2/25/2014 12:18:00 PM Editorial: No need to reinvent the wheel on legal notice requirements
Reinventing the wheel with an inferior product is the latest example of political intelligence at the Arizona Legislature.
Rep. John Cavanaugh, a Fountain Hills Republican, has introduced legislation that would require the Arizona Corporation Commission to spend $65,000 in taxpayer money to create a website where minimal information about corporate and limited-liability company filings would be posted for 90 days.
Let's compare that to existing law.
Arizona law already requires detailed filings -- not minimal information -- to be published in a newspaper as part of a permanent record, available to the public. That service comes complete with a legal proof of notice, and online posting to publicnoticeads.com, where they can be accessed today, tomorrow and for years to come.
It bears emphasis that the business community is not asking for this legislation, In fact, the Arizona Chamber, Greater Phoenix Chamber, Lake Havasu Chamber and the Arizona Small Business Association have officially opposed the bill.
Further, let's be clear that such legal notices do represent revenue for newspapers: The statewide average for publication of such legal notices is $35 ... paid for by the corporation.
Again, for the sake of comparison, under the legislation proposed by Rep. Cavanaugh, corporations would no longer have to pay for such legal notices. Instead, the buck would be passed on to the taxpayer.
Are you getting the picture that this proposal simply has not been thought-through.
Cavanaugh's bill makes about as much sense as trading in a 2014 BMW 3 Series 328 for a 1974 Chevy Vega.
His colleagues in the Arizona House of Representatives should do him a favor and junk this clunker.
