Arizona SCR 1048: public; private nuisance; marijuana smoke

Bill Text

SCR1048 - 572R - S Ver 

 Senate Engrossed

 public; private 
 nuisance; marijuana smoke

 State of Arizona

 Senate

 Fifty-seventh Legislature

 Second Regular Session

 2026

 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
 1048

A 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

enacting and ordering the submission to 
the people of a MEASURE relating to nuisances.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House 
of Representatives concurring:

1. Under the power of the referendum, as vested in 
the Legislature, the following measure, relating to nuisances, is enacted to 
become valid as a law if approved by the voters and on proclamation of the 
Governor:

AN ACT

amending title 12, 
chapter 7, article 12, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 12-991.01; amending section 
13-2917, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to nuisances.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of 
the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 12, chapter 7, article 12, 
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 12-991.01, to read:

START_STATUTE12-991.01. Excessive marijuana odor; interference; nuisance; failure to comply; 
violation; classification; definition

A. Excessive 
marijuana smoke or odor that crosses a property boundary and substantially and 
unreasonably interferes with the use and enjoyment of nearby private property 
constitutes a private nuisance. Lawful possession or use of marijuana does not 
preclude a finding of nuisance under this section, except that a court may 
consider as a mitigating factor possession of a valid marijuana registry 
identification card as defined in section 36-2801.

B. A person is not liable under 
this section unless the person has received notice of the interference and 
fails to abate it within five days.

C. An affected property owner or 
resident may seek injunctive relief, compensatory damages for loss of use and 
enjoyment, costs and reasonable attorney fees and other equitable relief the 
court deems appropriate.

D. This section does not preempt a 
local ordinance that is more protective of private property rights.� If a city, 
town or county has adopted an ordinance regulating excessive marijuana smoke or 
odor, an affected property owner or resident shall first file a complaint with 
the local jurisdiction before filing an action under this section. If the local 
jurisdiction declines to act or does not take final action within thirty days 
after the complaint is filed, the affected property owner or resident may bring 
an action in justice court.� This section does not preclude a homeowners' 
association or condominium association from taking action against a property 
owner.

E. A person commits failure to 
comply with a marijuana smoke nuisance abatement order if both of the following 
exist:

1. A court of competent 
jurisdiction or a city, town or county acting under lawful authority has issued 
a written order directing the person to abate excessive marijuana smoke or odor 
that constitutes a nuisance pursuant to this section or an applicable local 
ordinance.

2. The person knowingly violates or 
refuses to comply with the order is served.

F. Each day a violation continues 
after the order constitutes a separate offense.

G. Failure to comply with a 
marijuana smoke nuisance abatement order is a petty offense.

H. For the purposes of this 
section, "excessive marijuana smoke or odor" means airborne emissions 
resulting from the burning, heating or vaporizing of marijuana or marijuana 
products that both:

1. Are detectable by a reasonable 
person of ordinary sensibilities on other private property.

2. Occur for more than thirty 
consecutive minutes on a single occasion or on three or more separate days 
within a thirty-day period.END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 13-2917, Arizona Revised 
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE13-2917. Public nuisance; abatement; presumption; classification

A. It is a public nuisance, and is no less a 
nuisance because the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted is unequal, 
for anything:

1. To be injurious to health, indecent, offensive 
to the senses or an obstruction to the free use of property that interferes 
with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property by an entire community or 
neighborhood or by a considerable number of persons.

2. To unlawfully obstruct the free passage or use, 
in the customary manner, of any navigable lake, river, bay, stream, canal or 
basin, or any public park, square, street or highway.

B. It is a public nuisance for any person to sell, 
offer to sell, transfer, trade or disseminate any obscene 
item which is obscene as defined in section 13-3501, within two thousand feet, measured in a straight line, 
of the nearest boundary line of any of the following:

1. Any building used as a private or public 
elementary or high school.

2. Any public park.

3. Any residence district as defined in section 28-101.

C. The county attorney, the attorney general or 
the city attorney