SB 1573 Arizona Senate · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

judicial determinations; religious sectarian laws

SB 1573 prohibits Arizona courts from using religious sectarian laws (such as Sharia, Canon Law, or Halacha) in legal decisions. It states that any court ruling based on such religious laws is void, appealable, and grounds for judicial removal. The bill specifically excludes Anglo-American legal traditions and traditional marriage recognition from this prohibition. It directly affects Arizona judges and courts by requiring them to base rulings solely on state or U.S. law, not religious legal systems. The law applies to all courts in Arizona, including federal courts sitting in diversity jurisdiction.

Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Jun 2026

Vetoed

Jun 2026

Introduced Feb 3, 2026 Vetoed Jun 19, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Senate Engrossed Version (03/09/2026) · 3 edits · Mar 9, 2026

MINOR

The bill was renumbered and re-titled from 'Introduced Version' to 'Senate Engrossed Version,' indicating it has passed committee review and is ready for final passage. The substantive policy text remains largely the same, prohibiting courts from using religious sectarian laws as authority, but the formatting was cleaned up to remove redundant page headers and consolidate the legislative findings.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability did not change; it still applies to state and federal courts sitting in diversity jurisdiction while exempting Anglo-American legal traditions and traditional marriage definitions.

TECHNICAL

The document was reformatted from an 'Introduced Version' to a 'Senate Engrossed Version,' removing duplicate headers, page numbers, and redundant introductory text while preserving the core legal language.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Religious Sectarian Law' was clarified to explicitly state that it does not include laws based on the Anglo-American legal tradition, ensuring these established legal principles are not banned.

REQUIREMENT

A new legislative finding was added stating that the federal government is denied the power to establish sectarian religion by recognizing judicial decisions based on religious sectarian law.

Floor votes · House Jun 11, 2026

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 19, 2026

Vetoed

Vetoed by Governor

executive

Jun 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Apr 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

DPA

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor