HB 4003

REFERENCE TITLE: family court; false statements; penalties
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HB 4003
Introduced by
Representative
  Keshel
AN
ACT
Amending title 25, chapter 4, article 1,
arizona revised statutes, by adding section 25-419; RELATING to legal
decision-making and parenting time.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 25, chapter 4, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 25-419, to read:
START_STATUTE25-419. Domestic relations proceedings; domestic violence and abuse
allegations; immunity; burden of proof; judicial findings; penalties;
sanctions; judicial training; affirmative defense; definitions
A. In any proceeding for a
determination of legal decision-making or parenting time filed pursuant
to this title, a parent is not civilly or criminally liable for making an
allegation of domestic violence or abuse if all of the following apply:
1. the parent making the allegation
made the allegation in good faith and reasonably believed the allegation to be
true.
2. The parent made the allegation to
protect a child, that parent or another vulnerable party.
3. The parent making the allegation
acted on observed symptoms, behaviors, disclosures or professional concerns,
even if the observed symptoms, behaviors, disclosures or concerns were later
recanted, proven to be unconfirmed, false or UNSUBSTANTIATED.
B. the court may not find a parent to
be liable for making an allegation of domestic violence or abuse unless the
court finds by a PREPONDERANCE OF THE evidence all of the following:
1. The allegation of domestic
violence or abuse was false.
2. The parent making the allegation
of domestic violence or abuse had actual knowledge that the allegation was
false.
3. The parent made the allegation of
domestic violence or abuse to interfere with legal decision-making or
parenting time, harass the other parent or delay the proceedings.
C. The court shall make a written
record of all findings of false allegations of domestic violence or abuse and
any sanctions imposed by the court.� The court shall include the following
findings on the record:
1. The allegation of domestic
violence or abuse was found to be false by a PREPONDERANCE OF THE evidence.
2. The parent knowingly made the
false allegation of domestic violence or abuse.
3. There was no reasonable basis to
believe the allegation of domestic violence or abuse was true.
D. The court may enter an order
imposing sanctions against a parent if the court finds by a PREPONDERANCE OF
THE evidence that the parent knowingly made a false allegation of domestic
violence or abuse.� The court may impose either of the following sanctions:
1. Monetary sanctions of less than
$5,000.
2. An award of attorney fees.
E. If
the court finds by a PREPONDERANCE OF THE evidence that a parent knowingly made
a false allegation of domestic violence or abuse, in addition to the sanctions
prescribed by subsection D OF this section, the court shall refer the matter involving
that parent to the county attorney or other prosecuting authority that has
jurisdiction over the matter for PROSECUTION of perjury as prescribed in
section 13-2702.
F. The court may impose any of the
following sanctions against An attorney who knowingly submits a false
allegation of domestic violence or abuse or commits subornation of perjury:
1. Monetary sanctions.
2. Referral to the state bar of
Arizona.
3. Mandatory continuing education and
training.
G. Family court judicial officers
shall receive mandatory training every two years in the following areas:
1. Differentiating a false allegation
from an unsubstantiated allegation.
2. Recantation of an allegation based
on coercion.
3. Trauma and abuse patterns.
4. Coercive and control patterns.
5. intersectional ANALYSIS of trauma
response.
6. gender bias.
H. An unsubstantiated allegation of
domestic violence or abuse may not be used as evidence of bad faith or used to
prove the unfitness of a parent.� A failure to substantiate an allegation of
domestic violence or abuse, conflicting testimony or a parent's later
recantation of an allegation of domestic violence or abuse does not alone
constitute knowledge that the allegation was false.
I. The court shall keep records of
sanctions imposed pursuant to this section and the demographics of the parties
on whom the sanctions are imposed.
J. A parent has an affirmative
defense against any sanction imposed pursuant to this section if any of the
following applies:
1. The parent was experiencing
post-traumatic stress disorder, coercive control or stalking at the time of
making the allegation.
2. The parent made the allegation
based on a child's disclosure, information learned in a therapy session or an
observed change in a child's behavior.
3. The parent has a history of
credible victimization or documented trauma.
k. for the purposes of this section:
1. "abuse" has the same
meaning prescribed in section 8-201.
2. "Domestic violence" has
the same meaning prescribed in section 13-3601.
3. "knowingly"
means the parent making the allegation had actual knowledge that the allegation
was untrue, had no reason to believe that the allegation was actually true,
intentionally FABRICATED an allegation with no belief in the truth of the
allegation or acted in disregard of known contradictory evidence.� END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Legislative findings
The
legislature finds that:
1. Survivors
of domestic violence and abuse are often not believed due to the failure to
distinguish between unsubstantiated claims and false claims.
2. Parties
in family court use false claims of domestic violence and abuse to harass the
other parent, retaliate against the other parent or manipulate the other parent
or the court.
3. Current
perjury laws are under-enforced in family court.
4. It
is in the best interest of this state to protect good faith reports of domestic
violence and abuse and to not punish survivors of domestic violence and abuse
for making claims of domestic violence or abuse during family court proceedings.