Although there are not any bills before the legislature in Arizona that would directly affect UTA members, the following legislation is of interest:

HB2443 in connection with Beneficiary Deeds would require the owners to provide additional instructions for when the grantee predeceases the owner; either make the conveyance null and void or convey the deed to the grantee’s estate.

HCR 2044 is a referendum measure that prescribes penalties for employers who fail to comply with specific employment laws, establishes an Immigration Ombudsman Citizens’ Aide to receive complaints and provide immigration information to employers, requires an applicant for any license received from a state agency/political subdivision to provide a signed affirmation that the applicant has complied with all federal and state laws regarding the authorization for employment in the US for all employees of the applicant, prohibits an agency or political subdivision from issuing a license to any applicant who fails to submit the signed affirmation and expands the forgery statutes to include falsely making written instruments used to establish identity for obtaining employment in the US

HB2577 enacts the Fair and Legal Employment Act, which makes various changes to the state law regarding the employment of unauthorized workers. Appropriates $100,000 and one FTE position from the state General Fund in FY 2006-2007 to the Ombudsman-Citizens Aide (OCA) for the purpose of the Immigration OCA.

SB1007 and SB1008 proposes several revisions of laws dealing with homeowners associations. Before an HOA may take action against an owner, a written notice of the violation and description of the appeals process must be provided to the owner. The owner has ten days to respond. The HOA then has ten days to respond by providing specifics, including the name of the person that witnessed the violation. Foreclosure is available only if amount due exceeds $1200 or payments are delinquent for at least one year. The dollar amount limit excludes any amount assessed for collection fees, attorney fees, or costs associated with the delinquent assessments.

New Requirement to Destroy Paper Records Containing Full Account Numbers. A new law requires as a practical matter that paper records containing full account numbers be shredded or destroyed. The new law prohibits the discarding or disposal of paper records that contain a persons’ first initial or first name and last name, along with any of the following account numbers shown in full: Social Security Number; credit card, charge card, or debit card number; retirement account number; savings, checking, or securities account number; or drivers’ license number, (HB 2484, Chapter 208, 2006 Laws). Exemptions exist for companies subject to the following federal laws: Gramm Leach Bliley Act, HIPAA, or the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The paper records of foreclosure trustees often include some of these account numbers in full. Companies with offices in Arizona should take care to comply with the new law that becomes effective September 30, 2006.

Complete copies of the bills can be obtained at www.azleg.state.az.us

RInformation provided by Jane Myrick, Security Title Agency and Rex C. Anderson of the Law Office of Rex C. Anderson. Jane can be reached via email at jmyrick@securitytitle.com and Rex can be reached at rca@rcalaw-az.com

For previous Arizona articles, click here.