STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – The Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday passed House Bill 2772, sponsored by State Representative Khyl Powell, to make medical directive information easier to recognize in an emergency. The bill passed 49-2 with strong bipartisan support and now moves to the Senate.

HB 2772 allows Arizonans to indicate on their driver license or nonoperating identification card that they have a qualifying health care directive, including a prehospital medical care directive. The bill also replaces Arizona’s outdated medical code framework with a clearer medical indicator for people with qualifying adverse medical conditions.

The measure gives first responders, medical personnel, families, and others a clearer way to identify time-sensitive medical information while requiring license holders to confirm at renewal that the information remains current.

“HB 2772 protects a person’s right to have lawful medical choices recognized when every second matters,” said Representative Powell. “If someone has taken the time to make these decisions with family and medical professionals, the state should not make those wishes harder to find. For someone with a valid directive, this could be the difference between their wishes being honored or missed.”

The bill strengthens a right already recognized under Arizona law by giving people a practical way to carry that information with them.

“An orange form sitting on a refrigerator at home does no good if the emergency happens somewhere else,” Representative Powell said. “This bill puts that information where it can actually be seen.”

HB 2772 also extends liability protections for good-faith reliance on the indicator and states legislative intent for the Arizona Department of Transportation to coordinate with the Arizona health care directives registry and improve public awareness.

Khyl Powell is a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives serving Legislative District 14 in Gilbert. He serves as Vice Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.