abandonment; concealment of body; classification
This bill would amend Arizona law to criminalize knowingly moving a dead body or body parts with the intent to conceal or abandon it. Most violations would be classified as a class 5 felony, but the penalty increases to a class 3 felony if the person disfigures or dismembers the body to hide a crime, or if they caused the death before concealment. The law excludes authorized handling of remains under specific funeral, burial, or medical disposal laws (titles 32 and 36). It directly affects anyone handling human remains, including funeral professionals and individuals involved in criminal investigations.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Dec 11, 2025
Last action Jun 12, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced Version
→
House Engrossed Version (02/25/2026)
·
3 edits
·
Feb 25, 2026
MINOR
The bill was reformatted for the House Engrossed version and significantly expanded the legal protections for pregnant women. The most critical change is the addition of a new exemption for mothers of unborn children, provided the pregnancy is less than twenty weeks gestation, which removes them from the crime of abandoning or concealing a dead body. Additionally, the penalty for mutilating a body to conceal a crime was increased from a class 3 felony to a class 2 felony.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly exempt mothers of unborn children (under 20 weeks gestation) from prosecution under this specific statute, whereas the previous version only listed general authorized dispositions.
SCOPE
Added a specific exemption for the mother of an unborn child if the gestational age is less than twenty weeks, preventing criminal charges for handling remains in this context.
ENFORCEMENT
Increased the maximum penalty for mutilating, disfiguring, or dismembering a dead body to conceal a crime from a class 3 felony to a class 2 felony.
REQUIREMENT
Reorganized the statute to use a numbered list format for the exceptions rather than a single paragraph.
Floor votes · House Feb 25, 2026
How they voted
31–22
Passed · 7 other
Total votes 60
Feb 25, 2026
D
Democratic27
81% Nay
R
Republican33
93% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
8
Key actions
3
Committee
0
Amendments
2
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
PASSED
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
DPA
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
DPA
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Selina Bliss
RRepublican
Ask Maddy
·
AI policy assistant
Ask Maddy about HB 2044
Scope: AZ
Hi! I can help you understand HB 2044. What would you like to know?
Try one of these
i
Maddy answers using official bill text and legislative records. Always verify before sharing.
Sources cited inline