occupational disease; proximate cause; melanoma

SB1129 - occupational disease; proximate cause; melanoma

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor: David Gowan
Last action: 2026-01-20
Official status: Senate second read
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

SB1129: Presumed Occupational Cancer for Certain Peace Officers

This bill creates a rule that certain cancers are automatically considered work-related injuries for specific peace officers who meet strict service and health history requirements.

What This Bill Does

Lists six rules to prove any disease is caused by employment, including showing the risk comes from the job and not outside hazards.
Presumes brain cancer, bladder cancer, rectal or colon cancer, lymphoma, melanoma, leukemia, adenocarcinoma, and mesothelioma of the respiratory tract are occupational diseases for qualifying peace officers.
Requires that a peace officer passed a pre-employment physical exam with no signs of cancer to receive the presumption.
Mandates that the peace officer must have been assigned to hazardous duty for at least five years.
Allows former peace officers up to age 65 to claim benefits if diagnosed within fifteen years after leaving their job.
Removes the automatic protection for respiratory tract cancers if tobacco use outside of work is a substantial contributing cause.

Who It Names or Affects

Full-time peace officers regularly assigned to hazardous duty in special operations, SWAT, explosive ordinance disposal, or hazardous materials response units.
Former members of these specific units who are sixty-five years old or younger and diagnosed within fifteen years of their last day on the job.

Terms To Know

Presumption: A rule that assumes a disease is caused by work unless strong proof shows it was not.
Proximate cause: The main reason or direct link between the job conditions and the illness.
Hazardous duty: Work assignments in special units like SWAT, bomb disposal, or hazardous materials response.

Limits and Unknowns

The automatic protection does not apply if there is evidence that tobacco use outside of work was a substantial contributing cause for respiratory tract cancers.
Employers can challenge the presumption with clear and convincing proof showing a specific cause other than exposure to workplace cancer-causing agents.

Bill History

2026-01-20 Senate
Senate second read
2026-01-15 Senate
Senate Rules: None
2026-01-15 Senate
Senate Finance: None
2026-01-15 Senate
Senate first read

Official Summary Text

SB1129 - occupational disease; proximate cause; melanoma

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SB1129 - 572R - I Ver

PREFILED��� JAN 09 2026

REFERENCE TITLE:
occupational disease; proximate cause; melanoma

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1129

Introduced by

Senator
Gowan

AN
ACT

amending section 23-901.01, arizona
revised statutes; relating to workers' compensation.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1. Section 23-901.01, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
23-901.01.

Occupational disease; proximate causation; presumption;
definition

A. The occupational diseases as defined by section
23-901, paragraph 13, subdivision (c) shall be deemed to arise out of the
employment only if all of the following six requirements exist:

1. There is a direct causal connection between the
conditions under which the work is performed and the occupational disease.

2. The disease can be seen to have followed as a
natural incident of the work as a result of the exposure occasioned by the
nature of the employment.

3. The disease can be fairly traced to the
employment as the proximate cause.

4. The disease does not come from a hazard to which
workers would have been equally exposed outside of the employment.

5. The disease is incidental to the character of the
business and not independent of the relation of employer and employee.

6. The disease after its contraction appears to have
had its origin in a risk connected with the employment, and to have flowed from
that source as a natural consequence, although it need not have been foreseen
or expected.

B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section and
section 23-1043.01, any disease, infirmity or impairment of a peace
officer's health that is caused by brain, bladder, rectal or colon cancer,
lymphoma,
melanoma,
leukemia or adenocarcinoma or
mesothelioma of the respiratory tract and that results in disability or death
is presumed to be an occupational disease as defined in section 23-901,
paragraph 13, subdivision (c) and is deemed to arise out of employment.�

C. The presumption provided in subsection B of this section
is granted if all of the following apply:

1. The peace officer passed a physical examination
before employment and the examination did not indicate evidence of cancer.

2. The peace officer was assigned to hazardous duty
for at least five years.

D. Subsection B of this section applies to both of
the following:

1. Peace officers currently in service.

2. Former peace officers who are sixty-five
years of age or younger and who are diagnosed with a cancer that is listed in
subsection B of this section not more than fifteen years after the peace
officer's last date of employment as a peace officer.

E. Subsection B of this section does not apply to
cancers of the respiratory tract if there is evidence that the peace officer's
exposure to cigarettes or tobacco products outside of the scope of the peace
officer's official duties is a substantial contributing cause in the
development of the cancer.

F. The presumption provided in subsection B of this
section may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that there is a
specific cause of the cancer other than an occupational exposure to a
carcinogen as defined by the international agency for research on cancer.

G. For the purposes of this section, "peace
officer" means a full-time peace officer who was regularly assigned
to hazardous duty as a part of a special operations, special weapons and
tactics, explosive ordinance disposal or hazardous materials response unit.
END_STATUTE