By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via East Valley Tribune
A Gilbert lawmaker has vowed to gut a bill approved by the House Committee on Regulatory Affairs that would give people who sign timehsare deals 14 days to have second thoughts. That’s twice as long as now required.
HB 2639 also would allow buyers to opt out within 14 days of actually using their timeshare and be entitled to a 90 percent refund.
Potentially most significant, those who would buy a timeshare in the future and have had it for at least a decade could simply walk away without being on the legal hook for annual maintenance fees that could continue for the rest of their lives – and beyond.
Despite the 7-0 vote, it remains unclear if the provisions will ever become law. Rep. Travis Grantham, R-Gilbert, who chairs the panel, said he will seek to strip out many of the provisions when it now goes to the full House, instead reducing it to additional requirements for what information needs to be given to buyers.
The star witness for the proposal by Rep. Shawnna Bolick, R-Phoenix, was Gloria Johnson, who told lawmakers about her experience buying a timeshare in 1980.
