Lawmakers hear heart-wrenching testimony as committee advances plan to expand Arizona State Hospital
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Summary
SB 11-32, an unquantified appropriation request to build a new wing at the Arizona State Hospital, advanced after family members and former staff described bed shortages, a year-long waitlist at ASH and personal tragedies tied to lack of civil psychiatric beds.
Sponsor Senator Gowen asked the committee to advance SB 11-32, which would appropriate unspecified FY2027 general-fund monies to the Department of Health Services for construction of additional beds at the Arizona State Hospital.
The committee heard multiple emotional testimonies from family members and advocates who said severe limits on civil psychiatric beds have placed families and communities under strain. "I was running an at-home insane asylum," said Maureen Petkowitz of Arizona Mad Moms, describing caring for a son with sudden-onset schizophrenia and the absence of long-term inpatient treatment that she says could have prevented weeks in crisis. Psychiatric nurse Crystal Fox, a former ASH employee, testified the hospital is full, wait lists extend a year and that ASH discharged only 32 patients in 2024.
Advocates traced the shortage in part to a decades-old consent decree and settlement in Arnold v. Sarn that placed a cap on civil beds; witnesses and the sponsor said population growth has left the cap outdated. Senator Gowen said the bill is intended to create a funding path to build a ward and galvanize follow-on legislation addressing legal constraints.
The committee approved a due-pass recommendation for SB 11-32. Lawmakers said more detailed appropriation language and schematics will be needed as the bill advances.
