[California Globe] Former Arizona Senate Majority Leader Janae Shamp (R—LD29) has prefiled legislation that would direct the state’s health agency to study what the bill describes as "Trump Derangement Syndrome," framing the proposal as a public health research initiative amid heightened political polarization.
| What fun! To be fair, President Trump endorsed her when she first ran for office in 2022, beating out both the incumbent Republican and the Democrat, so she’d know a good deal about the subject. I can’t imagine the bill will go anywhere, now that the other party is in charge, but it will be good for publicity and campaigning. |
Sen. Shamp announced the introduction of SB 1070 on Tuesday, according to a release from her office and a statement posted by the Arizona Senate Republican Caucus.
According to the bill summary provided by Shamp’s office, SB 1070 would authorize the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) to conduct research into the psychological, social, and behavioral effects of what the legislation labels Trump Derangement Syndrome, or TDS. The study would examine factors, including media exposure and political polarization, and would involve consultation with mental-health professionals.
Shamp’s office described the bill as a response to what it characterizes as increasing political hostility and deteriorating public discourse. The legislation’s findings section, as summarized in the release, states that extreme political polarization threatens national unity and public well-being, and designates TDS as a public health concern requiring formal study.
The release asserts that the legislation is intended to analyze the origins and effects of political fixation on President Donald Trump and to develop strategies to reduce social division. Those characterizations reflect the sponsor’s stated rationale and are not based on findings from any completed study.
The press release also cites a series of policy outcomes attributed to Trump’s presidency as context for the legislation, including that the administration eliminated 22 federal regulations for every new rule issued in 2017, resulting in an estimated $33 billion in annual savings by 2018; that Trump-era economic policies led to the creation of 671,000 jobs nationwide; and that federal revenues produced a reported $27.2 billion Treasury surplus by July 2025.
The release further references Trump’s issuance of more than 200 executive actions following his return to office on January 20, 2025, including enactment of the Laken Riley Act, which supporters say strengthened border security.
In a statement included with the announcement, Shamp said the legislation is intended to address what she described as the mental-health and public safety consequences of extreme political obsession.
"We can no longer ignore the dangerous fallout of extreme political obsessions that are detrimentally impacting mental health and the safety of our citizens. I’m sponsoring this bill to confront reality, not play politics," said Senator Shamp.
"When extreme political fixation begins to distort judgment, damage relationships, and destabilize our communities, the government has a responsibility to seek facts and understanding. This bill draws a clear line: we must protect mental health, restore reason to our public discourse, and put the well-being of our state ahead of outrage and division."
As of Tuesday, SB 1070 had been prefiled but will not receive a committee hearing assignment until the opening of the legislature on Monday, January 12, 2026. Full bill text and legislative tracking information are expected to be published on the Arizona Legislature’s website as the measure progresses.
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