A LOOK AT 10 OF ARIZ.’S 201 NEW LAWS
The Arizona Legislature has passed and Gov. Jan Brewer has signed into law 201 pieces of legislation so far this session.
Most of the laws go into effect 90 days after the session ends. There is no end date yet scheduled, so the exact effective date is still unknown.
Here are some of the new laws:
Charter schools: Allows charter schools that have been awarded an A letter grade by the state for three consecutive years to seek an exemption from certain state regulations. Teacher dismissals: Makes various changes to procedures a district must follow when dismissing a teacher, including requiring districts to evaluate every teacher at least once a year and eliminating the requirement that a school board give a teacher written
notice at least 90 days in advance.
Teacher contracts: Allows a school board to send and receive employee contracts in an electronic format and accept electronic signatures on those contracts.
Nuisance cotton: Makes changes to regulations involving the Arizona Department of Agriculture plowing up nuisance cotton, and costs surrounding any actions. Disability tags: Allows the Arizona Department of Transportation to issue up to three removable windshield tags for disabled people to a non-profit organization that serves seniors. Insurance policies: Allows insurers to post property and casualty insurance policies online instead of mailing a copy to customers as long as it does not contain personal information. Insurance licenses: Adds new continu-
ing-education requirements for insurance license holders, including ethics training.
Benefit corporations: Creates a new business incorporation option called a benefit corporation for corporations that create a positive impact on society; sets up rules for such a corporation. Goes into effect Jan. 1, 2015. Planned communities: In order to be subject to guidelines for plan reviews, security deposits and reporting requirements, a building project must be new construction or a rebuild of the main home in a planned community that has enacted architectural guidelines. Requires the homeowners association charge a security deposit. Flood-control penalties: Allows floodcontrol districts to issue non-monetary penalties against an individual who violates flood-control district statutes.