House Bill 2581 - Residency Requirements

House Bill 2581

An Act to amend Title 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding Chapter 9, relating to residency.

Article 1 - General Provisions

Section 1 - Residence; physical presence

According to this bill, a resident is defined as an individual who is physically present in the state of Arizona for at least 181 days with the intention to stay. This definition of residency applies to the following situations:

For property tax purposes
For vehicle registration under Title 28
For voter registration under Title 16

However, there are exceptions to this residency requirement. The county assessor, director of the department of transportation, and county recorder have the authority to establish a shorter physical presence requirement if the individual can show evidence of intent to stay. This evidence could include:

Employment
Purchase of residential property
Rental of residential property
Purchase of real property for residential purposes
Enrollment of the individual or their children in a school district or charter school
Active duty military service member identification for service members and their dependents

Section 2 - Conforming legislation

The legislative council staff will prepare proposed legislation to align the Arizona Revised Statutes with the provisions of this bill for consideration in the next legislative session.

Physical Presence