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AAA Arizona's Legislative Tracking Report

 

Since its founding in 1927, AAA Arizona has been a leading advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. In this capacity, AAA lobbyists work with the state legislature to ensure that the best interests of our members are served.

AAA Arizona's Legislative Report is intended to provide interested parties with
working summaries of the legislation enacted during the legislative session,
which will have, or potentially have, an impact on transportation related issues.

UPDATED August 14, 2009: Final legislative report from the first regular session of the 49th legislature

NOTE: Below is an overview of the enacted legislation from the first regular session of the 49th Arizona legislature. Unless otherwise specified, the general effective date for legislation enacted during the 2009 legislative session is September 30, 2009.

BILL/TITLE DESCRIPTION

HB2123: License plate commission repeal

Repeals the License Plate Commission and allows for special organization license plates to be combined with personalized special plates if the organization makes the request and pays ADOT the monies necessary to cover the costs to implement the combination.

Provisions:

  1. Repeals the seven-member LPC.
  2. Retains special organization plates approved by the LPC prior to the effective date of the act.
  3. Mandates that the MVD continue to issue special organization plates authorized by the LPC before the effective date of the act.
  4. Allows nonmembers of organizations to purchase special organization license plates upon receipt of a written resolution authorizing such an action from the benefiting
    organization.
  5. Requires the Director to allow a request for a special organization license plate authorized before the effective date of the act to be combined with a request for personalized special plates if the organization makes the request and pays ADOT the costs to implement the combination and the fees for both plates.
  6. Requires ADOT to provide the Joint Legislative Budget Committee a detailed written statement of the implementation costs of the combination for a special organization license plate with personalized special plates after receiving a request from an organization for the combination of plates.
  7. Allows an organization that receives authorization before the effective date of the act to redesign the special organization license plate if the new design is approved by ADOT and the organization pays $32,000 to ADOT to issue the redesigned plate.
  8. Stipulates that eight dollars of the $25 fee for the original special plates and for renewal of special plates is a special plate administration fee and $17 is an annual donation.
  9. States that ADOT must deposit all special plate administration fees in the State Highway Fund and distribute all donations collected pursuant to the act as authorized in a written resolution of the entity that provides $32,000 to ADOT. Further clarifies that the
    organization must use the money for the same purpose as originally approved.

HB2133: Motorcycle safety council

 

Extends the Arizona Motorcycle Safety Advisory Council (Council) through June 30, 2016.

Provisions:

  1. Extends the Council and the mandatory deposits from motorcycle registration fees through June 30, 2016.
  2. Terminates the Council on July 1, 2016.

HB2144: Insurance; actuarial opinions; financial audits

Requires every property and casualty insurance company to file a statement of actuarial opinion.

Provisions:

  1. Removes the requirement that the Director of DOI adopt rules that provide requirements for the filing of annual audited financial statements.
  2. Requires all property and casualty insurance companies doing business in Arizona to file a statement of actuarial opinion made by an appointed actuary with the annual financial statement under the standards set by the NAIC.
  3. Specifies that the statement of actuarial opinion is a public document.

HB 2222:
Special license plates

Creates two new special license plates: the Arizona football club and the emergency medical services special plates. Currently, the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) issues special license plates for a variety of causes and organizations. Of those, there are approximately 37 authorized special
license plates.

Provisions:

  1. Establishes the Arizona Professional Football Club special plate if $32,000 is donated by a charitable organization affiliated with an Arizona professional football club by December 31, 2009.
  2. Establishes a $25.00 fee for the original Arizona Professional Football Club special license plate and for renewal of the special plate. Designates $8 of the fee to be deposited into the State Highway Fund for administration of the special plate and $17 of the fee as an annual donation to the Fund.
  3. Specifies that all monies deposited in the Arizona Professional Football Club Special Plate Fund must be forwarded to the Foundation on an annual basis.
  4. Requires ADOT to issue the Emergency Medical Services special license plate if a charitable organization pays $32,000 to ADOT for its establishment by December 31,
    2014.
  5. Establishes a $25.00 fee for the original Emergency Medical Services special license plate and for renewal of the special plate. Designates $8 of the fee to be deposited
    into the State Highway Fund for administration of the special plate and $17 of the fee as an annual donation to the charitable organization.
  6. Requires the charitable organization that provided the $32,000 to use deposited donations for public purposes related to emergency medical services.

HB 2224:
Mandatory; financial responsibility

Makes changes to the requirements for providing proof of financial responsibility while operating a motor vehicle, including requiring that a person who has a third or subsequent violation within three years for not producing proof of financial responsibility to submit proof of financial responsibility to
ADOT before the driver license, registration and license plates are reinstated.

Provisions:

  1. Requires that a person who has a third or subsequent violation within three years for not producing proof of financial responsibility to submit proof of financial responsibility to ADOT before the driver license, registration and license plates are reinstated.
  2. Modifies the authority of a court to reduce or waive a penalty imposed due to not producing proof of financial responsibility if the person presents proof of not having been in violation of financial responsibility requirements within the past 24 months or has not been in violation more than once in the past 36 months, as evidenced by the person’s driving record, and has purchased a 6-month insurance policy.
  3. Repeals a court’s ability to waive or reduce a penalty if the person is willing to purchase a 6-month insurance policy and does within 30 days after his or her court appearance.
  4. Prescribes that on the receipt of the abstract of the record of judgment, ADOT is required to suspend the driver license of the person and the registration and license
    plate of the motor vehicle without insurance for a certain time allotted, depending on if it is a first, second or third citation.

HB 2388:
STAN; repayment

Requires a city or town to repay monies received from the Statewide Transportation Acceleration Needs (STAN) Account within 15 years after receiving the monies.

Provisions:

  1. Requires a city or town to repay monies received from the RRSCM subaccount within 15 years after receiving the loan.

HB 2396:
Transportation; public-private partnerships

Lists requirements and outlines the provisions for Public-Private Partnerships (P3s).

Provisions:

  1. Outlines provisions ADOT may include in P3s or other agreements for eligible facilities.
  2. Allows ADOT to enter into agreements with a PP for no more than 50 years, which may be extended.
  3. Permits ADOT to grant other units of government the authority to develop P3s.
  4. Exempts a PP with an agreement under this act from state and local ad valorem and property taxes.
  5. Allows a person who operates a vehicle on a roadway to apply for a refund or credit from the state for motor vehicle fuel license taxes, use fuel taxes or motor carrier fees paid while operating a motor vehicle on a roadway constructed or operated pursuant to this act.
  6. Requires that the agreement contain a provision that the PP expressly agrees it is barred from seeking injunctive relief or other equitable relief to delay, prevent or otherwise hinder ADOT from developing or constructing any facility that was unplanned at the time the agreement was executed and that could impact the revenue that the PP might derive from the facility developed. The agreement may provide for reasonable compensation to the PP for the adverse effect on toll revenues or other user fees.
  7. Specifies the agreement must contain a provision that prohibits the use of photo traffic enforcement on toll lanes.
  8. Stipulates that a foreign private entity must submit proof that they meet statutory requirements for foreign corporations to the State Transportation Board, if they enter into an agreement with the ADOT for P3s.
  9. Lists lawful sources of funding for the development and operation of projects.
  10. Permits revenues from the projects, as security for the payment of financing to be pledged, however, this pledge does not represent an obligation from the State.
  11. Allows ADOT to issue toll revenue bonds.
  12. Permits ADOT to accept monies from or enter into agreements with the federal government to carry out this act.
  13. Allows ADOT to accept grants, donations, gifts or other forms of conveyance for purposes of this act.
  14. Grants that eligible facilities may be funded in whole or in part by contributions from parties to a P3 agreement.
  15. Specifies that federal, state and local monies may be combined with private sector monies for any project purposes.
  16. Prescribes that revenue bonds issued are not general obligations of this state and are not secured by or payable from any monies or assets of this state other than what is specifically pledged for the repayment of the bonds.
  17. Requires a proposer to identify trade secrets or confidential commercial, financial or proprietary information that may be exempt from disclosure, if the PP invokes exclusion on submission, identifies data and other materials it seeks to protect, states the reasons protection is necessary and complies with applicable state law with respect to disclosure of information.
  18. Mandates that proposals include an executive summary outlining major elements that do not include the proposers’ price, financing plan or confidential or proprietary information. The executive summary must be subject to release and disclosure to the public.
  19. Allows the State to exercise eminent domain in connection with eligible facilities for P3s.
  20. Specifies procurement requirements for ADOT.
  21. Defines terms.

HB 2426:
Enhanced driver licenses; prohibition

Prohibits Arizona from participating in the implementation of an Enhanced Driver License (EDL) program to comply with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)
or the REAL ID Act of 2005.

Provisions:

  1. Prohibits Arizona from participating in the implementation of an EDL program in order to comply with WHTI or the REAL ID Act of 2005.
  2. Prohibits the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) from implementing an EDL program.
  3. Requires ADOT to report to the Governor and the Legislature any attempt by agencies or agents of DHS to secure the implementation of an EDL program.

 

HB 2480:
Regional transportation authorities; qualifying counties

Allows counties with a population of greater than 200,000 but equal to or less than 400,000 to create a regional transportation authority (RTA).

Provisions:

  1. Allows the Board of Supervisors of a county with a population of 400,000 or less but more than 200,000 to establish a RTA in the county.
  2. Allows counties with a population exceeding 200,000 but no greater than 1.2 million to collect a transportation excise tax for a RTA.
  3. Changes the population requirement to organize an intergovernmental public transportation authority (ITPA) to 200,000 people or less.
  4. States that the growth of a county to more than 200,000 persons does not cause the dissolution of an ITPA.
  5. Charges the treasurer of the Public Transportation Authority Fund (PTAF) with maintaining public transportation funding consisting of monies received from the county transportation excise tax.
  6. Prohibits counties with a population of 400,000 or less but more than 200,000 from levying both a transportation excise tax in and a transportation excise tax for roads.
  7. Stipulates that net revenues for counties with a population of more than 400,000 but less than 1.2 million must be deposited in the RTF.
  8. Mandates that net revenues for counties with a population of more than 200,000 but 400,000 or less must be deposited in the PTAF or the RTF or both.

HB 2530:
Reckless driving; prior convictions

Provides that when applying the 24-month “look-back” provision related to reckless driving, the dates of the commission of the offense must be the determining factor irrespective of the sequence of the offenses.

Provisions:

  1. Requires that the dates of the commission of the offense must be the determining factor, irrespective of the sequence of the offenses, in applying the 24-month “look-back” provision.

SB 1003:
Driving under the influence; methadone

Specifies that persons who drive or are in actual physical control of a vehicle while using a drug as prescribed by a medical practitioner are not guilty of driving under the influence (DUI) as long as they are not otherwise impaired.

Provisions:

  1. States that persons who drive or are in actual physical control of a vehicle while using a drug as prescribed by a medical practitioner are not guilty of driving under the influence as long as they are not otherwise impaired.

SB 1073
Population thresholds; counties

Arizona county population threshold requirements have been adjusted throughout statute.

Provisions:

  1. Increases county population thresholds.
  2. Increases the county population threshold requirements for county attorneys appointed by the Governor to the Automobile Theft Authority: one must be from a county of 2,000,000 or more persons, and; one must be from a county with less than 2,000,000 persons.
  3. Increases the county population threshold requirements for a sheriff appointed by the Governor to the Arizona Department of Homeland Security from between  400,000 and 1,200,000 persons to between 800,000 and 1,500,000 persons.
  4. Removes requirements that county populations be determined by the latest United States decennial census.

SB 1157:
Department of environmental quality; continuation

Continues the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) for five years and requires a legislative committee review of ADEQ by 2011.

Provisions:

  1. Specifies that ADEQ terminates on July 1, 2014.
  2. Repeals provisions related to ADEQ on January 1, 2015.
  3. Contains a purpose provision, which recognizes that ADEQ consolidate and focus responsibility for environmental management and administration of water quality, air quality, solid waste and hazardous waste regulation with the goal of increasing effectiveness, efficiency and public acceptance of environmental regulation.
  4. Requires the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt, or other successor committee with jurisdiction over issues relating to ADEQ and the House of Representatives Environment Committee to hold a hearing to review the status
    of ADEQ in 2011.

Effective date: July 1, 2009

SB 1168:
Storage; firearms; motor vehicles

Prohibits property owners, tenants, employers and businesses from prohibiting the storage or transport of lawfully possessed firearms in locked and privately-owned vehicles parked in a parking lot, parking garage, or other designated parking area.

 

Provisions:

  1. Prohibits a property owner, tenant, public or private employer or business entity from establishing, maintaining or enforcing a policy that prohibits a person  from lawfully transporting or storing any firearm that is both in the person’s locked and privately owned motor vehicle or in a locked compartment, on the person’s privately owned motorcycle and/or not visible from the outside of the motor vehicle or motorcycle.
  2. The prohibition does not apply if the possession of the firearm is prohibited by federal or state law, the motor vehicle is owned or leased by a public or private employer or business entity, unless the employee is required to have a firearm for their official duties or the
    employer or business entity allows the employee to have the firearm, property owners, tenants, public or private employers or businesses that provide a parking lot, parking garage or other area designated for parking motor vehicles that: is secured by a fence or other physical barrier; limits access by a guard or other security measure; provides temporary and secure firearm storage; and, allows for the immediate retrieval of the firearm on exit from the premises. Property owners, tenants, public or private employers or businesses that provide alternate parking in a location reasonably proximate to the primary parking area and do not charge a fee for such parking. Nuclear Generating stations that: have a secured and gated or fenced parking lot, parking garage or other area designated for parking motor vehicles; and provide temporary and secure firearm storage. Parking lots, parking garages or other areas designated for parking motor vehicles that are on an owner or tenant occupied single-family detached residence. Department of Defense contractors located in whole or in part on a U.S. military installation.
  3. Includes legislative findings.

SB 1169:
Vehicle impoundment; administrative towing fund

Requires operators of tow trucks to have a bond. Establishes the Capitol Police Administrative Towing Fund (Fund) and provides that administrative charges collected must be deposited into the Fund.

Provisions:

  1. Specifies a person may not operate a tow truck for the purpose of towing vehicles without obtaining a bond.
  2. Establishes the Fund and requires the Department of Administration to administer the Fund.
  3. Provides that monies in the Fund are continuously appropriated and exempt from the lapsing of appropriations.
  4. Allows money in the Fund to be used for law enforcement activities by the Capitol Police Department.
  5. Prohibits administrative charges relating to vehicle immobilization or impoundment from being assessed to a towing company that performs removal, immobilization, impoundment, storage or release of a vehicle and requires that the administrative charges be deposited into the Fund.
  6. Requires a person who has knowledge and custody of a vehicle that is either lost, stolen, abandoned or otherwise unclaimed to submit and electronic abandoned vehicle report to the Director of the Arizona Department of Transpiration (Director) on a form
    prescribed by the Director.

Effective date: Sept. 30, 2009, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2008

SB 1180:
Towing companies; release of vehicles

 

States new requirements for towing cars that have been involved in an accident.

Provisions:

  1. Requires a towing company to release a towed vehicle to a person designated in writing by an insurance company on the day the request is given to the towing company.
  2. Provides that a vehicle owner or their designee may inspect a vehicle, remove personal property from the vehicle and report any damage to the vehicle to the towing company at the time of inspection when a notice is provided and witnessed by a third party to the
    towing company.
  3. Prohibits a towing company from requiring payment for the removal of personal property inside a vehicle during normal business hours.
  4. Requires a towing company, after an insurance company has made a request for a release of vehicle and before payment is made for the release, to provide the insurance company with a detailed written statement at no cost, of all charges for towing, storage and related fees.
  5. Specifies that at the time a towing company or operator of a towing vehicle provides information to an individual about a vehicle repair facility to inform the individual of their right to choose any vehicle repair facility and any relationship between the ownership of the towing company and the vehicle repair facility.
  6. Prohibits a towing company from towing or transporting a vehicle from its lot without prior permission from the vehicle owner or their insurance company. The towing company may move a vehicle between their storage lots; however, they may not charge the vehicle owner for any fees associated with moving a vehicle between storage lots.
  7. States the provisions only apply to tows resulting from motor vehicle accidents.

SB 1185:
Conformity; internal revenue code

Arizona withholding tax rates have been decoupled from the federal withholding rates.

Provisions:

  1. Decouples Arizona’s withholding rates from federal withholding rates as of July 1, 2010.
  2. Requires DOR to develop withholding tables and submit them to the JLBC by March 15, 2010.
  3. Removes the definition of “IRC” for tax year 1998.

Effective date: April 9, 2009

SB 1289:
Vehicle accident reports

Allows the release of personal identifying information contained in vehicle accident reports on request by a person involved in an accident, a licensed insurer of a person involved in an accident, or an attorney representing a person involved in an accident.

Provisions:

  1. Requires the agency employing a law enforcement officer or public employee who investigates a motor vehicle accident to immediately forward a copy of the report to the Arizona Department of Transportation for its use, provide a copy of the unredacted report on request and except as a person who is involved in the accident or the owner of a vehicle, involved in the accident or a representative of the person or owner, any licensed insurer if the report is related to an investigation into fraudulent claims or any insurer that writes automobile liability or motor vehicle liability policies and that is both under the jurisdiction of the Department of Insurance, an insurance support organization, or a self insured entity or its agents, and is an insurer of a person or vehicle involved in the accident, an attorney licensed to practice law or to a licensed private investigator representing a person involved in the accident in connection with any
    civil, administrative or arbitration proceeding in any court or government agency or before any self-regulatory body, including the service of process, investigation in anticipation of litigation, and the execution or enforcement of judgments and orders or a court order.
  2. States that if a request is made for an unredacted report by a person involved in or an attorney of a person involved in an accident and the accident report indicates that a criminal complaint has been issued, any personal identifying information regarding the victim must be redacted from the accident report before it is released pursuant to statute regarding a victim’s right to privacy.
  3. Allows a law enforcement agency to deny a request for a copy of an unredacted accident report if the agency determines that release of the report would be harmful to a criminal investigation.
  4. Specifies that any law restricting the distribution of personal identifying information by a business entity relating to licensed insurers applies to personal identifying information contained in an accident report.
  5. Stipulates that if a person who receives information relating to an accident report is not otherwise subject to distribution restrictions for information contained, the person cannot release the report or any information contained in the report except to the person involved in the accident, a licensed insurer of a person involved in an accident, and an attorney representing a person involved in the accident.

Effective date: July 13, 2009

SB 1293:
Certificates of title; electronic system

Requires the Director of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to mandate the recording of certificates of title for newly issued, transferred and corrected certificates through electronic media.

Provisions:

  1. Requires, rather than allows, the recording of vehicle title information for newly issued, transferred and corrected certificates of title through electronic media in lieu of the submission and maintenance of paper documents.
  2. Removes the provisions relating to the Director’s ability to limit the number of lending institutions and sales finance companies participating in the System and the Director’s ability to expand the System.
  3. Specifies that the electronic requirement does not pertain to certificates of title for mobile homes.

Effective date: June 1, 2010

SB 1320:
Omnibus; ADOT

Makes changes to various statutes that are regulated by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).

Provisions:

  1. Requires ADOT to develop procedures in accordance with federal law to monitor the impact that single occupancy vehicles have on the operation of the HOV lanes.
  2. Stipulates that if an HOV lane becomes degraded due to the authorization of single occupancy vehicles, use of the lane while it remains degraded is restricted to vehicles in the following priority: passenger vehicles with two or more occupants, public transit buses, buses with two or more occupants, motorcycles, alternative fuel vehicles and low emission and energy efficient vehicles (LEEVs).
  3. Removes the ability for a person to drive a hybrid vehicle with alternative fuel vehicle special plates, or an alternative fuel vehicle sticker, and a hybrid vehicle sticker in HOV lanes at any time, regardless of occupancy level, without penalty.
  4. Stipulates that a person, who owns a motor vehicle that has been converted or manufactured to use an alternative fuel, and that is incapable of operating on any other type of fuel, must apply for alternative fuel vehicle special plates.
  5. Removes the ability for a person who owns a hybrid vehicle to apply for alternative fuel vehicle special plates.
  6. Creates the LEEV special plate, if approved by the federal government, to be designed by the Director of ADOT (Director) and administered in a manner similar to the alternative fuel vehicle special plate and allows a person who owns an LEEV to apply for the LEEV special plate.
  7. Permits persons that operate LEEVs and have the LEEV special plate, upon approval of the federal government, that achieve not less than 50% increase in city fuel economy or not less than 25% increase in combined city-highway fuel economy in accordance with federal law to drive in HOV lanes at any time, regardless of occupancy level, without penalty.
  8. Requires ADOT to limit or suspend the issuance of alternative fuel vehicle and LEEV special plates and remove the privilege of operating in the HOV lane with a single occupant, including the driver, to comply with requirements related to degraded HOV lanes
  9. Decreases the minimum height requirement for headlamps on motor vehicles from 24 to 22 inches from the ground.
  10. Increases the maximum height requirement for tail lamps on motor vehicles from 60 to 72 inches from the ground.
  11. Allows a court to require a driver of a commercial motor vehicle that requires a commercial driver license (CDL) to attend defensive driving school as part of a sentence for a moving violation, but stipulates the driver is not eligible for the defensive driving diversion program.
  12. Extends the period a commercial driver is prohibited from driving from 90 to 180 days if the person is found responsible for a first violation of an out-of-service order.
  13. Raises the court’s requirement to impose a civil penalty from at least $1,100 to $2,500 for a driver who violates or fails to comply with an out-of-service order for an initial violation or failure and removes the maximum initial violation fee.
  14. Increases the period a commercial driver is prohibited from driving from one year to two years if the person is found responsible for a second violation of any out-of-service order during any 10 year period arising from separate incidents.
  15. Requires the court to impose a civil penalty of $5,000 for a subsequent violation or failure to comply with an out-of-service order.
  16. Increases the maximum civil penalty from $11,000 to $25,000 for a motor carrier who violates an out-of-service order or who requires or permits a driver to violate or fail to comply with an out-of-service order.
  17. Allows ADOT, on or after September 26, 2008, to privatize any rest area to: establish a State Certified Rest Area Program (SCRAP) that meets the Federal
    Highway Administration’s requirements and contract with a third party or other government entity to certify and recertify rest areas for SCRAP.
  18. Allows ADOT to establish a Rest Area Sponsorship Program (RASP).
  19. Permits ADOT to contract with a third party to install, maintain and replace rest area sponsorship signs at rest areas located in the public right-of-way of the interstate or state highway system.
  20. Clarifies that costs incurred under RASP must be paid under agreements negotiated between the third party and the business or organizational sponsors.
  21. Allows ADOT to enter into a revenue sharing agreement with the third party and requires
    ADOT to deposit all monies received from the revenue sharing agreement in a subaccount of the State Highway Fund for the purpose of rest area maintenance,
    operations and repairs.
  22. Terminates SCRAP and RASP on July 1, 2019.
  23. Modifies the penalty for obscuring this state’s name to a secondary civil violation and establishes a civil penalty of $30 for this violation.
  24. Creates a penalty of $100 if a second violation takes place within twelve months of the first violation.
  25. Establishes the Arizona Professional Football Club (APFC) special plate if $32,000 is donated by a charitable organization affiliated with an Arizona  professional football club by December 31, 2009.
  26. Establishes the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) special license plate if a charitable organization pays $32,000 to ADOT by December 31, 2014.
  27. Requires the entities providing the $32,000 for the APFC and EMS plates to design their respective special plates, subject to approval by ADOT.
  28. Establishes a $25.00 fee for the original APFC or EMS special license plate and for renewal of the special plate.
  29. Designates $8.00 of the fee for the APFC special license plate to be deposited into the State Highway Fund (SHF) and $17 of the fee as an annual donation to the APFC Special Plate Fund (APFC Fund), to be administered by the Director.
  30. Designates that $8.00 of the fee for the EMS special license place be deposited into the SHF and $17 of the fee as an annual donation to the charitable organization that designed the place to use for public purposes related to emergency medical services.
  31. Redirects monies from the Gold Star Family special license plate subaccount in the Veteran’s Donation Fund for the construction and maintenance of the Enduring Freedom Memorial.
  32. Eliminates the commercial registration fee for a trailer or semi trailer, if the applicant affirms that the trailer is not used for commercial enterprise.
  33. Allows non-commercial trailers between six and ten thousand pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW) to pay a one-time registration fee for permanent registration and a onetime VLT.
  34. Specifies that a trailer weighing less than 10,000 GVW is not eligible for the $8 GVW fee.
  35. Clarifies that the dates of the commission of multiple offenses of reckless driving, irrespective of when the offenses were committed, must be the determining factor when considering if they were committed within a 24 month period for the purposes of sentencing.
  36. Allows, rather than requires, the Transportation Board to prescribe rules for the effective administration of its powers, duties and responsibilities.
  37. Removes the requirement for the Director to adopt rules for the application and expenditure of all public transit monies.
  38. Repeals section 28-952.01 requiring ADOT to adopt rules regarding brake fluid standards.
  39. Repeals Title 28, Chapter 6, Article 1 relating to the vehicle equipment safety compact.
  40. Repeals A.R.S. § 28-6994 that requires the Director of ADOT to adopt rules for the expenditure of monies in the SHF.
  41. Removes the requirement for the Director to adopt rules for closing state highways under repair or construction.
  42. Requires a court to transmit abstracts of records of photo radar civil traffic violations to ADOT for commercial driver license holders only.
  43. Exempts a vehicle in use by a first responder in the line of duty from any enforcement action or measure resulting from photo enforcement. A first responder is an emergency service person who responds to emergencies or large-scale disasters.
  44. Changes the definition of implement of husbandry to include that “incidentally operated or moving on a highway” means travel between a farm and another part of the same farm; from one farm to another farm; or a farm and a place of repair, supply or storage
    and defines farm.
  45. Allows drivers of implements of husbandry to driver slower than is reasonable if the speed exceeds the maximum safe operating speed of the vehicle; and allows the driver to drive slower than the reasonable flow of traffic if the speed exceeds the maximum
    safe operating speed.
  46. Exempts implements of husbandry from immobilization and impoundment if driven by a non licensed driver.
  47. Makes changes to the Arizona International Development Authority, including: amending
    definitions, removing the Arizona Department of Commerce as the agency that supports the AIDA and instead requires ADOT to provide support staff, and making changes to board members and board terms.
  48. Adds a definition of border regional port authority, which is a nonprofit entity based in a county in Arizona within 62 miles of the Arizona-Mexico border and in Mexico within six miles of the border. Its purpose is to promote trade and commerce in the border area by
    improving facilities and traffic flow at international ports of entry and to promote a membership that reflects a broad cross-section of local government, industry, commerce and the community.
  49. Terminates AIDA on July 1, 2019.
  50. Requires escort vehicle operators to receive training and certification before being employed into service. Escort vehicles are vehicles that are required, pursuant to rules adopted by ADOT, to escort motor vehicles or combinations of vehicles that require issuance of a permit to operate on highways.
  51. Requires escort vehicle operators to have a minimum of four hours of training in certified traffic control techniques.
  52. Stipulates that certification from another state is permitted, if that other state recognizes Arizona’s training and certification.
  53. Requires the county board of supervisors, for county highways, and the governing board or its designee of a city or town, for streets, to mark locations where school children are required to cross.
  54. Requires the school to remove portable signs within one hour after the school session ends or pursuant to an agreement with a city or town.
  55. Requires, in addition to portable signs indicating school is in session, school authorities to place school crossings signs that indicate the driver must stop when children are in the crosswalk to not pass.
  56. Allows heavy duty vehicles equipped with an IRT to exceed the gross per-axle or axle group weight limit by no more than four hundred pounds or the weight of the IRT, whichever is less.
  57. Requires the heavy duty operator to prove by written certification the weight of the IRT if requested and to prove by demonstration or certification that the IRT is functional.
  58. Prescribes that heavy duty vehicle and idle reduction technology have the same meaning as found in 42 U.S.C. §16104(a).
  59. Requires a city or town to repay monies received from the Roads of Regional Significance Congestion Mitigation subaccount of the State Transportation Acceleration Needs Account within 15 years after receiving the loan.
  60. Allows a city or town to construct, operate and finance the construction of toll roads within the corporate limits. Permits local authorities to create public transportation stops on state highways or routes if the speed limit does not exceed 55 miles per hour.
  61. Allows ADOT to include price competition as part of the selection criteria in a request for qualifications (RFQ) selection process for a construction-manager-at-risk contract.
  62. Federal stimulus monies must be the source of funding for a construction project and price competition. These provisions apply if the RFQ is issued by ADOT before January 1, 2015, and are repealed on October 1, 2015.
  63. Allows Arizona to use its existing procurement methods to apply for American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funding under these methods and repeals on
    December 31, 2014.
  64. Allows the Director to assess a fee for each electronic payment that has been dishonored because of insufficient monies, payments stopped or closed accounts and requires that the fee be determined by the Director. The fee must be deposited into the State Highway Fund.
  65. States that the Director may require an interstate user or applicant to post a surety or cash bond and specifies requirements for the bonds.
  66. Changes the formula for determining the amount available for grants in the State Aviation Fund by specifying that the total amount of grant monies available in any fiscal year shall be based on the average annual revenue received for the past three years.
  67. Establishes the Joint Legislative Review Committee on Transportation Between Sonora, Mexico and Arizona and outlines the Committee membership and requirements.
  68. Makes changes to manufacturer license plate requirements.

SB 1322:
Unemployment insurance; benefits

Temporarily provides 13 to 20 weeks of additional unemployment benefits to workers who exhaust their regular benefits in a time of high unemployment.

Provisions:

  1. Extends the period a worker can collect EB unemployment compensation to a maximum of 13 weeks when the TUR equals or exceeds 6.5 percent over a three-month period
    and increases by 10 percent in a corresponding three-month period over the past two calendar years in this state.
  2. Extends the period a worker can collect EB compensation to a maximum of 20 weeks when the state experiences a “high-unemployment period” rate that equals or exceeds
    eight percent.
  3. Establishes that the 100 percent federally funded EB eligibility time period starts on February 1, 2009, and terminates one month before the federal benefits expire or the week ending December 12, 2009, whichever is later.
  4. Specifies that unemployed workers exhaust their EUC payment eligibility before EB availability so that unemployed workers and the state receive the maximum
    reimbursement for federally funded EUC payments.

Effective date: April 24, 2009

SB 1420:
Juvenile adjudication; diversion

Modifies statues that involve juvenile DUI laws and drug and alcohol restrictions for minors.

Provisions:

  1. Specifies, for a juvenile who commits an offense involving the purchase, possession or consumption of spirituous liquor or a drug violation, the juvenile’s ineligibility to
    participate in either a juvenile court diversion program if the juvenile has previously participated in a diversion program within 12 months of the commission of the alleged offense or a city or town diversion program if the juvenile has previously participated in a diversion program within 24 months before the date of the commission of the current offense.
  2. Removes authorization from the presiding judge of the juvenile court for approving matters heard by a juvenile hearing officer. Requires notice to the presiding judge of the juvenile court in these matters for diversion programs established by the city or town attorney or the prosecutor.
  3. Requires, beginning January 1, 2011, a municipal attorney or prosecutor or law enforcement agency that establishes or conducts a diversion or community based alternative program to report the citation number and the name and date of birth of the juveniles who participate in the program to the juvenile court in a format approved by the
    presiding judge of the juvenile court.
  4. Adds, to the list of conditions for probation not to exceed one year, that the juvenile’s parents have not requested the court to continue the juvenile’s probation for more than one year.
  5. Allows the court to order random drug and alcohol testing at least two times per week as a condition of probation if the juvenile is adjudicated delinquent for an offense involving the purchase, possession, or consumption of liquor or drug offense.
  6. States that a juvenile is in violation of probation if the juvenile is subject to random drug and alcohol testing as a condition of probation and consumes liquor or uses drugs while on probation.
  7. Requires a juvenile who commits a third or subsequent violation of a condition of probation to be brought before the juvenile court to either revoke the juvenile’s probation
    and hold a disposition hearing or select conditions of probation, including additional drug or alcohol testing.
  8. Increases from 24 hours to 10 consecutive days the period a juvenile who is adjudicated delinquent for first offense DUI must be detained in a juvenile detention center as a condition of probation. The judge may suspend all 10 days of the sentence if the juvenile completes alcohol or other drug screening.
  9. Increases from 30 consecutive days to not less than 90 consecutive days the period a juvenile who is adjudicated delinquent for a second offense DUI must be detained in a
    juvenile detention center as a condition of probation. The judge may suspend all but 30 consecutive days of the sentence if the juvenile completes alcohol or other drug
    screening.
  10. Eliminates the ability of the court to detain the juvenile in ADJC for a second DUI offense.

 

 

 

 

 

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