Arizona Nursing Home Camera Laws (2026): SB1564 Reporting Only

Arizona has no law giving a resident the right to install a camera in a nursing home or assisted living room. A bill that would have created that right, HB2914, died in the Senate in 2026. The law that did pass that year, SB1564, is a disclosure law: it requires facilities to report their electronic monitoring practices to the state, and it took effect on September 12, 2026.

Information last verified on 2026-08-14. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

This page covers Arizona's 2026 disclosure law, the bill that would have created a real monitoring right and failed, the pattern of repeated failed attempts before it, and the state's one-party consent overlay for audio. It does not cover general home-security cameras; see Arizona Recording Laws for the state's one-party consent framework.

SB1564: A Disclosure Law, Not a Right to Monitor

The only nursing-home monitoring legislation Arizona has actually enacted is SB1564. Governor Katie Hobbs signed it on June 19, 2026, and it was filed with the Secretary of State on June 22, 2026 as Laws 2026, Chapter 183, adding A.R.S. § 36-420.06 to Title 36. Arizona's online statutes now publish the section as A.R.S. § 36-420.08, while a different section on radiation protection appears at 36-420.06, so this page cites it as § 36-420.08.

Chapter 183 carries no emergency clause and sets no special effective date, so it took effect on the session's general effective date. The Legislature adjourned sine die on June 13, 2026, which makes the general effective date for the 57th Legislature, Second Regular Session September 12, 2026. The section has been in force since that date.

It is important to be precise about what this law does, because it is frequently mistaken for a right-to-monitor statute. It is not. Section 36-420.08 requires every assisted living facility and nursing care institution to disclose three separate things to the Arizona Department of Health Services:

• Whether the facility allows a resident to install an electronic monitoring device in the resident's room or personal space.
• Whether the facility itself uses electronic monitoring in common spaces.
• Whether the facility uses a technology solution that identifies the persons who enter and exit a resident's room and monitors movement in the room.

The statute is not limited to cameras. Subsection D defines an electronic monitoring device as any device or technology that has a placed, fixed or otherwise installed location and that captures, records or broadcasts audio or video, and defines electronic monitoring as the use of such a device in a resident's room to record or transmit sounds or activity to or for the resident, the resident's authorized representative, or an authorized third party. A fixed audio-only device sits inside that definition exactly as a camera does.

An investigative report on the bill's passage put the underlying point plainly: "there is no state law allowing cameras in nursing homes, each facility decides independently whether to permit them."

What SB1564 changes is transparency, not permission. Facilities must make their first disclosure on or before December 1, 2026 or at initial licensure, must report any later change in their monitoring practices to the department, and the Department of Health Services must make the information it receives available on its public website. That lets a prospective resident or family compare facilities before choosing one.

HB2914: The Bill That Would Have Created a Real Right, and Died

A separate bill, HB2914, would have done what SB1564 does not: authorize families to install monitoring devices in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities when every resident of the room consented, along with notice requirements, roommate consent requirements, facility and signage duties, installation and maintenance responsibilities, and rules on who could access recorded footage.

HB2914 passed the Arizona House 40-15 on March 10, 2026, crossed over to the Senate, was read a second time on March 17, 2026, and was referred to the Senate Rules and Government Efficiency committees. No further action is recorded after that referral. The bill died at sine die when the 2026 session ended on June 13, 2026, without ever reaching a Senate floor vote, a governor's signature, or a veto.

This was not the first time a bill like this failed in Arizona. A nonprofit public health association's own session summary lists HB2914 under bills it supported that died, with the note that the Arizona Health Care Association, the nursing home industry group, "kills this every year." An earlier predecessor bill, SB1041, also failed to advance in a prior session, described in the same investigative reporting as part of a pattern stretching back several years.

What This Means for an Arizona Family Today

Because HB2914 did not pass, an Arizona nursing home or assisted living resident has no statutory right to install a personal monitoring device as of this writing. A facility can permit, condition, or flatly refuse a monitoring request as a matter of its own admission agreement and internal policy.

SB1564's practical effect for a family is narrower but real. With § 36-420.08 in force since September 12, 2026, once facilities file their disclosures on or before December 1, 2026, a facility's monitoring practices should become a matter of public record through the state health department rather than something a family has to ask about directly. The disclosure also runs in both directions: it covers not only whether a family may install a device, but whether the facility is itself monitoring common spaces or tracking who comes and goes from a resident's room. None of it obliges a facility to say yes to a resident's request.

Audio Recording: Arizona's One-Party Consent Overlay

Arizona is a one-party consent state under A.R.S. § 13-3005, which makes it a class 5 felony to intentionally intercept a wire or electronic communication a person is not a party to, or to intercept an in-person conversation without the consent of a party to it. Because only one party's consent is required, a resident who is personally part of a conversation happening in their own room can generally record audio lawfully, even without staff or roommate consent. A device capturing a conversation the resident is not part of, such as staff members talking to each other, still raises the same one-party consent question that governs any Arizona recording. For the general framework, see Arizona Recording Laws.

Using Camera Footage as Evidence of Abuse or Neglect

Where a facility has permitted a camera as a matter of its own policy, resulting footage can support a report to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program or a civil claim for abuse or neglect. Footage on its own typically does not resolve a claim; it is reviewed together with the resident's medical records, staffing documentation, and care plan.

Getting Help: The Long-Term Care Ombudsman

Arizona's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, part of the Department of Economic Security's Division of Aging and Adult Services, investigates complaints of abuse, neglect, and rights violations in long-term care facilities and can help a family navigate a facility that declines a monitoring request. Reach the program at (602) 542-6454, extension 9, or through des.az.gov/LTCOP.

Related Resources

• Nursing Home Camera Laws by State covers the 18 states with an enacted electronic-monitoring statute and how Arizona's disclosure-only approach differs.
• Arizona Recording Laws covers the state's one-party consent framework for any recorded conversation.
• Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect covers how an abuse or neglect claim works once evidence, including camera footage, is in hand.
• Surveillance Camera Laws by State covers the general legal framework for security and hidden cameras outside a nursing facility setting.

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Last updated: 2026-08-14. Bill status and statute cited reflect their status as of this date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Arizona law let me put a camera in a nursing home room?

No Arizona statute creates that right. A bill that would have authorized it, HB2914, died in the Senate in 2026. Whether a facility allows a camera is a matter of its own policy.

What does Arizona's SB1564 actually do?

SB1564, now A.R.S. § 36-420.08, requires assisted living facilities and nursing care institutions to disclose three things to the Arizona Department of Health Services: whether they allow a resident to install an electronic monitoring device in the resident's room or personal space, whether the facility itself uses electronic monitoring in common spaces, and whether it uses technology that identifies who enters and exits a resident's room. It does not create a right to install one.

Does the Arizona law cover audio devices or only cameras?

Both. Section 36-420.08 defines an electronic monitoring device as any device or technology with a fixed or installed location that captures, records or broadcasts audio or video, so a fixed audio-only device is inside the disclosure requirement just as a camera is.

Why did HB2914 fail?

It passed the House 40-15 in March 2026 but stalled in the Senate after a second reading and committee referral, dying without a vote when the 2026 session ended. Industry opposition from the state's nursing home association has defeated similar bills in prior sessions as well.

Can an Arizona nursing home refuse to let me install a camera?

Yes. There is no statutory right to a self-install camera in Arizona, so a facility can permit, condition, or refuse a request as a matter of its own policy.

Can I record audio in an Arizona nursing home room?

Arizona is a one-party consent state, so a resident who is personally part of a conversation can generally record it lawfully. A device capturing a conversation the resident is not part of raises the same one-party consent question that applies to any Arizona recording.

When did Arizona's monitoring-disclosure requirement take effect?

Section 36-420.08 took effect on September 12, 2026, the general effective date for bills passed in the 2026 regular session, because Chapter 183 carries no emergency clause. Facilities must make their first report to the Arizona Department of Health Services on or before December 1, 2026 or at initial licensure, and the department publishes that information for the public.