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HB2691 - 572R - I Ver
REFERENCE TITLE:
officers; interviews; representative;
cost
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HB 2691
Introduced by
Representative
Marshall
AN
ACT
Amending section 38-1104, Arizona Revised
Statutes; relating to law enforcement officers.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 38-1104, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
38-1104.
Internal investigations; notice; employee representative; confidentiality;
probation; termination; exception
A. If an employer interviews a law enforcement
officer in the course of an administrative investigation and the employer or
law enforcement officer reasonably believes that the interview could result in
dismissal, demotion or suspension:
1. The law enforcement officer may request to have a
representative of the law enforcement officer present
at no
additional cost to the employer
during the interview. The law
enforcement officer shall select a representative
of the law
enforcement officer's CHOOSING at no cost to the employer
who is
available on reasonable notice so that the interview is not unreasonably
delayed. The representative shall participate in the interview only as an
observer.
Unless agreed to by the employer, the representative
shall not be an attorney and shall be from the same agency, except that if a
representative from the same agency is not reasonably available, with the
employer's permission,
The law enforcement officer's representative may
be from the law enforcement officer's professional membership organization. The
law enforcement officer's representative may take notes during the interview.� The
law enforcement officer and the law enforcement officer's representative and
attorney may use notes taken during the interview only to assist the law
enforcement officer in an investigation or a disciplinary matter. Notes
taken by the law enforcement officer, the law enforcement officer's
representative or the law enforcement officer's attorney do not constitute an
official record of the interview. The law enforcement officer may
discuss the law enforcement officer's interview with the law enforcement
officer's representative or attorney. If the law enforcement officer
or the law enforcement officer's representative or attorney releases
information without authorization, the employer may subject the law enforcement
officer or the law enforcement officer's representative, if the representative
is from the same agency, to disciplinary action. The law enforcement
officer shall be allowed reasonable breaks of limited duration during any
interview for telephonic or in-person consultation with authorized
persons, including an attorney, who are immediately available. An employer
shall not discipline, retaliate against or threaten to retaliate against a law
enforcement officer for requesting that a representative be present or for
acting as the representative of a law enforcement officer pursuant to this
paragraph.
2. Before the commencement of any interview
described in this section, the employer shall provide the law enforcement
officer with a
written notice informing the law
enforcement officer of the alleged facts that are the basis of the
investigation, the specific nature of the investigation, the law enforcement
officer's status in the investigation, all known allegations of misconduct that
are the reason for the interview
and the law
enforcement officer's right to have a representative present at the interview. The
employer shall provide the law enforcement officer with a copy of the written
notice that the law enforcement officer may retain.� Along with the notice, the
employer, at least twenty-four hours before the interview, shall provide
any relevant and readily available materials, including complaints that contain
the alleged facts, except for complaints that are filed with the employer and
that include allegations of unlawful discrimination, harassment or retaliation
or complaints that involve matters under the jurisdiction of the United States
equal employment opportunity commission.� The format of the materials may be
written, audio or video. The requirement to provide any relevant and
readily available materials to the law enforcement officer at least twenty-four
hours before the interview pursuant to this paragraph does not apply if any of
the following occurs:
(a) The law enforcement officer waives the
requirement.
(b) The employer determines that the interview
should be conducted earlier to protect the integrity of the law enforcement
officer's statement.
(c) Circumstances or evidence that will be offered
at the interview
require
requires
the interview to be completed twenty-four hours after a major law
enforcement incident.
3. In the course of an administrative investigation,
the law enforcement officer is allowed to record the law enforcement officer's
own interview. Recordings made by the law enforcement officer, the law
enforcement officer's representative or the law enforcement officer's attorney
do not constitute an official record of the interview.
4. At the conclusion of the interview, the law
enforcement officer is entitled to a period of time to consult with the law
enforcement officer's representative and may make a statement not to exceed
five minutes addressing specific facts or policies that are related to the
interview.
B. Subsection A of this section does not require the
employer to either:
1. Stop an interview to issue another notice for
allegations based on information provided by the law enforcement officer during
the interview.
2. Disclose any fact to the law enforcement officer
or the law enforcement officer's representative that would impede the
investigation.
C. Subsection A, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this section
do not apply to an interview of a law enforcement officer that is:
1. In the normal course of duty, counseling or
instruction or an informal verbal admonishment by, or other routine or
unplanned contact with, a supervisor or any other law enforcement officer.
2. Preliminary questioning to determine the scope of
the allegations or if an investigation is necessary.
3. Conducted during the course of a criminal
investigation.
D. If, after an employer completes an investigation
of a law enforcement officer, the employer seeks disciplinary action, at the
request of the law enforcement officer, the employer shall provide a basic
summary of any discipline ordered against any other law enforcement officer of
generally similar rank and experience employed by the employer within the
previous two years for the same or a similar violation. As an
alternative, the employer may provide file copies of the relevant disciplinary
cases.� The employer shall not take final action and the employer shall not
schedule a hearing until the basic summary or file copies are provided to the
law enforcement officer.
E. Notwithstanding any other law, an employer may
not terminate a law enforcement officer who is promoted above the law
enforcement officer's current rank and placed on probationary status for
failing to satisfactorily complete the law enforcement officer's probationary
period, but may demote the law enforcement officer. An employer may
terminate a law enforcement officer at any time with just cause.
F. This section does not apply to a police recruit
who is promoted to a law enforcement officer after graduating from the police
academy in which the police recruit was trained. An employer may
terminate a police recruit who is promoted to a law enforcement officer and who
fails to satisfactorily complete the initial probationary period.
G. An employer may terminate a law enforcement
officer who is laterally transferred, who is on an initial probationary period
and who fails to satisfactorily complete the probationary period.
H. This section does not apply to a law enforcement
officer who is employed by an agency of this state as an at will employee.
END_STATUTE