2026 Arizona legislative session

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2026 Arizona legislative session
General information
Scheduled session start:    Jan. 12, 2026 Scheduled session end:    April 25, 2026
Leadership
Senate President Warren Petersen (R) House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R) Majority Leader Senate: John Kavanagh (R) House: Michael Carbone (R) Minority Leader Senate: Priya Sundareshan (D) House: Oscar De Los Santos (D)
Elections
Next Election:    November 3, 2026 Last Election:    November 5, 2024
Previous legislative sessions
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2026 legislative sessions
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In 2026, the Arizona State Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 12, 2026, and adjourn on April 25, 2026.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2024 elections. Republicans won a 17-13 majority in the Senate and a 33-27 majority in the House. The Democratic Party controlled the governorship, creating a divided state government. At the start of the 2026 session, Arizona was one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session:

Republicans held a majority in the Arizona state House and state Senate.

Arizona was one of 11 states with a divided state government.

Arizona's governor was Democrat Katie Hobbs.

Leadership in 2026

Arizona State Senate

• Senate president: Warren Petersen (R)
• Majority leader: John Kavanagh (R)
• Minority leader: Priya Sundareshan (D)

Arizona House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House: Steve Montenegro (R)
• Majority leader: Michael Carbone (R)
• Minority leader: Oscar De Los Santos (D)

Partisan control in 2026

See also: State government trifectas

Arizona was one of 11 states with a divided state government at the start of 2026 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

Arizona was also one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Arizona State Legislature in the 2026 legislative session.

Arizona State Senate

Partisan composition, Arizona State Senate

As of January 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	13
Republican	17
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	30

Arizona House of Representatives

Partisan composition, Arizona House of Representatives

As of January 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	27
Republican	33
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	60

Regular session

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2026 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation has met these criteria yet in 2026. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Standing legislative committees

See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Arizona state government

A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session, there were 31 standing committees in Arizona's state government, including 15 state Senate committees and 16 state House committees.

Senate committees

• Director Nominations
• Ethics Committee
• Finance Committee
• Government Committee
• Natural Resources Committee
• Senate Appropriations Committee
• Senate Education and Transportation Committee
• Senate Ethics Committee
• Senate Federalism Committee
• Senate Health and Human Services Committee
• Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee
• Senate Military Affairs and Border Security Committee
• Senate Public Safety Committee
• Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency Committee
• Senate Rules Committee

House committees

• Federalism, Military Affairs, and Elections Committee
• Government and Elections Committee
• House Appropriations Committee
• House Commerce Committee
• House Education Committee
• House Health and Human Services Committee
• House Judiciary Committee
• House Rules Committee
• International Trade Committee
• Land, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee
• Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee
• Public Safety and Law Enforcement Committee
• Regulatory Affairs Committee
• Science and Technology Committee
• Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
• Ways and Means Committee

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods by which the Arizona Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article 21 of the Arizona Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Arizona

The Arizona Constitution provides for three methods of amending the Arizona Constitution—a citizen-initiated process, a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Arizona requires a simple majority to approve constitutional amendments. Arizona requires a 60% vote to pass ballot measures to approve taxes.

Initiative

See also: Initiated constitutional amendment

Article 21, citizens have the power to initiate constitutional amendments in Arizona. An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

In Arizona, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 15 percent of votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Petitions can be circulated for up to 24 months. Signatures must be submitted four months prior to the election at which the measure is to appear. A simple majority is required for voter approval. Arizona requires a 60% vote to pass ballot measures to approve taxes.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

According to Article XVI, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Arizona State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 31 votes in the Arizona House of Representatives and 16 votes in the Arizona State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Convention

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

According to Section 2 of Article XXI of the Arizona Constitution, the state legislature can only call for a convention if it is approved by the electorate in a statewide vote. Any amendments, revisions, or proposals of the Constitution require a simple majority vote by the electorate.

Historical partisan control

The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Arizona.

Arizona Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-two years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D
Senate	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Historical Senate control

Republicans won control of the Arizona State Senate in 2002. In 2024, they won a 17-13 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Arizona Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Arizona State Senate election results: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	12	11	12	14	15*	13	12	13	12	9	13	13	13	13	14	14	13
Republicans	18	19	18	16	15*	17	18	17	18	21	17	17	17	17	16	16	17

* The 15-15 split led to a power-sharing agreement between the parties.

Before 1992

Arizona achieved statehood in 1912. From 1912 to 1966, Democrats controlled the state Senate after nearly every election. Starting in 1966, Republicans began winning narrow majorities in the chamber, with Democrats winning control in three elections: 1974, 1976, and 1990.

Historical House control

Republicans won control of the Arizona House of Representatives in 1966. In 2024, they won a 33-27 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Arizona House following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Arizona House of Representatives election results: 1992-2022

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	25	22	22	20	24	21	22	27	25	20	24	22	25	29	29	29	27
Republicans	35	38	38	40	36	39	38	33	35	40	36	38	35	31	31	31	33

Before 1992

Arizona achieved statehood in 1912. From 1912 to 1966, Democrats controlled the chamber, often winning majorities that controlled more than 50 of the chamber's 60 seats. However, in 1966 the Democrats lost the majority and, as of 2022, had not won it back.

Analysis

Adopted legislation, 2011-2024

See also: The State Legislative Decade - Arizona

In 2024, Ballotpedia released analysis of bills enacted in each state in the preceding decade. The charts and table below detail legislation passed each year by party sponsorship.

See also

Elections	Arizona State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Arizona State Senate elections, 2026 Arizona House of Representatives elections, 2026	Arizona State Legislature Arizona House of Representatives Arizona State Senate Governor of Arizona Arizona Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2026 State legislative special elections, 2026 State legislative elections, 2024 State legislative elections, 2022	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Arizona State Legislature homepage

Footnotes

State legislatures

Legislatures

Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S)

2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

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