Matt Heinz

Matt Heinz was an Arizona doctor and state legislator who was the first signer and prime sponsor of HB 2545. The legislation was primarily concerned with the long-term handling of dismissed complaints by health profession regulatory boards.

The legislation was endorsed by the Arizona Dental Association and Arizona Medical Association and was likely intended to benefit their membership. However, as the legislation applied to all health professional licensing boards, it would have affected public records access with the state veterinary board. Most versions of the legislation would likely have prevented sites such as ours from even existing; as the veterinary board dismisses nearly 80% of complaints outright, four in five records would have been deemed unsuitable for public viewing.

As initially introduced by Heinz and cosponsor Lynne Pancrazi, the legislation would have removed all information regarding dismissed complaints from a health professional's file with the state. Subsequent versions of the bill were explicitly written to remove any dismissed complaints from the public record entirely.

Thankfully, at some point in what passes for the political process, a compromise position was reached: Dismissed complaints would still be available in the public record, but would be forbidden from being posted on any government website.

Heinz no longer serves in the Arizona legislature, instead serving on the Pima County Board of Supervisors.