Session ends with 316 bills signed into law

Gov. Janet Napolitano put a formal end to the 2008 legislative session on Monday, vetoing five more bills, bringing her total this year to 32.

Napolitano used her veto stamp to kill:

• New restrictions on the ability of communities to collect fees from developers.

• Mandating changes in voting procedures used by homeowner associations.

• Diverting state sales taxes on some university construction projects.

The governor also killed two measures with provisions to ease some laws on carrying concealed weapons.

Those 32 vetoes are not a record: Napolitano set that in 2005 with 58.

But Napolitano also put her signature on 17 other bills. That means she signed 316 items passed by the Legislature into law; she let another one become law without her signature.

One measure the governor signed makes it harder for people who are injured while committing crimes — or their survivors, if they are killed — to sue their intended victims.

State lawmakers had provided absolute immunity for crime victims from civil suit. But the state Court of Appeals, in a 2006 ruling, said that was unconstitutional.

This new version is designed to fix those problems.

Napolitano also agreed to extend special property tax breaks now given to power plants that use "renewable resources" to generate electricity. Those breaks were set to expire at the end of 2011; the new law extends that to 2040, a provision backers said would help encourage companies to invest in such plants.

Another new law requires the state to set up an interactive Web site by 2011 that will allow anyone with a computer to see each and every receipt and expenditure of state funds. That database also will have to be interactive, allowing people to search by state agency, specific programs and individual companies selling goods and products to the state.

The governor also signed legislation that, for the first time, would license loan originators, the front-line employees for lenders. This is designed to plug what some believe is a hole in the law, where mortgage brokers and bankers are licensed but the people who help customers fill out the paperwork — and could put in false information to help someone qualify for a loan they cannot afford — are not regulated.

She also agreed to set aside $450,000 to begin planning for the renovation of the state Capitol for Arizona’s 2012 centennial, and she signed legislation to make it illegal to sell animals on public streets — but only in Pima and Maricopa counties.

The measure on development fees that drew a gubernatorial veto would have barred cities and counties from imposing new charges within 24 months after a development plan’s approval. Backers said the proposal was designed to provide predictability for builders. It also would have made it illegal for counties to assess development fees for schools.