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PHOENIX (AP) — A slew of Arizona laws that take affect Friday include new rules for ride-hailing companies like Uber, access to vouchers for all children living on Indian reservations, and a ban on abortion coverage in insurance policies bought through the federal exchange.
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed 324 laws passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature in their spring session. Here is a look at some of them:
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SOCIAL ISSUES:
—Women who buy health insurance on federal exchanges can no longer purchase optional abortion coverage under a bill pushed by Republicans in the Legislature. A provision that would have required doctors to tell patients that medication abortions could be reversed is on hold pending a legal challenge.
— All children living on Indian reservations now qualify for private school vouchers known as empowerment scholarship accounts.
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MEDICAL MARIJUANA:
— Naturopathic doctors will face tighter regulations for recommending medical marijuana. The legislation requires them to include medical evidence that supports their diagnosis for issuing a medical marijuana certificate and enter the patient's profile into the state controlled substance prescription monitoring database. Naturopaths issue three-quarters of the medical marijuana recommendations in the state.
— Workers' compensation carriers and self-insurers can't be required to pay for a patient's medical marijuana.
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BUSINESS REGULATIONS:
— Ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft can operate free of many old regulations under a bill championed by Ducey. The legislation changed licensing and insurance rules to accommodate the emerging companies and also made changes to taxi company rules.
— Large microbreweries can keep running their restaurants even as they grow into large beer producers under legislation that benefited just one — Four Peaks Brewing Co. Dozens of other microbreweries that hope to mirror Four Peaks' success joined the Tempe company is championing the law.
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TAXES:
—Insurance companies that do business in Arizona will see a cut in taxes paid on premiums collected for many policies. The measure by Republican Rep. David Livingston cuts tax rates from 2 to 1.7 percent over a decade beginning next year and will result in more than $44 million in reduced state revenue.
—A bill designed to align the state's income tax code with federal tax law will cut yearly state revenue by $31 million. The law allows individuals and businesses to expense up to $500,000 in investments instead of the normal $25,000.
—Tax brackets will be indexed for inflation, preventing a small boost in income from pushing someone into a higher rate.
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ELECTION LAWS
— Signature gathering rules on voter referendums and initiatives have been tightened and the wording of measures and petition forms must be exact to avoid disqualification.
— Third-party candidates will need to gather many more signatures to qualify for the ballot.
— Campaign-contribution limits go up for the second year in a row. Candidates can accept up to $6,250 from an individual donor per election cycle, up from $5,000. A major increase was adopted last year as well.
— Tighter bans on the use of public resources to influence a bond, budget override and other tax-related election go into effect.
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