HB2540 Summary

• Amends Arizona Revised Statutes Section 46-451 to add a statutory definition of "emotional abuse" as a pattern of ridiculing, demeaning, verbally harassing, or threatening physical or emotional harm to a vulnerable adult.

• Adds "emotional abuse" as a category of abuse under the vulnerable adult protection laws, alongside existing protections for physical harm, negligence, confinement, and sexual abuse.

• Reorganizes and renumbers the definitional provisions in Section 46-451 to accommodate the new emotional abuse definition while maintaining existing protections for vulnerable adults.

• Updates statutory language for clarity, including correcting references to the withdrawal of services and improving grammatical phrasing throughout the section.