On Tuesday, January 14th several hundred REALTORS® from across Arizona came together at the Arizona State Capitol for REALTOR® Day at the Capitol. Senate President Karen Fann gave us an update on what we will see in this new legislative session. Education, infrastructure, the budget and social services were all topics of her update.
Tom Farley of Willetta Partners provided an update as well. Willetta Partners is the contract lobbyist firm representing Arizona REALTORS® at the Capitol. Tom told us about two bills Arizona REALTORS® hope pass this legislative session, SB 1021 and SB 1129 with an identical house version HB 2351.
You can hear the podcast interviews with Tom Farley, Matthew Contorelli (AR Government Affairs Director), Senator Gray, and Representative Sierra at www.weservgad.org.
Senate Bill 1021 will change Arizona State law to allow the Department of Revenue to accept documents submitted to them with electronic signatures. Current State law mandates that documents must contain a wet signature.
This update to the law is particularly important to property managers and their clients, particularly when the client is deployed or lives oversees. Property owners must be able to hire property managers to manage their affairs and part of that is allowing electronic signatures so that TPT, licenses, Powers of Attorney (POAs) and other necessary documents can be accepted by the Department of Revenue so that property managers are able to comply with their contractual obligations to the property owner.
AR is asking you to support the proposed language so that electronic signatures may be accepted by DOR for all forms submitted by REALTORS®, property managers, and property owners.
The second bill is SB 1129. This bill would make a change to state law allowing unlicensed assistants to accept rental payments.
Currently, the Arizona Department of Real Estate considers the accepting of a rent payment check a real estate activity requiring a real estate license. The department has suggested that a rent drop box be installed in offices where unlicensed office employees would likely be working when a tenant comes in to pay in person. That of course causes a problem when the tenant wishes to have a receipt of their payment and it makes running a property management office difficult.
AR is asking you to support the change in Arizona law to allow unlicensed assistants employed by a licensed real estate broker or sales person to collect rent payments.
Watch for periodic legislative updates on this website and listen to our podcast, Government Policy, Real Estate and YOU! at this website, C-Suite Radio Network, Spotify, and iHeart Radio.