DPS photo vans, other new laws go into effect

Several hundred new laws take effect today.

And one of them could cost you some money.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety plans to have the first three of a new fleet of photo radar vans on the road today. The deployment of 100 new mobile and fixed speed enforcement cameras, on top of the existing two DPS now operates, was sought by Gov. Janet Napolitano and approved by the Legislature.

Efforts by an unsuccessful bidder to derail the new contract have so far been rejected.

The upside to all of this for motorists who get caught is that it the only thing it will cost them is money: As part of a plan to convince people not to challenge the tickets, legislators agreed to a demand by the governor that the citations should carry no points against a driver's license.

Normally a speeding ticket carries three points. Eight points in a year send a motorist to traffic survival school; 12 points suspends a license.

And the deal forbids the state from reporting speeding violations recorded by the new DPS cameras to insurance carriers, meaning motorists who simply pay the $165 fine - plus a 10 percent surcharge - will not have to worry that their premiums will go up, too.

Despite that, the governor said this wasn't simply an effort to boost state revenue. She said the record shows that when photo enforcement is installed, speed and accidents go down.

"It is not my intent to use photo radar to substitute for officers on the highway for DPS. It is to complement public safety on the road," she said.

One of the things lawmakers refused to do this year is make it illegal to use the plastic covers that manufacturers insist make the license plate invisible to the cameras.

But DPS Lt. James Warriner said it doesn't matter: He said the technology being used can't be fooled by those covers.

CONSUMER ISSUES

The biggest change taking effect today will allow Arizonans to "freeze" their credit reports.

What's at issue is the fact that anyone who gets another person's Social Security number and date of birth can apply for loans, credit cards and even purchase items in the victim's name. It is only when the bill comes in - or the creditors start calling - that the crime becomes apparent.

This law allows individuals to tell each of the three major credit bureaus not to provide any information to outsiders. Without a credit report or score, most lenders won't provide cash or merchandise.

It is designed, though, to allow consumers who decide they want to buy something to "unfreeze" their reports by mail, phone or Internet using a unique password.

That extra protection, however, does not come free: Companies can charge $5 for each freeze or unfreeze. And since there are three major credit bureaus, that means $15 each time.

A related measure that also takes effect today spells out that businesses that let people buy items on credit could end up eating the debt if they don't adequately check who they're letting walk off with the items.

The other major consumer issue approved by lawmakers will require licensing of the people who help originate home loans.

There are an estimated 10,000 of these workers in Arizona.

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Upset with a series of high-profile fatalities, legislators approved a series of changes in state laws regulating Child Protective Services. And two of them are specifically designed to open the agency to more public scrutiny.

One requires CPS to provide information to the public when a child is murdered or nearly killed because of abuse and neglect. The other requires open court hearings in cases where the state wants to take away someone's child unless the judge finds there is good reason for a closed session.

LAW AND ORDER

Lawmakers tinkered with their new employer sanctions law, which took effect Jan. 1. That measure allows a judge to suspend or revoke the business licenses of firms found guilty of knowingly hiring undocumented workers.

Business and civil rights groups have challenged the law but so far been unable to have it overturned.

One change clarifies that companies are liable for punishment only for employees hired since the effective date of the law. Finding an undocumented worker who already was on the payroll creates no state liability.

The measure also provides a new level of legal protection for companies that follow certain procedures.

A related measure imposes criminal penalties on those who sell or rent real estate if they know the property will be used as a "drop house" to harbor illegal immigrants.

EDUCATION

State lawmakers agreed to help the current crop of high school seniors and, to a lesser extent, those coming behind them.

A new measure extends indefinitely a law that allows students who cannot pass one or more sections of Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards test that is required to graduate to get bonus points for good grades.

AIMS has been given to students for more than a decade. But passing it to get a diploma has been a requirement only since the class of 2006.

Lawmakers did agree that year to let students boost their failing AIMS scores by up to 25percent with good grades in required courses. But that was supposed to be just an interim measure and the law expired at the end of 2007.

This measure extends the law indefinitely, though only current seniors and juniors could get a 25 percent boost. That is reduced to 15 percent for the class of 2010 and just 5 percent in future years.

MISCELLANEOUS

Legislators decided to make railroads jump through a few more hoops when they want to build new switching yards and tracks.

The new law does not require state approval for those facilities, as that appears to be preempted by federal law. But it mandates that rail companies to notify the state Department of Transportation about planned projects. That would range from the amount of activity the new rail lines or switching yards would produce to the proximity to state parks and environmentally sensitive areas.

ADOT would have 120 days from getting all the information, during which time it would have to conduct at least one public hearing.

The move stems directly from efforts by Union Pacific to construct a 6-mile-long switching yard near Picacho Peak and potential efforts to construct a spur from Yuma to the Mexico border.

Whether the companies will comply remains unclear: A Union Pacific spokesman insisted that even these requirements are precluded by federal law.

LAWMAKERS ALSO:

Let theme park operators create their own taxing district as a method of financing;

Allow bed-and-breakfast operations with up to six bedrooms to get the same property tax treatment as private homes;

Require most cities and counties to post campaign contributions on a Web site;

Extended special tax breaks for renewable energy projects until 2040;

Voted to require licensing of off-road vehicles to generate fees for trail maintenance and enforcement;

Spelled out that breast implants are not subject to state sales taxes.