medical interventions; prohibition

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation accurately reflects the content provided in the official source material. No claims were removed or materially narrowed, and there are no uncertainties left open by the source that need to be noted.

Medical Interventions; Prohibition

HB2248 prohibits various entities from requiring or discriminating against individuals based on whether they have received medical interventions.

What This Bill Does

• Prohibits business entities, ticket issuers, schools, and government entities from requiring a person to receive or use a medical intervention.
• Prevents these entities from discriminating against people who have or haven't used medical interventions.
• Specifies that employers must provide written notice at least 14 days before requiring employees to get a medical intervention for foreign travel, unless the employer receives Medicare or Medicaid funding.
• Allows schools to exclude students during outbreaks of communicable diseases if they lack proof of immunization.
• Requires government entities not to condition benefits, services, licenses, permits, building entry, or transportation on receiving a medical intervention.

Who It Names or Affects

• Businesses and employers
• Schools and educational institutions
• Government agencies at state, county, and local levels
• Ticket issuers for entertainment events

Terms To Know

Medical intervention

A medical procedure, treatment, device, drug, injection, medication or action taken to prevent or cure a disease or alter health.

Foreign jurisdiction

Any state, commonwealth, country, or nation outside Arizona.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not apply to personal protective equipment required by industry standards or federal law.
• The bill does not specify the effective date and relies on the general effective date of Arizona laws.
• It is unclear how this legislation will be enforced in practice.

Official Summary Text

HB2248 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet

Assigned to
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PASSED BY COW

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session

AMENDED

FACT SHEET FOR
H.B. 2248

medical
interventions; prohibition

Purpose

Prohibits
business entities, ticket issuers, schools and state, county and local
government entities or officials from requiring a person to receive or use a
medical intervention or discriminating against a person based on whether the
person has received or used a medical intervention.

Background

Statute
prohibits government entities from requiring a person to wear a mask or facial
covering anywhere on the entity's premises, except where long-standing
workplace safety and infection control measures unrelated to COVID-19 may be
required and from requiring a person under 18 years old to receive a
vaccination for COVID-19 or any variant without the consent of a parent or
guardian (A.R.S. ��
36-681

and
36-682
).

Employers that
receive notice from an employee that taking the COVID-19 vaccination conflicts
with a sincerely held religious belief, practice or observance must provide the
employee a reasonable accommodation, unless the accommodation would pose an undue
hardship and more than a de minimus cost to the employer (
A.R.S.
� 23-206
).

There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund
associated with this legislation.

Provisions

1.

Prohibits a business entity from refusing to provide any service,
product, admission to a venue or transportation to a person because the person
has or has not received or used a medical intervention.

2.

Prohibits a business entity from requiring any medical intervention as a
term of employment unless the employment requires travel to, or entry into a
place of business or facility in, a foreign jurisdiction requiring a medical
intervention as the only means of entry.

3.

Stipulates that, if an employee is required to receive or use a medical
intervention due to travel to a foreign jurisdiction, the requirement must be
included in either a valid written employment contract or, if no written
contract exists, in advance written notice provided at least 14 days before the
employee is required to receive or use the medical intervention, unless the
business entity receives Medicare or Medicaid funding.

4.

Prohibits
a ticket issuer from penalizing, discriminating against or denying a ticket
holder access to an entertainment event because the ticket holder has or has
not received or used a medical intervention.

5.

Prohibits
a school from requiring a medical intervention for any person to attend the
school, enter a campus or building or be employed, subject to the Arizona
Parents' Bill of Rights, unless:

a)

the person is a student who has not provided proof of immunization
during an outbreak of a communicable disease; or

b)

the person has acute conjunctivitis, a pediculosis infestation, a
scabies infestation or a streptococcal group A infection with lesions or sore
throat.

6.

Prohibits
a business entity from requiring a medical intervention for any person to
attend, enter the building or premises or be employed.

7.

Prohibits
a state, county or local government entity or official from requiring a person
to receive or use a medical intervention, including as:

a)

a condition of receiving any government benefit, service or
government-issued license or permit, entering a building or using
transportation; or

b)

a term of employment.

8.

Prohibits
a business entity or a state, county or local government from providing or
offering a different salary, hourly wage or other ongoing compensation or
benefit to an employee based on whether the employee has or has not received or
used a medical intervention.

9.

Specifies
that the medical intervention prohibitions do not apply to any situation in
which personal protective equipment, items or clothing are required by
employers in the public or private sector based on existing traditional and
accepted industry standards or federal law, but that this exemption does not
apply to any vaccine, mask requirement or other medical intervention that was
introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

10.

Authorizes the Attorney
General or the prosecuting attorney for the county where a violation occurs to
enforce the medical intervention prohibitions and pursue injunctive relief.

11.

Requires a business entity
or state, county or local government entity found to have violated the medical
intervention prohibitions to pay the attorney fees and costs incurred in the
enforcement action.

12.

Defines
medical
intervention
as a medical procedure, treatment, device, drug, injection,
medication or medical action taken to prevent or cure a disease or alter the
health or biological function of a person.

13.

Defines terms.

14.

Designates this legislation
as the
Arizona Medical Freedom Act
.

15.

Becomes effective on the
general effective date.

Amendments Adopted by
Committee

�

Allows schools to prohibit or limit admission of:

o

a student who has not provided proof of immunization during an
outbreak of a communicable disease; and

o

any
person with a specified infection or infestation.

Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole

1.

Modifies
the definition of
medical intervention
to remove any medical procedure,
treatment, device, drug, injection, medication or medical action taken to
diagnose a person.

2.

Makes
technical changes.

House Action
����������������������������������������������������������
Senate
Action

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3
rd

Read������ 2/26/26�������������������� 31-20-9

3
rd

Read*���� 2/26/26�������������������� 31-22-7

*
on reconsideration

Prepared by
Senate Research

April 20, 2026

MM/hk

Current Bill Text

HB2248 - 572R - S Ver

Senate Engrossed
House Bill

medical
interventions; prohibition

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HOUSE BILL 2248

AN
ACT

Amending title 36, chapter 6, article
4.2, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 36-683; RELATING to
public health mandates.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1. Title 36, chapter 6, article 4.2,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 36-683, to read:

START_STATUTE
36-683.

Medical interventions; prohibition; applicability; enforcement;
definitions

A. A business entity doing business
in this state may not:

1. Refuse to provide any service,
product, admission to a venue or transportation to a person because that person
has or has not received or used a medical intervention.

2. Require any medical intervention
as a term of employment unless the terms of employment include travel to a
foreign jurisdiction requiring a medical intervention as the only means of
entry or require entry into a place of business or facility in a foreign
jurisdiction and that place of business or facility requires a medical
intervention as the only means of entry. If an employee is required
to receive or use a medical intervention due to travel to a foreign
jurisdiction or entry into a place of business or facility in a foreign
jurisdiction, the medical intervention requirement shall be included in either
a valid written employment contract between the employer and the employee or,
if a written employment contract does not exist, an advance written notice that
is provided to the impacted employee at least fourteen days before the employee
is required to receive or use the medical intervention. This paragraph does not
apply to business entities that receive medicare or medicaid funding.

B. A ticket issuer may not penalize,
discriminate against or deny access to an entertainment event by a ticket
holder because the ticket holder has or has not received or used a medical
intervention.

C. A school operating in this state
may not require a medical intervention for any person to attend the school,
enter a campus or building or be employed, subject to the parents' bill of
rights prescribed in section 1-602
, unless either:

1. The person is a student who is
prohibited from attending school pursuant to section 15-873.

2. The person has any of the
following infections or infestations and the risk of spreading the infection or
infestation is not yet sufficiently mitigated according to rules adopted by the
department:

(
a
) Acute conjunctivitis.

(
b
) A
pediculosis infestation.

(
c
) A scabies
infestation.

(
d
) A
streptococcal group A infection with streptococcal lesions or streptococcal
sore throat.

d. a business
entity operating in this state may not require a medical intervention for any
person to attend, enter the business entity's building or premises or be
employed.

e. A state, county or local
government entity or official in this state may not require any person:

1. To receive or use a medical
intervention.

2. to receive or use a medical
intervention as A condition of any of the following:

(
a
) receiving
any government benefit.

(
b
) receiving
any government service.

(
c
) receiving
any government-issued license or permit.

(
d
) entering
any building.

(
e
) using
transportation.

3. to receive or use a medical
intervention as A term of employment.

f. A business entity or a state,
county or local government in this state may not provide or offer any different
salary, hourly wage or other ongoing compensation or benefit to an employee
based on whether the employee has or has not received or used a medical
intervention.

g. The medical intervention
prohibitions prescribed in this section do not apply to any situation in which
personal protective equipment, items or clothing are required by employers in
the public or private sector based on existing traditional and accepted
industry standards or federal law. This subsection does not apply to
or include any vaccine, mask requirement or other medical intervention that was
introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

h. This section may be enforced and
injunctive relief may be pursued by either the attorney general or the
prosecuting attorney for the county where a violation occurs. If a
business entity or state, county or local government entity in this state is
found to have violated any provision of this section, the attorney general or
prosecuting attorney, as applicable, shall be awarded attorney fees and costs
incurred in pursuing the enforcement action.

i. for the purposes of this section:

1. "Business entity":

(
a
) Means any
person or group of persons that performs or engages in any activity,
enterprise, profession or occupation for gain, benefit, advantage or
livelihood, whether for profit or not-for-profit in this state.

(
b
) Includes
the following:

(
i
) any self-employed
individual, sole proprietorship, domestic corporation, association, limited
liability company, limited liability partnership, business trust, foreign
corporation, foreign limited partnership or foreign limited liability company
that is authorized to transact business in this state.

(
ii
) Any
business entity that possesses a business license, permit, certificate,
approval, registration, charter or similar form of authorization issued by this
state.

(
iii
) Any
business entity that is exempt by law from obtaining a business license.

(
iv
) Any
business entity operating unlawfully in this state without a required business
authorization.

2. "Foreign jurisdiction"
means any state, commonwealth, country, or nation outside this state.

3. "Medical intervention"
means a medical procedure, treatment, device, drug, injection, medication or
medical action taken to prevent or cure a disease or alter the health or
biological function of a person.

4. "School":

(
a
) Means any legal entity in this state that provides
instruction to students in preschool programs, kindergarten programs, any of
grades one through twelve, career and technical education programs, vocational
programs or postsecondary education.

(
b
) Includes
any public school, private school, parochial school or postsecondary
educational institution.

(
c
) Does not
include tribal colleges.

5. "Ticket issuer":

(
a
) Means an
individual or entity that provides tickets to an entertainment event.

(
b
) Includes:

(
i
) The
operator of the venue where an entertainment event occurs.

(
ii
) The
sponsor or promoter of an entertainment event.

(
iii
) A sports
team that is participating in an entertainment event or a league whose teams
are participating in an entertainment event.

(
iv
) A theater
company, musical group or similar entity that is participating in an
entertainment event.

(
v
) An agent of
any individual or entity described in this paragraph.

END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.
Short title

This
section may be cited as the "Arizona Medical Freedom Act".