As you probably know, spring is not just spring, but also my favorite season of the year, parliamentary season. I love chasing bills on Capitol Hill.
It's like part of a bouncing ball ends up over (or under) the fence, never to be seen again. Our wonderful Congress. Sen. Borrelli, Rep. Biasiucci, and Rep. Gillette have worked hard to advance legislation that supports everything from homeownership, election integrity, government policy, and most importantly, conduct fraud. Ta.
This year, I will focus on deed fraud. This is a subject that should be of great interest to all of us. It's a concern that we as property owners need to be very diligent about. A little more than a year ago, the Assessor's Department announced the “Assessor Address Protection Program” (AAPP). We are pleased to share that the success of this program exceeded our expectations. Not only has the AAPP attracted significant public participation, it has also been recognized by the Secretary of State's Office as a proactive approach to combating deed fraud. As a result of this recognition, I was invited to join the Secretary of State's Deed Fraud Coalition. This honor has allowed me to help address the many holes in the system that enable fraud.
With Rep. Gillette's support, we have passed several bills that we hope will receive approval from the Governor.
HB2581 – Physical Presence Bill Defines Arizona Residence. Believe it or not, there was never a definition of what it takes to become an official Arizona resident. This bill would help the Assessor's Office with rental accounting, the Vehicle Registration Department, and even voter registration. The bill passed the House of Representatives on February 28th and was sent to the Senate.
HB2588- This bill, related to notaries and sponsored by the Secretary of State's Office, requires a thumbprint not only of the person being notarized, but also of the notary himself. It turns out that the notary's identity has been stolen and the thumbprint is needed because criminals can obtain identification documents so sophisticated that even the notary can't tell them apart from a fake. The bill passed the House of Representatives and was sent to the Senate on February 22nd.
HB2409 – In connection with transfers and deeds, this bill required all withdrawal claims and beneficiary deeds to be signed in person. Unfortunately, lawyers and lobbyists killed this bill. Representative Gillette and I will continue to promote this requirement next year.
HB2405 – Grace period for damaged property. The bill, proposed by Coconino County, would allow property owners who lost their homes to fire, flood, or natural disasters to have more time (5 years) to rebuild before reclassification. The bill passed the House of Representatives on February 22 and was sent to the Senate.
As you can see, Congressional season can be exciting and sometimes disappointing. You can't win everything, but the trick is to not give up and try again to address all concerns and hope for a winner next year. For reference, it took over 8 years for the Arizona Assessor to pass the Veterans Bill to help with property taxes… 8 years is too long to especially help Arizona Veterans, but it finally passed last year it was done. There's always give and take with bills, and sometimes that's the only way to cross the finish line safely. The common denominator for all bills to be successful is to work hard at communicating with all legislators and never give up.
Happy Easter, Mohave County!
