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HB2749 • 2026

felony conviction; sentence completion; designation

HB2749 - felony conviction; sentence completion; designation

Crime Firearms
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Tony Rivero
Last action
2026-06-04
Official status
Chapter 109
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text states the repeal date as 'from and after September 30, 2028,' which means the authority ends on that day. The candidate explanation's phrasing of October 1 is consistent with this meaning but slightly different in wording.

HB2749: Changing Some Felony Convictions to Misdemeanors

This law allows courts to change certain class 4, 5, or 6 felony convictions into class 1 misdemeanors if specific conditions are met.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows a court to enter a judgment of conviction for a class 1 misdemeanor instead of a class 4, 5, or 6 felony.
  • Requires the person to have no prior felony convictions and that the offense did not involve a victim or dangerous conduct.
  • Mandates full payment of all monetary obligations and completion of all sentence terms before eligibility.
  • Sets a waiting period of at least five years after finishing the sentence with no new crimes involving victims or felonies.
  • Excludes people convicted of animal cruelty, weapon misconduct, or failure to register as a sex offender from this option.
  • Repeals this court authority on October 1, 2028.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People convicted of class 4, 5, or 6 felonies who meet strict eligibility requirements.
  • Courts that decide whether to lower a felony conviction to a misdemeanor.
  • Individuals excluded from this process due to specific prior convictions like animal cruelty.

Terms To Know

Class 1 Misdemeanor
A less serious crime classification than a felony, which carries lighter penalties.
Monetary Obligations
Fines, fees, or restitution payments that the court ordered the person to pay.
Delayed Repeal
A rule stating that this law will stop working on a specific future date.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The court must decide if changing the conviction is in the interest of justice.
  • This option ends for all cases after September 30, 2028.
  • People with any prior felony convictions are not eligible.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Plain English: This amendment changes the rule for reducing certain felonies to misdemeanors by requiring five years of good behavior after finishing a sentence, instead of just waiting five years since the conviction.

  • Courts can now lower Class 4, 5, or 6 felony convictions to Class 1 misdemeanors if specific conditions are met.
  • The amendment text uses brackets and strikeouts that make it unclear exactly which words were removed from the original bill versus what was added.
  • It is not clear from this document alone whether a list of excluded crimes (like those in Section B) was kept or deleted because the formatting symbols are ambiguous.

Plain English: This amendment changes the rule for reducing certain felonies to misdemeanors by requiring five years of good behavior after finishing a sentence, instead of just waiting five years since the conviction.

  • Courts can change a Class 4, 5, or 6 felony into a Class 1 misdemeanor if specific conditions are met.
  • The amendment text uses brackets to show changes but does not clearly state the final rule for whether the five-year wait starts from the conviction date or after finishing the sentence.
  • It is unclear which version of Section B regarding specific crimes (13-2910, 13-3102, or 13-3821) remains in effect because the text shows conflicting bracketed versions.

Plain English: This amendment changes the waiting period for reducing certain felonies to misdemeanors and sets a date when this new rule will expire.

  • The law now requires five years to pass after finishing all sentence terms, instead of just being convicted, before a person can ask to have their Class 4, 5, or 6 felony reduced to a misdemeanor.
  • This change applies only if the crime did not involve a victim and the person has never been convicted of any other felony.
  • The amendment sets an expiration date for this new rule on September 30, 2028, meaning it will no longer be in effect after that time.
  • Some specific crimes listed in the original bill text were removed by strikeout marks, but the exact list of excluded offenses is not fully clear from this summary alone.

Bill History

  1. 2026-06-02 Senate

    Governor signed

  2. 2026-06-02 House

    House passed

  3. 2026-06-02 House

    House passed

  4. 2026-06-02 House

    House minority caucus

  5. 2026-05-18 House

    Transmitted to House

  6. 2026-05-18 Senate

    Senate third read passed

  7. 2026-05-18 Senate

    Senate committee of the whole

  8. 2026-05-18 Senate

    Senate minority caucus

  9. 2026-05-18 Senate

    Senate majority caucus

  10. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Senate second read

  11. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Senate Rules: PFC

  12. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Senate Judiciary and Elections: DPA

  13. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Senate first read

  14. 2026-02-26 Senate

    Transmitted to Senate

  15. 2026-02-26 House

    House third read passed

  16. 2026-02-25 House

    House committee of the whole

  17. 2026-02-24 House

    House minority caucus

  18. 2026-02-24 House

    House majority caucus

  19. 2026-02-23 House

    House consent calendar

  20. 2026-01-22 House

    House second read

  21. 2026-01-21 House

    House Rules: C&P

  22. 2026-01-21 House

    House Government: DP

  23. 2026-01-21 House

    House Judiciary: W/D

  24. 2026-01-21 House

    House first read

Official Summary Text

HB2749 - 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. 2749

felony
conviction; sentence completion; designation

Purpose

Allows the court to designate a class 4, 5 or 6 felony conviction as a
class 1 misdemeanor conviction if outlined conditions are met.

Background

A person may file a petition to seal all case records related to a
criminal offense if the person was: 1) convicted of a criminal offense and has
completed all of the terms and conditions of the sentence that was imposed by
the court, including the payment of all monetary obligations and restitution to
all victims; 2) charged with a criminal offense and the charge was subsequently
dismissed or resulted in a not guilty verdict at a trial; or 3) arrested for a
criminal offense and no charges were filed. A person who was convicted of an
offense may petition the court to seal the person's records of arrest,
conviction and sentence after the person completes all nonmonetary terms and
conditions of the person's sentence and the following period of time has passed
since the person completed the conditions of probation or sentence and was
discharged by the court:

1) 10 years for a class 2 or 3 felony; 2) 5 years for a class 4, 5 or 6 felony;
3) 3 years for a class 1 misdemeanor; and 4) 2 years for a class 2 or 3 misdemeanor
(
A.R.S.
� 13-911
).

If a person is convicted of a class 6 felony not involving a dangerous
offense, the court may enter a judgment of conviction for a class 1 misdemeanor
and make disposition accordingly, or place the defendant on probation, if the
court is of the opinion that it would be unduly harsh to sentence the defendant
for a felony with regard to the nature and circumstances of the crime and the
history and character of the defendant (
A.R.S.
� 13-604
).

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

Provisions

1.

Allows
a court, notwithstanding any other provision of the criminal code, to enter a
judgment of conviction for a class 1 misdemeanor for a person who is convicted
of a class 4, 5 or 6 felony, provided that:

a)

the felony offense did not involve a dangerous offense;

b)

the offense did not involve a victim;

c)

the person has not been previously convicted of any felony offense;

d)

the person has completed all of the terms and conditions imposed by the
court, including full payment of monetary obligations;

e)

at least five years have passed since the person completed their
sentence and the person has not been convicted of a subsequent misdemeanor
offense involving a victim or a subsequent felony offense during that time, and

f)

entering the judgment of conviction for a class 1 misdemeanor is in the
interest of justice.

2.

Stipulates that the ability to have a judgment of conviction lowered to
a class 1 misdemeanor is not available to persons who have been convicted of
cruelty
to animals
,
misconduct involving weapons
or
failure to register
as a sex offender
.

3.

Repeals
the court's ability to designate a qualifying felony offense as a class 1
misdemeanor on October 1, 2028.

4.

Becomes effective on the general effective date.

Amendments Adopted by
Committee

1.

Stipulates that the ability to have a judgment of conviction lowered to
a class 1 misdemeanor is not available to persons who have been convicted of
cruelty to animals, misconduct involving weapons or failure to register as a
sex offender.

2.

Requires five years to have passed since the date that a person has
completed their sentence, rather than the date of the person's conviction, in
order for the person to be eligible for a class 1 misdemeanor judgment.

Amendments Adopted by
Committee of the Whole

�

Adds a delayed repeal date of October 1, 2028.

House Action
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Senate
Action

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Prepared by Senate Research

May 18, 2026

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Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Chapter 0109 - 572R - S Ver of HB2749

Senate Engrossed
House Bill

felony conviction;
sentence completion; designation

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

CHAPTER 109

HOUSE BILL 2749

AN
ACT

amending Title 13, chapter 6, Arizona
Revised Statutes, by adding section 13-604.01; repealing section 13-604.01,
Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to classifications of offenses.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section
1. Title
13, chapter 6, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section
13-604.01, to read:

START_STATUTE
13-604.01.

Class 4, 5 or 6 felony; misdemeanor designation; definition

A. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this title, if a person is convicted of a class 4, 5 or 6 felony
not involving a dangerous offense, the court may enter judgment of conviction
for a class 1 misdemeanor if the court determines all of the following:

1. The person has not previously been
convicted of any felony offense.

2. The offense did not involve a
victim.

3. The person has completed all of
the terms and conditions imposed by the court for the conviction, including
full payment of all monetary obligations.

4. At least five years have passed
since the
completion of the person's sentence, and the
person has not been convicted of a subsequent misdemeanor offense involving a
victim or a subsequent felony offense during that time.

5. Entering the judgment of
conviction for a class 1 misdemeanor is in the interest of justice.

B. This section does not apply to a
person who is convicted of a violation of section 13-2910, 13-3102 or 13-3821.

C. For the purposes of this section,
"victim" has the same meaning prescribed in section 13-4401.

END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.
Delayed repeal

Section 13-604.01, Arizona Revised
Statutes, as added by this act, is repealed from and after September 30, 2028.

APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR JUNE 4, 2026.

FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE JUNE 5, 2026.