HB2537 • 2026

community colleges districts; historic preservation

HB2537 - community colleges districts; historic preservation

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor: Christopher Mathis
Last action: 2026-01-21
Official status: House second read
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official status indicates the bill passed both chambers, but no effective date is listed in the provided metadata or text.

HB2537: Historic Preservation Rules for State Agencies and Community Colleges

This law requires state agencies and community college districts to protect historic buildings they own or control by considering existing historic properties before buying, building, or leasing new ones.

What This Bill Does

Requires agency leaders and district boards to preserve historic properties under their ownership or control.
Mandates that these groups consider using available historic buildings before acquiring, constructing, or leasing new facilities.
Orders agencies and districts to create a program with the state historic preservation officer to find, list, and nominate eligible historic sites to the Arizona Register of Historic Places.
Requires caution to prevent properties from being accidentally sold, demolished, significantly changed, or allowed to fall into disrepair.
Gives the state historic preservation officer 30 working days to review plans for construction, sales, leases, or purchases involving historic places.

Who It Names or Affects

Chief administrators of Arizona state agencies
Governing boards of community college districts
The State Historic Preservation Officer

Terms To Know

District: A community college district as defined in section 15-1401.
Arizona Register of Historic Places: An official list for properties that appear to meet criteria based on historical, architectural, or cultural significance.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify a date when these rules will officially take effect.
The text refers to other laws (section 15-1401) for definitions but does not explain the full details of those referenced sections here.

Bill History

2026-01-21 House
House second read
2026-01-20 House
House Rules: None
2026-01-20 House
House Regulatory Oversight: None
2026-01-20 House
House Education: None
2026-01-20 House
House first read

Official Summary Text

HB2537 - community colleges districts; historic preservation

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB2537 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
community colleges districts; historic preservation

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2537

Introduced by

Representative
Mathis

AN
ACT

amending
sections 41-861, 41-862 and 41-864, Arizona Revised Statutes;
relating to historic preservation.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1. Section 41-861, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
41-861.

Agency and community college district governing board
responsibilities; definitions

A.
The chief administrator of
each state agency
or district board
is responsible for
the preservation of historic properties
which
that
are owned or controlled by the agency
or
district
.
Prior to
Before

acquiring, constructing or leasing buildings for purposes of carrying out
agency
or district
responsibilities, each agency
or district
shall consider the use of historic properties
available to the agency
or district
. Each
agency
or district
shall undertake any preservation that
is necessary to carry out this article in a manner consistent with the
preservation of historic properties, the duties of the agency
or
district
and the professional standards
which
that
the state historic preservation officer recommends.� The
chief administrator of a state agency
or district board

may designate a full-time employee to coordinate the agency's
or district's
activities under this article.

B. For the purposes of this section:

1. "District" has the same
meaning prescribed in section 15-1401.

2. "District board" has the
same meaning prescribed in section 15-1401.

END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 41-862, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
41-862.

Program; definition

A.
In cooperation with the
state historic preservation officer, each state agency
or
district
shall establish a program to locate, inventory and nominate to
the Arizona register of historic places all properties that are under the
agency's
or the district's
ownership or control and that
appear to meet the criteria for inclusion on the register.� Each state agency
or district
shall exercise caution to
assure

ensure
that the property is not inadvertently
transferred, sold, demolished, substantially altered or allowed to deteriorate
significantly.� The state historic preservation officer shall include the
performance of state agencies
and districts
in initiating
and satisfying the programmatic management of historic properties in the annual
report to the legislature and the governor as provided in section 41-151.20.

B. For the purposes of this section,
"district" has the same meaning prescribed in section 15-1401.

END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 41-864, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
41-864.

Review of agency and community college district plans; definition

A.
The state historic
preservation officer has thirty working days
in which
to
review and comment on any plans of a state agency
which

or a district that
involve property
which
that
is included on or may qualify for inclusion on the
Arizona register of historic places, including any construction project, sale,
lease or acquisition of historic properties, to ensure that the prehistorical,
historical, architectural or culturally significant values will be preserved or
enhanced.

B. For the purposes of this section,
"district" has the same meaning prescribed in section 15-1401.

END_STATUTE