Hello Cyber Followers,

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

The Arizona Legislature has been in session for a week and there are a number of interesting legislative developments already. There were a large number of bills introduced last week (over 500 House Bills and just over 80 Senate Bills). Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed HB2064 (American Civics Act) on Thursday, January 15, 2015. This “fast-tracked” bill requires students to pass a civics test to graduate from high school beginning with the class of 2017. The civics test will be similar to the one that immigrants take when seeking U.S. Citizenship. Students will have the opportunity to start taking the test in the eighth grade and can retake the test until they pass. It is important to note that Arizona is the first state to pass this type of bill. However, there are 18 states likely to pass the bill this year. In my 18 years as an attorney, I have never seen a bill move so quickly from introduction to the Governor’s signature (4 days, record time)!

There are 4 bills relating to community associations (HB2084, HB 2197, HB2255 and SB1048) that our firm is closely following. Please check out our summary of proposed bills impacting community associations (just updated this morning) by going to the firm’s website(www.mulcahylawfirm.net), click on the Publications Tab and scroll to Legislative Updates. You will find “2015 Legislative Updates” with the current date.

Please stay tuned for legislative developments over the next 6 months! Please contact me if you have any questions on the new legislation.

Beth Mulcahy, Esq.