Official Summary Text
HB2662 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet
Assigned to
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PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR
H.B. 2662
parenting
time; expert testimony; qualifications
Purpose
Prescribes
requirements for expert witness testimony and evidence that may be allowed in a
parenting time proceeding where a parent is alleged to have committed domestic
violence or abuse.
Background
A parent in any proceeding for marital dissolution, legal separation,
annulment, paternity or modification of an earlier decree or judgment may
request legal decision-making or parenting time. The court must determine legal
decision-making and parenting time in accordance with the best interests of the
child and consider factors that are relevant to the child's physical and
emotional well-being, including: 1) the past, present and potential future
relationship between the parent and the child; 2) the interaction and
interrelationship of the child with the child's parents and any other person
who may significantly affect the child's best interests; 3) which parent is
more likely to allow the child frequent, meaningful and continuing contact with
the other parent; 4) whether there has been domestic violence or child abuse;
5) whether a parent has complied with statutory requirements for domestic
relations education; and 6) whether either parent was convicted of an act of
false reporting of child abuse or neglect.
The court may order sole or joint legal decision-making, except that the
court may not award joint legal decision-making if the court finds the
existence of or history of significant domestic violence. A parent who is not
granted sole or joint legal decision-making is entitled to reasonable parenting
time to ensure that the child has substantial, frequent, meaningful and
continuing contact with the parent unless the court finds, after a hearing,
that parenting time would endanger the child's physical, mental, moral or
emotional health. If the court finds that a parent has committed an act of
domestic violence, then that parent has the burden of proving to the court's
satisfaction that parenting time will not endanger the child or significantly
impair the child's emotional development.
If the parent
meets the burden of proof to the court's satisfaction, the court must place
conditions on parenting time that best protect the child and the other parent
from further harm, including: 1) ordering that an exchange of the child occur
in a protected setting; 2) ordering supervised parenting time; 3) ordering the
parent who committed the act of domestic violence to complete a program of
intervention for perpetrators of domestic violence; 4) ordering the parent who
committed the act of domestic violence to abstain from alcohol or controlled
substances for up to 24 hours before parenting time; 5) requiring a bond from
the parent who committed the act of domestic violence for the child's safe
return; or 6) imposing any other condition that the court determines is
necessary.
Parenting time
means
the schedule of time during which each parent has access to a child at
specified times. Each parent during the respective parent's scheduled parenting
time is responsible for providing the child with food, clothing and shelter and
may make routine decisions concerning the child's care (A.R.S. ��
25-401
;
25-402
;
25-403
;
25-403.01
;
and
25-403.03
).
There is no
anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
1.
Allows
the court, in any parenting time proceeding in which a parent is alleged to
have committed domestic violence or abuse, to
take
testimony from an expert witness relating to the alleged domestic violence or
abuse
only if the expert witness has demonstrated expertise and clinical
experience in working with victims of domestic violence or abuse.
2.
Prohibits
the demonstrated expertise of the expert witness from being solely of a
forensic nature.
3.
Prohibits
the expertise and clinical experience of an expert witness from being generated
solely from serving as a court appointee in a parenting time proceeding or any
related court proceeding.
4.
Limits
psychological testing, principles, diagnoses and concepts that may be used by
an expert witness to testing, principles, diagnoses and concepts that have been
empirically established and generally accepted as valid and reliable for the
parameters and conditions tested or the issues evaluated.
5.
Prohibits
the court from allowing evidence relating to polygraph examinations,
voice-stress analysis or other psychological measures.
6.
Specifies
that the requirements for expert witness testimony relating to the alleged
domestic violence or abuse does not apply to a law enforcement officer who has
experience and training in recognizing domestic violence or abuse.
7.
Defines
forensic
as any professional activity undertaken pursuant to a court
order or for use in litigation, including the evaluation or treatment of a
parent, child or other individual who is involved in a parenting time
proceeding.
8.
Becomes
effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by
Committee
1.
Prohibits experience generated solely from serving as a court appointee
from constituting expertise and clinical experience.
2.
Exempts a law enforcement officer from the requirements for expert
witness testimony relating to the alleged domestic violence or abuse.
House Action
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Senate
Action
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Prepared by Senate Research
March 27, 2026
AN/ci
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
HB2662 - 572R - S Ver
Senate Engrossed
House Bill
parenting time;
expert testimony; qualifications
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HOUSE BILL 2662
AN
ACT
amending
title 25, chapter 4, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section
25-407.01; relating to parenting time.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 25, chapter 4, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 25-407.01, to read:
START_STATUTE
25-407.01.
Parenting time hearings; domestic violence; abuse; expert witness
testimony; qualifications; prohibition; applicability; definitions
A. in any parenting time proceeding
in which a parent is alleged to have committed domestic violence or abuse, the
court may take testimony from an expert witness relating to the alleged
domestic violence or abuse only if the expert witness has demonstrated both
expertise and clinical experience in working with victims of domestic violence
or abuse.
The expertise and clinical experience may not
include expertise and experience that is generated soleLy from serving as a
court appointee in a parenting time proceeding or any related court proceeding.
The demonstrated expertise of the expert witness may not be solely of a
forensic nature.
b. Psychological testing, principles,
diagnoses and concepts that may be used by an expert witness under this section
are limited to testing, principles, diagnoses and concepts that have been
empirically established and generally accepted as valid and reliable for the
parameters and conditions tested or the issues evaluated.
c. The court may not allow evidence
relating to polygraph examinations, voice-stress analysis or other
psychological measures.
D. Subsection A of this section does
not apply to a law enforcement officer who has experience and training in
recognizing domestic violence or abuse.
E. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Abuse" has the same
meaning prescribed in section 8-201.
2. "Domestic violence" has
the same meaning prescribed in section 13-3601.
3. "Forensic" means any
professional activity undertaken pursuant to a court order or for use in
litigation, including the evaluation or treatment of a parent, child or other
individual who is involved in a parenting time proceeding.
END_STATUTE