Fiscal Note
BILL # HB 2254 TITLE: domestic relations; temporary orders; hearings
SPONSOR: Keshel STATUS: As Introduced
PREPARED BY: Benjamin Beutler
Description
This bill would require the courts to reevaluate temporary orders in legal decision-making and parenting time proceedings
within 6 months. Either party may request an evidentiary hearing to determine whether continuation of the existing
temporary order is in the best interest of the child. Additionally, the bill would implement a minimum hearing time of 120
minutes for a petition of temporary orders involving legal decision-making and parenting time, as well as require the court
to make specific factual findings on record for temporary orders.
Estimated Impact
We estimate the bill would result in increased county costs for workload related to the new requirements. The magnitude
will depend on the number of litigants that request an evidentiary hearing to contest an existing temporary order. As a
result, we are unable to estimate the impact in advance.
The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) assumed that 50% of litigants would request an additional hearing. AOC
estimated the revised requirements would require an additional 17 court commissioners and 34 staff at a total cost of
$5.5 million. As court commissioners and Superior Court staff are entirely funded by the counties, this would not have a
state impact.
Analysis
In domestic relations proceedings involving legal decision making and parenting time, the court may issue a temporary
order. Most cases begin with a temporary order instructing litigants to not take certain actions.
Based on information from Maricopa County Superior Court for 2024, the current average evidentiary hearing time for a
temporary order is 51 minutes. Increasing the hearing time to 120 minutes would more than double the evidentiary
hearing time, resulting in 3,500 hours of court commissioner courtroom time. The added requirement to make specific
factual findings on record would add 1 to 3 hours per case, resulting in 3,000 hours of commissioner writing time. Finally,
assuming 50% of litigants in court cases avail themselves of the option in the bill to request an additional evidentiary
hearing for a temporary order, this would result in 4,500 hours of commissioner calendar time. The total additional
commissioner time is estimated at 11,000 hours.
According to AOC, commissioners have a maximum of 1,440 courtroom hours available per year, so 8 commissioners
would be necessary. The court's analysis adds in 3 commissioners to account for scheduling limitations and 2 support staff
for every commissioner. When these factors are extrapolated to the statewide level, AOC estimates the bill would require
51 new FTE Positions, including 17 commissioners and 34 support staff, at cost of $5.5 million. These estimates do not
include the cost to update facilities to accommodate the new positions.
2/12/25