HB 2671 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

chronic felony offenders; juveniles

HB 2671 changes Arizona's rules for prosecuting juveniles (ages 14-17) as adults, specifically targeting those with prior felony convictions. It requires prosecutors to file notice if a juvenile is a "chronic felony offender" (defined as having two prior felony convictions classified as serious offenses), triggering a court hearing to confirm this status. If confirmed, the juvenile faces adult criminal sentencing; if not, the case transfers to juvenile court. This directly affects juveniles with prior felony convictions who commit new serious offenses, shifting jurisdiction from juvenile to criminal court. The bill creates a clear process for determining chronic offender status before trial.

Issues: ✗ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 22, 2026 Last action Mar 25, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → House Engrossed Version (03/11/2026) · 5 edits · Mar 11, 2026

MODERATE

This bill significantly restructures how Arizona handles juvenile criminal cases by replacing the old automatic prosecution rules with a new system that requires a court hearing to decide if a juvenile should be tried as an adult. It also repeals the old transfer statute and updates definitions across multiple state laws to clarify when juveniles are considered 'chronic felony offenders' and how they are processed.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of judicial review for adult prosecution of juveniles, requiring a hearing and a higher burden of proof for cases under age 15, while maintaining strict prosecution for older juveniles charged with serious violent crimes or those with prior felony records.

ELIGIBILITY

Juveniles aged 14 to 17 are no longer automatically prosecuted as adults; instead, a judge must hold a hearing and find that public safety and justice require adult prosecution based on specific factors like the severity of the crime and the juvenile's history.

DEFINITION

The definition of a 'chronic felony offender' was updated to include juveniles who have been committed to the Department of Juvenile Corrections and have two prior felony adjudications, broadening the category of repeat offenders subject to adult prosecution.

Definitions for 'adult court' and 'delinquent act' were updated to clarify that offenses prosecuted under the new adult charging rules are not considered delinquent acts for the purpose of juvenile court jurisdiction.

REQUIREMENT

The previous statute (Section 8-327) governing the transfer of juveniles to adult court was repealed and replaced with new procedures in Sections 8-201, 8-202, and 13-501 that emphasize judicial discretion and due process.

New requirements mandate that judges consider specific factors, such as the juvenile's maturity, gang involvement, and rehabilitation potential, before deciding to prosecute a juvenile as an adult.

Floor votes · House Mar 11, 2026

How they voted

51–0

Passed · 9 other

Total votes 60

Mar 11, 2026

D Democratic27

21 Yea 6

77% Yea

R Republican33

30 Yea 3

90% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

1 primary · 15 co-sponsors