HB 2127 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - First Regular Session

hazardous substance release; notice; liability

HB 2127 clarifies who is legally responsible for cleanup costs when hazardous substances leak from properties or facilities in Arizona. It primarily affects property owners, businesses handling hazardous materials, and waste disposal operators by defining "responsible party" based on ownership, operation, or disposal activities at the time of release. Key provisions include exempting property owners from liability if they didn’t know about contamination when purchasing the property or weren’t involved in hazardous substance handling, and listing specific defenses like acts of nature, third-party actions, or compliance with federal permits. The bill replaces vague prior rules with specific criteria to determine liability, aiming to reduce disputes over cleanup costs.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Jan 13, 2025 Signed Apr 7, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

House Engrossed Version → Chaptered Version · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill reorganizes and expands Arizona's hazardous substance liability law by adding new exemptions for lenders, fiduciaries, and government entities, while clarifying notice requirements for property owners. The changes aim to balance environmental protection with economic stability by protecting certain parties from liability under specific conditions.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of exemptions from liability to include lenders with indicia of ownership, fiduciaries, and state/local governments, while adding specific notice requirements for qualifying properties with hazardous substance releases.

EXEMPTIONS

Added new subsections exempting lenders who maintain ownership primarily for security interests, fiduciaries from personal liability, and state/local governments from emergency response costs.

REQUIREMENT

Added notice requirements for property owners to inform prospective buyers and state officials about hazardous substance releases before property sale.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for fiduciary, indicia of ownership, prospective buyer, and qualifying property to clarify liability exemptions.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified liability criteria to include clearer standards for when property owners are responsible for hazardous substance releases on their land.

TECHNICAL

Added new subsections clarifying that nonmanagerial employees are not liable and establishing rules for implementing lender and fiduciary exemptions.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 31, 2025 · House Feb 24, 2025

How they voted

28–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 30

Mar 31, 2025

D Democratic13

11 Yea 2

84% Yea

R Republican17

17 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 7, 2025

Signed into law

Signed by Governor

executive

Mar 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Mar 18, 2025

Upper · Passed

upper

Feb 24, 2025

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Feb 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

Feb 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors