What needs to change in Arizona.

• The carveout is self-determined by the clergy member

  Under A.R.S. § 13-3620(A), a clergy member who receives a confidential communication or confession **'may withhold reporting'** when the clergy member determines withholding is 'reasonable and necessary within the concepts of the religion.' Two features make the privilege especially strong: the determination sits inside the religious institution, not a court, and Arizona expressly recognizes only attorney-client and clergy-penitent privileges as exemptions from the reporting duty. The exemption applies only to the communication itself. Personal observations of the minor remain reportable.

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• A separate testimonial privilege layered on top, at § 13-3620(L)

  Subsection (L) provides that in any civil or criminal litigation involving a child's abuse, neglect, dependency, or abandonment, a clergy member 'shall not, without his consent, be examined as a witness' about a confession made in that role. The subsection expressly states that the testimonial privilege does not discharge the underlying reporting duty in subsection (A). The two operate in parallel: the reporting carveout protects pre-litigation silence, and the testimonial privilege protects in-court silence.

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• Penalty tier: class 1 misdemeanor, with a class 6 felony when the underlying conduct is a 'reportable offense'

  A violation of § 13-3620 is a class 1 misdemeanor. When the failure to report involves a reportable offense (categories listed in Title 13 chapters 14 and 35.1, plus child sex trafficking, incest, and several others), it becomes a class 6 felony. The felony tier signals statutory seriousness even as the (A) carveout keeps the disclosure decision inside the religious institution.

What it takes to close the gap.

Bills in motion right now.

• HB2039committee

  Clergy; priests; duty to report

  Pre-filed December 4, 2025 by Rep. Stacey Travers for the 57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session. Would amend A.R.S. §§ 8-201, 12-2233, and 13-3620 to require clergy and priests to report communications or confessions involving child abuse when there is reasonable suspicion that the abuse is ongoing, will continue, or may threaten other minors. The bill would also remove the penitent-consent requirement for testimony in civil child-abuse cases. Read a second time January 13, 2026 and currently pending in the House Committee on Judiciary. Rep. Travers has introduced versions of this measure in every session since 2023.

  SponsorsRep. Stacey Travers
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How Arizona got here.

• 2023
  First Travers clergy-reporting bill

  Rep. Stacey Travers introduces the first of what becomes a recurring measure to narrow the clergy-confession carveout in A.R.S. § 13-3620. The bill does not advance.

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• 2025-07
  Bisbee civil-suit reversal

  The Arizona Court of Appeals reverses summary judgment for the religious institution in the Bisbee abuse litigation, holding that § 13-3620(A) imposes a reporting duty on clergy unless the statutory exception applies and finding fact questions about confidentiality and waiver.

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• 2025-11
  Arizona Supreme Court grants review in Rodriguez-Ramirez

  The Arizona Supreme Court agrees to hear Rodriguez-Ramirez v. State on issues of first impression about the standards for the clergy-penitent privilege. Supplemental and amicus briefing runs through January 2026.

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• 2025-12
  HB2039 pre-filed

  Rep. Stacey Travers pre-files HB2039 for the 57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session. The bill would narrow the § 13-3620 carveout when abuse is ongoing, will continue, or may threaten other minors.

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• 2026-01
  HB2039 second reading; House Judiciary

  HB2039 is introduced January 12, 2026, read a second time January 13, 2026, and referred to the House Committee on Judiciary.

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Litigation shaping the law.

• Doe v. Corporation of the President (Bisbee, AZ)

  No. 2 CA-CV 2023-0293 (Ariz. Ct. App. July 29, 2025)·2025

  Civil action arising from the Bisbee, Arizona child-abuse case in which a perpetrator confessed to clergy and the abuse continued for years before law enforcement intervened. The Arizona Court of Appeals **reversed summary judgment** for the religious institution and held that § 13-3620(A) imposes a legal duty on clergy to report unless the statutory clergy exception applies. The court found fact questions about whether the communications were confidential and whether any clergy-penitent privilege had been waived. A notable Arizona decision holding that the § 13-3620(A) carveout is a defense to be proved, not a categorical shield.

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• Rodriguez-Ramirez v. State of Arizona

  1 CA-CR 23-0182 (Ariz. Ct. App. Apr. 29, 2025), review granted, CR-25-0184-PR (Ariz. Nov. 25, 2025)·2025

  Pastor charged with sexual conduct with a 15-year-old moved to suppress a covert recording of his confession to a co-pastor. Division One of the Arizona Court of Appeals reversed the trial court and held the clergy-penitent privilege under A.R.S. § 13-4062(3) applied, adopting a subjective test focused on whether the penitent reasonably believed the conversation was privileged. **The Arizona Supreme Court granted review on November 25, 2025** on issues of first impression about the standards for the clergy-penitent privilege, with supplemental and amicus briefing through January 2026. The case is the leading near-term case on Arizona's privilege rules.

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Public-record sources UCO is tracking.

Always verify against the underlying statute or filing before quoting.

• Arizona State Legislature· current text 2025
  A.R.S. § 13-3620 — Duty to report abuse, physical injury, neglect, and denial or deprivation of medical or surgical care or nourishment of minors

  The principal mandatory-reporting statute. Subsection (A) imposes the reporting duty, expressly enumerates clergy among reporters, and contains the self-determined confidential-communication/confession carveout. Subsection (L) layers a separate testimonial privilege in child-abuse litigation and confirms that the testimonial privilege does not discharge the (A) reporting duty.

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• FindLaw / Thomson Reuters
  A.R.S. § 13-3620 (FindLaw annotated reprint)

  Annotated statute reprint useful for cross-checking subsection lettering against the legislature version. Confirms that subsection (L) preserves a separate, non-waivable testimonial privilege for clergy in civil and criminal child-abuse litigation, distinct from but consistent with the reporting carveout in subsection (A).

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• Arizona State Legislature· 2025-12-04
  HB2039 — clergy; priests; duty to report (introduced text)

  Introduced text of HB2039 for the 57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session. Would amend A.R.S. §§ 8-201, 12-2233, and 13-3620 to narrow the clergy-confession carveout when abuse is ongoing or threatens other minors and to remove the penitent-consent requirement for testimony in civil child-abuse cases.

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• LegiScan· 2026-01-13
  AZ HB2039 — bill status (57th Leg., 2nd Reg. Session)

  Bill-status tracker for HB2039. Confirms introduction January 12, 2026, second reading January 13, 2026, and current posture pending in the House Committee on Judiciary.

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• Arizona State Legislature· 2023-01-25
  AZ HB2454 — clergy; priests; duty to report (introduced text, 56th Leg., 1st Reg. Session)

  Introduced text of HB2454, sponsored by Rep. Stacey Travers, for the 56th Legislature, 1st Regular Session. Would have amended A.R.S. §§ 8-201, 12-2233, and 13-3620 to narrow the clergy-confession carveout when abuse is ongoing or may threaten other minors. The bill did not become law.

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• Child Welfare Information Gateway, U.S. HHS Children's Bureau· 2023
  Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect — Arizona

  Federal child-welfare summary citing A.R.S. § 13-3620 and independently confirming that clergy are required to report suspected child abuse or neglect, that Arizona preserves the confidential-communication/confession exception, and that the exception does not cover personal observations or discharge the duty to report.

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• Arizona Supreme Court· 2025-11-25
  Arizona Supreme Court Conference Minutes No. 9151 (Nov 25, 2025), Rodriguez-Ramirez briefing order (CR-25-0184-PR)

  Conference minutes granting review in CR-25-0184-PR and ordering supplemental briefs (extended to January 5, 2026) and amicus briefs due January 20, 2026, responses February 3, 2026, oral argument February 26, 2026. Substantiates that supplemental and amicus briefing ran through January 2026.

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• Arizona State Legislature· 2024
  AZ HB2712, clergy; priests; duty to report (introduced text, 56th Leg., 2nd Reg. Session)

  Travers-sponsored HB2712 (2024) amends A.R.S. 8-201, 12-2233, and 13-3620 with the same reference title as HB2454 (2023), HB2070 (2025), and HB2039 (2026), documenting the 2024 session and confirming a version every regular session from 2023 through 2026.

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