Debt collector bill pushed to Arizona Senate

After passing by a narrow margin of 33 to 26, Arizona's House Bill 2664 is set to be voted on by the state's Senate, insideARM reported. The bill, approved by lawmakers on March 6, would give debt collection companies more leeway to collect from defaulters on credit card payments and bring up lawsuits against them with less evidence required and it showcases a polarization between the views of House republicans and democrats, The Arizona Republic explained. The source noted that the bill's sponsor, Representative Jeff Dial, hailed House Bill 2664 as a fundamental way to make debtors take responsibility for their overdue bills, but called it a "work in progress," promising to work on reassuring citizens of the benefits. Detractors of the proposed law believe that it would give out-of-state debt collectors an unfair advantage and could result in attempts to settle a debt that has already been paid due to the decreased evidence requirements to collect. Section 44-7804, part A of the bill, ensured that "a creditor may establish a presumption of the amount of debt that is owed on a credit card account through a copy of the issuer's final billing statement" and that the owner of the credit card can "challenge the presumption with any credible evidence as allowed by law."