Gilbert legislator Farnsworth works to update state’s bankruptcy laws

The head of the House Judiciary Committee wants to update Arizona's dated and sometimes anachronistic bankruptcy laws.

Nothing in the proposal by Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, alters the process that allows individuals to seek protection from creditors. Those are set in federal law.

But that same federal law allows each state to decide what those declaring bankruptcy can keep. And Farnsworth said that list for Arizona is long overdue for an overhaul.

The big problem, he said, is that it is far too specific.

Consider: The Arizona law allows debtors to keep one kitchen table and one dining room table with four chairs each. They can keep additional chairs if there are more than four in the house.

The list of permissible items also includes three living room lamps, one radio alarm clock, one vacuum cleaner and a choice of one television set, radio or stereo.

And the total value of all that cannot exceed $4,000.

HB 2325 would keep that $4,000 limit for household items. But it strikes the specifics of what can be included to give those in bankruptcy some individual choices in deciding what's important to them.

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