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Bills Move to Restrict Sales of Municipal Properties, Lawsuits against Developers, and Vacation Rentals
Author: Camila Alarcon
With about sixty days into the legislative session, several bills impacting real estate and zoning have survived their first chamber. The following summarizes key bills in two areas: local control and vacation and short-term rentals. (Click on each bill name to see the full bill text.)
Local Control
- SB1147, a bill that imposes new limits on the sale of municipal properties, passed the Senate on a 16-14 vote, and is now heading to the House. The bill provides that for a property with a value of at least $50,000, the municipality must hire an independent appraiser to determine the sale or lease value, and post public notices of the proposed sale or lease for four weeks in a weekly publication and on the municipality’s website.
ABLE Accounts Now More Attractive Than Ever
Author: James Polese
If you have, or have a child who has, a disability and the disability began before age 26, the disabled person can open a tax advantaged investment account that does not adversely affect any disability payments currently being received. If the individual with the disability does not receive disability-based benefits, there is a self-certification process so long as the disability meets the Social Security Administration’s standards and the disability causes “marked and severe functional limitations.”
The accounts, known as ABLE accounts, were authorized with the enactment of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (“ABLE”) Act of 2014.
Even More Requirements for Companies Doing Business in California
Author: Cameron Collins
Until recently, the California Corporations Code Section 1601 provided that a corporation’s shareholders had the right to inspect the “accounting books, records, and minutes of proceedings of the shareholders and the board and committees of the board of any domestic corporation, and of any foreign corporation keeping any such records in this state…”
In Innes v. Diablo Controls, 248 Cal.App.4th 139 (2016), the court opined that Section 1601 did not require that the records of corporations be brought into California for inspection if the corporation did not maintain the records in the state.
Joseph Richardson and Grady Gammage, Jr. Named as Top 100 Arizona Lawyers
Congratulations to Gammage & Burnham partners Joseph P. Richardson and Grady Gammage, Jr. for their recognition as two of the Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona. This list of exceptional lawyers is published annually by AZ Big Media and features a range of practicing attorneys from throughout the state.
Joseph Richardson is recognized in the areas of business organizations and commercial transactions. His practice is centered around representing both sellers and buyers in mergers, acquisitions and other entity-based transactions. He was recently recognized by Best Lawyers in America as “Lawyer of the Year” in Phoenix for 2019.
Gammage & Burnham Partners Protect Tourism Funding in Recent Arizona Supreme Court Victory
Gammage & Burnham partners Michael King, Cameron Artigue and Christopher Hering helped protect funding for stadiums and other sports and tourism-related ventures with a recent victory in the Arizona Supreme Court. (Saban Rent-a-Car v. Arizona Department of Revenue). This victory ends the long-running challenge (this litigation lasted 14 years) to the surcharges on car rentals that have funded such efforts for decades.
The challengers–a group of car-rental companies–initially persuaded the court that surcharges on car rentals violated an obscure provision in Arizona’s Constitution, which requires taxes related to the operation of motor vehicles to be expended on highways.
