Official Summary Text
SB1665 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet
Assigned to
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PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session
REVISED
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR
S.B. 1665
state
agencies; hiring practices; appeals
Purpose
Requires each state agency to adopt a
standardized hiring process for all employees, as prescribed. Outlines duties
of the State Personnel Board (Board) in the standardized hiring process,
including for the appeal of hiring decisions.
Background
The Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) is responsible for
administering the State Personnel System. ADOA must adopt personnel and
personnel administration rules for both covered and uncovered employees,
including for the establishment and maintenance of classification and
compensation plans and the recruitment, selection and appointment process of
eligible applicants (A.R.S. ��
41-741
and
41-743
).
ADOA groups positions into classes based on similarities of duties and
responsibilities. Class specifications contain a statement of the minimum
education, experience, competencies and other qualifications required to
perform the work. An agency head must ensure that any candidate selected for
hire meets the established qualifications for the position filled (A.A.C.
R2-5A-201
and
R2-5A-304
).
The Board is charged with hearing and reviewing, through an informal
administrative process, appeals relating to the dismissal of a covered state
employee from covered state service, suspension for more than 80 working hours
or involuntary demotion resulting from disciplinary action. The Board is also
charged with hearing and reviewing whistleblower complaints relating to any
personnel action taken against a state employee or former state employee which
is believed to have been taken in reprisal for the employee's or former
employee's disclosure of information to the public (
A.R.S. Title 38, Chapter 3,
Article 9
and
A.R.S. Title
41, Chapter 4, Article 6
).
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) fiscal note estimates that S.B.
1665 would have two main costs: 1) a cost to each state agency to implement a
standardized hiring process in compliance with S.B. 1665; and 2) a cost to the
Board and the hiring agency to respond to and adjudicate any appeals. As these
costs will largely depend on the number of applicants that appeal a hiring
decision, JLBC is unable to quantify this in advance. ADOA estimates that S.B.
1665 would cost state agencies $3.2 million per year and the Board estimates
their costs would increase by $300,000 per year (
JLBC
fiscal note
).
Provisions
1.
Requires each state agency to adopt a
standardized
hiring process
for all employee positions.�
2.
Require the standardized hiring process to include the following grading
components:
a)
weighted
grade;
b)
interview
panel grade; and
c)
overall grade.
3.
Directs a state agency, for the calculation of the candidate's weighted
grade, to take into account:
a)
the
length and relevance of the candidate's experience and education; and
b)
any
specific skills and certifications the candidate possesses.
4.
Requires an additional numeric score or grade to be assigned to each
candidate who participates in a formal interview.�
5.
Requires a panel consisting of at least two interviewers to conduct the
interview.
6.
Requires the scoring criteria for the interview to be published in the
job posting.
7.
Requires the weighted grade and the interview panel grade to be combined
to produce a final, overall grade out of 100 for each candidate.�
8.
Requires the method for combining the grades to be transparent and
published in the job posting.
9.
Requires the State of Arizona and each agency to complete the entire
hiring process, from the initial job posting to the selection of the final
candidate, within 90 days.
10.
Requires
the Board, if the hiring process exceeds 90 days, to intervene to ensure the
completion of the hiring process and the selection of a final candidate.
11.
Requires
a state agency to provide written notice to each candidate who is eliminated
from hiring consideration.�
12.
Requires
the notice to identify the reason the candidate did not meet the requirements
for the job posting.�
13.
Allows
any candidate who participated in both the weighted grade and interview panel
grade and who was not hired by a state agency to appeal a hiring decision to
the Board if the appeal:
a)
is made
within three business days after the final hiring decision announcement; and
b)
is based
on a claim that the hiring process for all positions was not followed, or the
state agency's hiring of another candidate was arbitrary, given the hired
candidate's overall grade, or that the process exceeded 90 days.
14.
Requires
the Board to review the grades and documentation of both the appealing
candidate and the selected candidate to determine whether the hiring decision
was in violation of the standardized hiring process.
15.
Allows
the Board to direct the hiring agency to reconsider the decision or take any
other appropriate action,
including appointing a hearing officer to
conduct an administrative review, if a violation of the standardized hiring
process is found.
16.
Allows
the Board to require a state agency to:
a)
reopen
the hiring process;
b)
modify
the job posting; or
c)
take any other actions as necessary to comply with the standardized
hiring process.
17.
Allows
any candidate to be directly hired by a state agency if the candidate meets a
minimum weighted numeric grade of 90.
18.
Requires
the direct hiring decision and specific position filled to be announced through
the state agency's official website.�
19.
Allows
any candidate, whether internal or external, to appeal the direct hire.
20.
States
that the standardized hiring process does not apply to:
a)
the Governor's
Office; and
b)
any
members of a board or commission appointed by the Governor.
21.
Designates this legislation as the
State Agency Hiring Reform Act.
22.
Becomes
effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by
Committee
�
Makes technical changes.
Revisions
�
Updates the fiscal impact statement.
Senate Action
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Prepared by Senate Research
April 2, 2026
JT/NRG/ci
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
SB1665 - 572R - S Ver
Senate Engrossed
state agencies;
hiring practices; appeals
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SENATE BILL 1665
AN
ACT
AMENDING Title 41, chapter 4, article 4,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 41-755; relating to the state
personnel system.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section
1.
1. Title
41, chapter 4, article 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding
section 41-755, to read:
START_STATUTE
41-755.
Hiring practices; grades; appeal; applicability
A. Notwithstanding any other law,
each state agency shall adopt a standardized hiring process for all employee
positions.� This process shall include the following grading components:
1. Weighted grade.
2. Interview panel grade.
3. Overall grade.
B. To calculate the weighted grade of
a candidate, a state agency must take into account the length and relevance of
the candidate's experience and education and any specific skills and
certifications the candidate possesses.
C. An additional numeric score or
grade shall be assigned to each candidate who participates in a formal
interview.� A panel consisting of at least two interviewers shall conduct the
interview.� The scoring criteria for the interview shall be published in the
job posting.
D. The weighted grade and the
interview panel grade shall be combined to produce a final, overall grade out
of one hundred for each candidate.� The method for combining these grades shall
be transparent and published in the job posting.
E. This state and each agency shall
complete the entire hiring process, from the initial job posting to the
selection of the final candidate, within ninety days.� If the hiring process
exceeds ninety days, the state personnel board shall intervene to ensure the
completion of the hiring process and the selection of a final candidate.
F. A state agency shall provide
written notice to each candidate who is eliminated from hiring consideration.�
The notice must identify the reason the candidate did not meet the requirements
for the job posting.� Any candidate who participated in both the weighted grade
and interview panel grade and was not hired by a state agency has the right to
appeal a hiring decision to the state personnel board if
both
of THE following occur:
1. The appeal is made within three business
days after the final hiring decision announcement.
2. The appeal is based on a claim
that the hiring process for all positions was not followed or the state
agency's hiring of another candidate was arbitrary, given the hired candidate's
overall grade, or that the process exceeded ninety days.
G. The state personnel board shall
review the grades and documentation of both the appealing candidate and the
selected candidate to determine whether the hiring decision was in violation of
this section.� If a violation is found, the state personnel board may direct
the hiring agency to reconsider the decision or take any other appropriate
action, including appointing a hearing officer to conduct an administrative
review.
H. the state personnel board may also
require a state agency to do all of the following:
1. Reopen the hiring process.
2. Modify the job posting.
3. Take any other actions as
necessary to comply with this section.
I. This section does not apply to any
of the following:
1. The governor's office.
2. Any members of a board or
commission appointed by the governor.
J. Any candidate may be directly
hired by a state agency, so long as the candidate meets a minimum weighted
numeric grade of ninety to be considered for a direct hire.� The hiring
decision and specific position filled must be announced through the state
agency's official website.� Any candidate, whether internal or external,
possesses the right to appeal the direct hire.
END_STATUTE
Sec.
2.
2.
Short
title
This act may be cited as the
"State Agency Hiring Reform Act".