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What to know about short-term rentals in Arizona

State laws in Arizona have made it easy for homeowners to tap into the state’s booming vacation rental market.

The Republic

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The “Tamale Bill,” which was left off the legislative menu last year, finally became law on September 14. Whether Arizonans will see a resurgence of tamale vendors remains to be seen.

The Arizona legislation tops a list of 242 bills passed by the Legislature this year and signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs that became law last Saturday.

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While many of the measures deal with important but esoteric topics, lawmakers also address issues closely related to daily life.

Such as raising chickens in backyards or driving an off-road vehicle without a driver’s license.

Of the 1,663 bills introduced this year, 332 passed — 20 percent. If you subtract the 73 vetoes granted by Hobbs, as well as the 17 bills that took immediate effect under the emergency clause (such as repealing the 1864 abortion law), a total of 242 bills passed.

Such as designating Pluto as the state’s official planet, a bill championed by Rep. Justin Wilmeth, R-Phoenix.

And tamales, the focus of House Bill 2042, by Rep. Travis Grantham, R-Gilbert. The bill expands the items that can be prepared in home kitchens and sold to the public by allowing certain perishable items, such as the meat in a tamale or the cream cheese in a cheesecake.

Other bills that could make a difference in the daily lives of Arizonans:

• Chickens in the yard. Residents of single-family homes no longer have to worry about their local government preventing them from raising chickens. HB 2325 by Rep. Kevin Payne, R-Peoria, prohibits local governments from placing restrictions on poultry raising.
• Use of all-terrain vehicles. You won’t need a driver’s license to operate your off-road vehicle on designated routes, thanks to Sen. Sine Kerr, a Buckeye Republican and sponsor of SB 1567. But you will need a license if you operate the vehicle on the road.
• Helmets for teenage drivers. If you’re 16 or 17 and riding that ATV, motorcycle or all-terrain vehicle, you’ll be required to wear a helmet or risk a $100 fine. Parents of teens who don’t comply also face the same penalty under SB 1680, by Sen. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista.
• Advance ticket sales. Also known as the Taylor Swift Act, HB 2194 and HB 2040 impose limits on reselling concert and sports tickets and require more information for ticket buyers. Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, sponsored the bills after bots and ticket scalpers crashed Ticketmaster’s site when Swift’s tickets went on sale for her 2023 tour.
• DUI Limits for Rideshare Drivers. If you drive a rideshare or any commercial for-hire vehicle, understand this: SB 1025 sets a blood alcohol limit of 0.04 percent. That’s half the requirement for regular motorists. The strictest restriction comes from Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills.
• More time on the sidewalk for political signs. SB 1063 adds 26 days to the time during which campaign signs, pamphlets and other election-related materials are protected from local sign ordinances. That equates to 71 days before an election. For candidates advancing to a general election, signs can remain in place for 15 days after the election. Kavanagh sponsored this measure.
• Rules for homeowners associations. It wouldn’t be a legislative session without new laws created in reaction to what lawmakers see as overreach by homeowners associations. Homeowners associations can allow up to two wall-mounted flagpoles, under SB 1016, sponsored by Kavanagh, R-Scottsdale. Kavanagh, a resident of a kinder, gentler homeowners association called the Neighborhood Property Owners Association, is the go-to lawmaker for homeowners association reforms.
• In a related move, HB 2141 by Rep. Laurin Hendrix, R-Gilbert, allows condo owners to make improvements to the interior of their unit as long as the changes minimize any disruption to other condo owners.

Translation by Alfredo Garcia