Arizona House Judiciary Committee advances bills on guardianship evaluations, witness redaction, AI child pornography definitions and other measures

The Arizona House Judiciary Committee met Feb. 11 for a multi-item hearing that produced due-pass recommendations on a slate of bills covering guardianship processes, victim and witness privacy, probate code cleanup, misdemeanor expungement, court-funded child representation, criminal statutes addressing AI-generated child sexual material, drug sentencing thresholds, enhanced penalties for crimes against vulnerable adults, and a concurrent resolution on prohibited weapons. Committee members also heard public testimony for and against the proposals.

The most heavily debated measures included HB 2492, which would allow courts to appoint independent medical professionals to evaluate alleged incapacitated persons and to shift responsibility for evaluation costs in some cases; HB 2653, permitting victims and crime witnesses to request redaction of their names from public records when law enforcement reasonably anticipates threats or harassment; HB 2658, a misdemeanor expungement bill that would let eligible people petition after a waiting period; HB 2678, which adds the term “indistinguishable” and broadens the definition of “visual depiction” to capture AI-generated or altered images indistinguishable from real minors; and HCR 2037, a concurrent resolution that would remove certain items from the state’s prohibited weapons list (as amended in committee).

Committee members generally framed HB 2492 and HB 2653 as responses to specific harms cited by witnesses: families unable to afford psychiatric evaluations needed for guardianship petitions (HB 2492) and threats, harassment and doxxing of juvenile witnesses after high-profile incidents (HB 2653). Attorneys, advocates and municipal officials testified in support of both bills; the committee amended and advanced HB 2653 while some members requested technical changes to address concerns about disclosure in subsequent prosecutions.

HB 2658 (misdemeanor expungement) drew multiple personal testimonies from people who said an old misdemeanor had continued to interfere with employment and volunteer opportunities. The sponsor offered amendments and pledged to work with stakeholders on limits and exceptions; the committee moved the bill as amended.

HB 2678 (AI and child sexual material) drew sustained technical and constitutional questioning from multiple members and from civil liberties groups. Supporters—county prosecutors, detectives and child-protection advocates—said the bill is a narrowly tailored response to hyper-realistic AI-created imagery used for grooming and sextortion. Opponents, including the ACLU and public defenders, warned the wording risked First Amendment overbreadth and uncertain application to non‑real or simulated images; several members said the language requires clarification before floor consideration.

Other items advanced with less debate: HB 2657 (probate and trust technical cleanup) was characterized by the sponsor as a technical cleanup and passed unanimously; HB 2604 would appropriate start-up funding to the Administrative Office of the Courts to establish a child and family representation program; HB 2720 consolidates certain cocaine threshold amounts; HB 2680 increases sentencing ranges for some felony offenses committed against vulnerable adults or incapacitated persons but prompted questions about overly broad definitions; and HB 2702 extends the sunset/termination date for the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission while prompting questions about the commission’s data-collection work and governance.

Votes at a glance

- HB 2492 (guardianship evaluations): Committee gave a due-pass recommendation (8 yes, 1 present). Motion: return as a due pass recommendation. (Sponsor: Representative Gonzalo Hernandez.) - HB 2653 (redaction for victims/witnesses): Committee gave a due-pass recommendation after amendment (9 yes). Motion: return with a due pass recommendation; sponsor pledged to work with stakeholders on confrontation/disclosure questions. - HB 2657 (trust and estate technical cleanup): Due pass recommendation (unanimous). Motion: return with a due pass recommendation; characterized as technical cleanup to align terms (executor → personal representative; judge → judicial officer). - HB 2658 (misdemeanor expungement, amended): Due pass recommendation as amended (9 yes). Sponsor amended the bill to add discretion and narrow some employer disclosure provisions; several stakeholders asked for additional clarifications (waiting period length, exceptions for certain offenses). - HB 2604 (child and family representation program funding): Due pass recommendation as amended (8 yes, 1 no). Motion: appropriate $200,000 GF for FY2026 to AOC to establish a child and family representation program; some members raised separation-of-powers and oversight questions about placing program in AOC. - HB 2678 (definitions addressing AI-generated child sexual material): Due pass recommendation (vote split; committee recorded multiple no votes and stated 7 yes/3 no on final count). The bill adds “indistinguishable” and broadens “visual depiction” to include AI‑created or altered images indistinguishable from an actual minor; supporters argued prosecutors need tools to address AI-driven exploitation; opponents warned of First Amendment and vagueness risks. - HB 2720 (cocaine threshold consolidation): Due pass recommendation (9 yes). The bill consolidates threshold amounts for powder and certain processed forms of cocaine to reduce sentencing disparity. - HB 2680 (enhanced penalties for crimes against vulnerable adults): Due pass recommendation (7 yes, 2 present). Sponsors said the bill strengthens penalties for offenders who attack vulnerable adults; opponents raised concerns the statutory definitions ("vulnerable adult" and "incapacitated") are broad and could sweep in unintended conduct. - HCR 2037 (prohibited weapons): Committee advanced the concurrent resolution as amended (6 yes, 3 no). The adopted amendment removed some explosive-related language and restored the prohibited-weapons category but removed suppressors, fully automatic firearms and short-barreled rifles from the state prohibited list; witnesses on both sides spoke on public-safety and constitutional grounds. - HB 2702 (Arizona Criminal Justice Commission termination date): Due pass recommendation as amended (6 yes, 3 no). The bill delays the commission’s termination date; the hearing included extended discussion about the commission’s data-collection work, past grants and governance concerns.

What happens next

Each bill moved from committee to the House floor for consideration. Sponsors repeatedly pledged to work with stakeholders on technical fixes for several measures (notably HB 2653, HB 2658, HB 2678 and HB 2680). Committee members asked staff and sponsors for follow-up on statutory definitions, disclosure procedures, constitutional risks, and precise implementation language.

Ending

Committee members praised helpful testimony from prosecutors, municipal officials, law-enforcement investigators and advocacy groups, while several members urged careful statutory drafting before floor votes, especially on measures touching civil liberties, sentencing enhancements and definitions that alter scope of criminal statutes.