Sen. Tim Dunn

Maddy summarySB 1604 amends Arizona law to ensure time spent in a licensed secure health facility by defendants found incompetent to stand trial counts toward their criminal sentence for the original charges. It directly affects defendants in Arizona who are deemed incompetent and committed to such facilities under Section 13-4521. Key provisions require courts to credit all time served in these facilities against the sentence for the underlying offense (Section 13-712), limit commitment periods to the presumptive sentence for the original charge (Section 13-4521), and mandate specific hearings to determine dangerousness within 120 days (Section 13-4521). The bill streamlines how custody time is calculated for this population, ensuring it reduces the total prison time they would otherwise serve. This law was signed by the governor in May 2025.

Maddy summarySB 1443 establishes a "parental bill of rights" in Arizona law, directly affecting parents of minor children and government entities like schools, healthcare providers, and child welfare agencies. It codifies specific parental rights - including control over education, health care decisions, access to medical records, and notification of suspected child-related incidents - and prohibits government interference without meeting a strict legal standard. The bill adds a new provision allowing parents to sue for compensatory damages of at least $2,500 per violation if government entities unlawfully interfere with these rights. Despite passing the legislature in April 2025, it was vetoed by the Governor on May 2, 2025, and did not become law.

Maddy summarySB 1523 bans Arizona municipalities in water-stressed regions from enforcing local rules requiring minimum trees, shrub sizes, irrigated ground cover, or turf. It directly affects homeowners and developers in those areas by removing specific landscaping mandates. The bill prohibits most turf requirements except for public recreational spaces like sports fields, playgrounds, and schoolyards. It establishes statewide control over water-use regulations, overriding local codes that previously dictated landscaping practices. This law aims to standardize water conservation efforts across designated regions.

Maddy summarySB 1115 requires Arizona's water department to update its project demand calculator every five years through formal rulemaking. The rules must clearly list all inputs used in the calculator and incorporate the most current conservation codes. This bill directly affects the department's water planning processes but does not change water usage rules for residents or businesses. The bill failed to pass in the Arizona legislature on April 28, 2025, so these requirements were never implemented.

Maddy summarySB 1356 establishes a three-year pilot program to monitor group homes providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities and complex needs. The designated entity (Arizona’s protection and advocacy system) must conduct in-person monitoring to verify that homes comply with person-centered service plans, behavioral treatment plans, medication protocols, and safety standards, while investigating quality-of-care complaints. It requires the Department of Economic Security to compile detailed annual reports on incident reports, contract sanctions, medication errors, and fraud investigations, aggregated by service provider but not identifying specific homes. This directly affects group homes serving clients with complex needs, the designated monitoring entity, and the Department of Economic Security through new reporting and oversight requirements.

Maddy summarySB 1282 creates a new offense called "aggravated unlawful flight" for drivers who recklessly endanger others while fleeing police. It classifies this as a class 4 felony generally, but elevates it to a class 2 felony if the driver causes serious injury, transports a minor under 15, or was already violating specific traffic laws (like driving under suspension). Convicted individuals in the class 2 felony scenario must serve at least four months in prison before becoming eligible for probation or early release. The bill directly affects drivers who flee law enforcement in a reckless manner, with stricter penalties for certain aggravating circumstances.

Maddy summarySB 1584, now vetoed by the Governor, requires Arizona state and local government agencies to hire public employees based solely on merit - defined as objective qualifications like skills, experience, and job performance - rather than factors like race, ethnicity, sex, or national origin. The bill prohibits policies that manipulate workforce composition based on protected characteristics, except to maintain color-blind, race-neutral hiring compliant with existing antidiscrimination laws. It allows legal action for violations, with prevailing parties entitled to attorney fees and costs. The bill would have directly affected all state and local government hiring practices in Arizona.

Maddy summarySB 1525 amends Arizona law governing Career Technical Education Districts (CTEDs), directly affecting CTED governing boards and participating school districts. The bill establishes that CTED boards must consist of five elected members from single-member districts designed to be population-equal, following election precinct lines where possible. It sets eligibility requirements (e.g., one-year residency, voter registration) and prohibits CTED employees or their spouses from serving on the board, while clarifying conflict of interest rules. The law also specifies how student counts are calculated for funding in a CTED’s first year of operation, requiring adjustments to school district enrollment records. These provisions standardize CTED governance and funding mechanisms across Arizona.

Maddy summarySB 1441 would require school board elections in Arizona to be nonpartisan by removing political party designations from ballots for school district governing board candidates. The bill would amend election statutes to place school board candidates in a "Nonpartisan Ballot" section, listing their names without party labels or partisan titles. This change would directly affect all Arizona school districts and candidates running for school board positions by eliminating party affiliations from the ballot. The bill passed the legislature in April 2025 but was vetoed by the governor, so it did not become law.

Maddy summarySB 1123, titled "watermark; paper ballots," requires ballot paper vendors in Arizona to hold specific ISO certifications (27001, 17025, or 9001:2015) and include at least three of ten specified security features - such as unique watermarks, holographic foils, specialized inks, or voter-tracked barcodes - in paper ballots. The bill directly affects ballot vendors and election officials responsible for ballot procurement, aiming to enhance ballot security through standardized anti-fraud measures. It repeals an existing statute and adds new requirements to Arizona Revised Statutes § 16-504. The bill passed the legislature in April 2025 but was vetoed by the Governor on April 18, 2025, preventing it from becoming law.