HB2234 • 2026

municipal licensing; approvals; administrative review

HB2234 - municipal licensing; approvals; administrative review

Labor

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Walt Blackman
Last action: 2026-01-20
Official status: House second read
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill amends existing law but does not specify which cities must adopt these programs immediately; it requires legislative bodies to establish procedures by ordinance.

HB2234: Changes to City Licensing and Approval Rules

This law requires Arizona cities and towns to create rules allowing staff to approve certain plans without public meetings, while adding options for faster reviews, early work on specific projects, and self-certification by professionals.

What This Bill Does

Requires city or town legislative bodies to set up procedures that let administrative staff review and approve site plans, development plans, land divisions, lot line adjustments, lot ties, preliminary plats, final plats, and plat amendments without a public hearing if the plan meets local rules.
Allows administrative approval of design review plans based on objective standards unless the city or town decides extra review is needed due to potential local impact.
Permits cities to allow 'at-risk submittals' for certain preliminary grading, drainage work, or infrastructure before final approval, subject to conditions set by the city and with the right to revoke if rules are broken.
Enables applicants who have a history of following building codes to get faster permit reviews based on criteria established by the city or town.
Lets cities adopt programs where registered architects and professional engineers can certify that their projects follow all applicable ordinances and construction standards for qualified project types, subject to audit.

Who It Names or Affects

City and town legislative bodies in Arizona
Administrative staff who approve building plans
Applicants seeking licenses or permits for development with a history of compliance
Registered architects and professional engineers

Terms To Know

Self-certification program: A system where registered architects and professional engineers certify that their projects meet all applicable ordinances and construction standards for qualified project types.
Objective standards: Rules not influenced by personal interpretation, taste, or feelings of a municipal employee and verifiable by reference to an adopted benchmark available to the applicant.
At-risk submittals: A process allowing certain preliminary grading, drainage work, or infrastructure to begin before final approval, subject to city conditions and potential revocation.

Limits and Unknowns

This law does not apply to land in districts of historical significance under section 9-462.01.
This law does not apply to land listed on the national register of historic places or designated as historic by a local government.
Cities are still required to ensure all approved projects meet zoning ordinances, general plans, infrastructure capacity, and public safety requirements.
The specific rules for these new approval methods will vary because each city creates its own ordinances.

Bill History

2026-01-20 House
House second read
2026-01-15 House
House Rules: None
2026-01-15 House
House Government: None
2026-01-15 House
House first read

Official Summary Text

HB2234 - municipal licensing; approvals; administrative review

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB2234 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
municipal licensing; approvals; administrative review

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2234

Introduced by

Representative
Blackman

AN
ACT

amending section 9-500.49, arizona
revised statutes; relating to municipal licensing.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 9-500.49, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
9-500.49.

Administrative review and approval; self-certification
program; expedited approval; definitions

A. Notwithstanding any other law, the legislative
body of a city or town shall by ordinance
establish procedures
for approving and issuing licenses that are consistent with adopted local
planning ordinances, infrastructure capacity and public safety considerations
that
do the following:

1. Authorize administrative personnel to review and
approve site plans, development plans, land divisions, lot line adjustments,
lot ties, preliminary plats, final plats and plat amendments
without
a public hearing

that are determined by the legislative
body of the city or town to be appropriate and are subject to the public
hearing requirements that are established by ordinance
.

2. Authorize administrative personnel to review and
approve design review plans based on objective standards
without
a public hearing

unless the legislative body of the city
or town determines that additional review of the design review plan is
warranted due to the design plan's potential local impact
.

3. Allow at-risk submittals for certain on-site
preliminary grading and drainage work or infrastructure.
the at-risk
submittals are subject to conditions and limitations that are adopted by the
city or town.� The city or town may retain revocation authority of the at-risk
submittal.

4. Allow applicants with a history of compliance
with building codes and regulations to be eligible for expedited permit review
pursuant to criteria for compliance and expedited permit review that
are established by the city or town
.

5. Adopt a self-certification
program that allows registered architects and professional engineers to certify
and be responsible for compliance with all applicable ordinances and
construction standards for projects that are identified by the city or town as
being projects that are qualified for self-certification. The
project types that are qualified for self-certification pursuant to this
paragraph are subject to audit and corrective action by the city or town.

B. Notwithstanding any other law, the
legislative body of a city or town may by ordinance adopt a self-certification
program allowing registered architects and professional engineers to certify
and be responsible for compliance with all applicable ordinances and
construction standards for projects that the ordinance identifies as being
qualified for self-certification.

B. This
section does not require the approval of a development application that does
not comply with adopted zoning ordinances, the general plan, infrastructure
capacity or public safety requirements of a city or town.� This section does
not limit the ability of a city or town to conditionally approve a license
based on the local impact of the approval of the license.

C. Applications for a license pursuant to this
section are subject to chapter 7, article 4 of this title.

D. This section does not apply to any
of the following:

1. Land in an area that is designated
as a district of historical significance pursuant to section 9-462.01,
subsection A, paragraph 10.

2. Land in an area that is designated
as historic on the national register of historic places.

3. Land in an area that is designated
historic by a local government.

E.

D.
For
the purposes of this section:

1. "License" has the same meaning
prescribed in section 9-831.

2. "Objective" means not influenced by
personal interpretation, taste or feelings of a municipal employee and
verifiable by reference to an adopted benchmark, standard or criterion
available and knowable by the applicant or proponent.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.
Effective date

Section 9-500.49, Arizona
Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, is effective from and after December
31, 2026.