parental alienation; testimony; prohibition
HB 2256 prohibits courts from requiring parents to pay for therapeutic interventions (like therapy or counseling) in custody cases without the parent's consent. It also sets strict rules for expert testimony about therapy, child development, or related issues, requiring experts to have specialized child development experience and follow professional standards. The bill defines "therapeutic intervention" broadly to include court-ordered programs aimed at improving parent-child relationships. This bill affects custody proceedings in Arizona, but was vetoed by the governor on May 12, 2025.
Bill status
vetoed
4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
Vetoed
May 2025
Introduced Jan 23, 2025
Vetoed May 12, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
House Engrossed Version
→
Senate Engrossed Version
·
5 edits
·
Apr 29, 2025
MODERATE
The bill was renumbered from section 25-407.01 to 25-419 and renamed from 'Legal decision-making and parenting time' to 'Judicial parenting orders'. The substantive content shifted from prohibiting courts from using unsupported theories like parental alienation to prohibiting courts from ordering parties to pay for therapeutic intervention without consent, while establishing qualifications for experts who testify on therapeutic intervention and child development.
Scope change
The bill's scope narrowed from a broad prohibition on unsupported theories in parenting proceedings to a specific prohibition on court-ordered payment for therapeutic intervention, with new requirements for expert qualifications in therapeutic matters.
DEFINITION
The bill title and section number changed from 25-407.01 (Legal decision-making and parenting time) to 25-419 (Judicial parenting orders).
New definition of 'therapeutic intervention' was added to include any therapy, treatment, or counseling program designed to improve or maintain parent-child or parent-parent relationships.
REQUIREMENT
The prohibition against using unsupported theories like parental alienation was removed entirely.
Courts are now prohibited from ordering a party to pay for therapeutic intervention without that party's consent.
ELIGIBILITY
Expert testimony on therapeutic intervention now requires the expert to have specialized expertise in child development and substantial clinical experience with children in therapeutic settings.
Floor votes · Senate Apr 29, 2025 · House Mar 4, 2025
How they voted
17–12
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 30
Apr 29, 2025
D
Democratic13
92% Nay
R
Republican17
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
15
Key actions
7
Committee
0
Amendments
4
May 12, 2025
Vetoed
Vetoed by Governor
executive
May 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
PASSED
lower
Apr 29, 2025
Upper · Passed
PASSED
upper
Apr 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
DPA
upper
Mar 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
DPA/SE
upper
Mar 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
PASSED
lower
Feb 19, 2025
Lower · Passed
DPA
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
DPA
lower
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Rachel Keshel
RRepublican
Co
John Gillette
RRepublican
Co
Lisa Fink
RRepublican
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