HB 22 91 (controlled substances), Senator Epstein said he voted no because he wanted future iterations to allow patients or pharmacists to preserve the option of a red cap for medication bottles, citing concerns raised by seniors and caregivers; Senator Sears also explained a no vote citing senior safety and related concerns. Other senators described privacy and HIPAA concerns and urged pharmacy options rather than a universal mandate.
The Senate also adopted the rules of the 57th Legislature (as amended) on a separate motion; that motion was agreed to on the floor and entered into the journal. The body approved a motion under the Arizona Constitution (Article 4, Part 2, Section 9) to request the House’s consent for an adjournment schedule (adjourn Thursday, April 3, 2025, after completion of business, to reconvene Tuesday, April 8, 2025).
Committee appointments and nominations were announced from the floor, including temporary appointments for the Committee on Military Affairs and Border Security and nominations for director-level posts that were referred to the Director Nominations Committee. The session concluded with committee announcements and a motion to adjourn to the next sitting.
Votes at a glance: House Bill 20 12 — passed (roll call recorded 17 ayes, 12 nays, 1 not voting); House Bill 20 45 — failed (roll call recorded 14 ayes, 15 nays, 1 not voting); House Bill 21 45 — passed (record entered; tally not specified in the transcript excerpt); House Bill 22 91 — passed (record entered; tally not specified in the transcript excerpt); House Bill 23 22 — passed (record entered; tally not specified in the transcript excerpt). The amendment to Senate Rule 7(a) was adopted (17–12–1). The adoption of the Legislature's rules was ordered adopted (tally not specified in the excerpt).
Because the transcript records explanations but not full roll-call lists for each bill in the excerpt, individual roll-call names beyond the tallies are not reproduced here. All formal actions and vote tallies cited above are drawn from the Senate's recorded statements on the floor and the secretary's announcements captured in the transcript.
