Hobbs signs 264 bills into law after record 2,116 drafted by legislature

A record-breaking 2,116 measures were filed this legislative session, of which Gov. Katie Hobbs [D] signed 264 into law and vetoed 151 from those that survived the legislative process to make it to her desk.

Since taking office, Hobbs has vetoed 541 bills and signed 993, as she heads into her reelection matchup against Republican challenger Andy Biggs this November.

Arizona Rep. Selina Bliss [R-District 1], had the most bills signed into law this session with 15, however she noted in a prior interview with the NEWS that lawmakers were “all a little frustrated because of the sheer amount of bills,” and that “the sheer volume is testing the system, and I don’t think the system is handling it well.”

While some bills take effect on dates specifically spelled out in their text, the General Effective Date for nearly all of the new laws from this session is Saturday, Sept. 12. Some of the new laws from this session are:

House Bill 2022: Primary elections were moved up to the second-to-last Tuesday of July as opposed to the first Tuesday of August, the move was to allow for more time for preparations for the November General Election.

House Bill 2223: Sponsored by Arizona Rep. Quang Nguyen [R-District 1], the bill passed unanimously through both the House and Senate and requires that if a registered sex offender legally changes his or her name, the prior name is retained as an alias; registration records continue under the new name; and victim notifications are strengthened.

“This bill closes a loophole and locks in accountability,” Nguyen said. “Victims deserve to know when the person who harmed them is trying to change identities through the courts. If you are required to register, you will not use a name change to hide your past, dodge scrutiny or erase your trail.”

House Bill 2665: In an effort to combat teen suicide “Cade’s Law: If You See Something Say Something,” gives prosecutors the authority to charge adults who use the internet to encourage or advise a minor to commit suicide.

“Teen suicide is a crisis, and we cannot ignore it,” Arizona Rep. Pamela Carter [R-District 4] wrote in a press release.

Cade Keller, 16, “posted online that he planned to take his life. People saw it. No one called 911. … If you knowingly use direct messages to advise or encourage a minor to die by suicide, you will be prosecuted,” Carter wrote.

House Bill 2666: Approved unanimously by the House and Senate, the law increases sexual extortion from a class 3 felony to a class 2 felony when the offender is over 18 and knows, or should have known, the victim is between ages 15 and 17. The law also requires that the sentence in those cases be consecutive to any other sentence for sexual extortion.

Nothing changes for victims younger than 15 because sexual extortion was already a class 2 felony. Sentencing guidelines are determined by Arizona’s dangerous crimes against children provisions.

House Bill 2720: Sponsored by Bliss, paying for sex becomes a class 6 felony, while prostitution itself remains a misdemeanor — a shift lawmakers described as targeting demand rather than the people most likely to be trafficking victims. Buyers face a mandatory $200 assessment directed to the state’s anti-human trafficking grant fund. The law also requires courts to seal records tied to a prostitution conviction when that conviction is vacated because the person was a trafficking victim.

“Arizona is going after the demand that fuels prostitution and sex trafficking,” Bliss said in a statement. “This is a victory for families, neighborhoods, and victims who deserve a path out.”

House Bill 2762: The “Andy Groseta Act” requires that meat grown from cultivated cells rather than slaughtered livestock be labeled as such. The law is named for Cottonwood rancher Andy Groseta, former president of both the Yavapai Cattle Growers’ Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, who died July 22, 2025.

“Arizona consumers deserve honesty at the grocery store, and Arizona ranchers deserve a fair market,” said Nguyen, the bill’s cosponsor. “This law does not ban anything. It simply says that if a product is grown from cells in a lab, the package has to say so.”

House Bill 2800: Penalizes vehicle owners who knowingly lend their car to an interlock-restricted driver who then causes a serious or fatal crash — with Arizona House Democrats stating it closes a loophole which allowed impaired drivers to get around current safeguards.

Arizona Rep. Kevin Volk [D-District 17] “introduced the bill after the tragic death of John McLean, a leader in the Southern Arizona community and a former State Senate candidate for Legislative District 17, who was killed in a crash involving an impaired driver in 2024,” Arizona House Democrats wrote in a July 14 press release.

House Bill 2792: Took effect in February and applies to tax year 2026, exempts veterans with a service-connected disability who has a 100% disability rating by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and their surviving spouse from property taxes on their primary residence in Arizona.

Senate Bill 1275: County attorneys have now been given the ability to create a court diversion program for veterans.

Senate Bill 1479: Signed April 9, the law targets title and deed fraud and adds safeguards on private property transfers, following reports from Sedona Realtors of an uptick in fraudsters attempting to sell property they do not own. Bliss ran the mirror measure in the House, House Bill 2952, alongside primary sponsor Arizona Sen. Frank Carroll [R-District 28].

House Bill 2938: Businesses in Arizona are mandated to round to the nearest five cents for cash purchases after the U.S. Mint pressed its final pennies in November, but offered no federal guidance on how people should handle transactions going forward.

“Under HB 2938, when a cash purchase total ends in 1¢, 2¢, 6¢, or 7¢ it is rounded down to the nearest 5¢, and when it ends in 3¢, 4¢, 8¢, or 9¢ it is rounded up to the nearest 5¢,” the Greater Phoenix Chamber wrote in a March press release praising the bill.

House Bill 4001: The marketing or sale of alternative nicotine products such as vapes to minors in packaging that is designed to appeal to minors has been made illegal, along with stricter standards, greater enforcement authority by the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, and for contaminated alternative nicotine products to be removed from store shelves.

House Bill 4117: Interfering with a religious activity or service is a misdemeanor.