2010 crop of new Arizona laws takes effect Thursday

PHOENIX - Arizona's controversial crackdown on illegal immigration has been in the spotlight, but hundreds of other new state laws take effect Thursday on subjects ranging from concealed weapons to alcohol sales.

Thursday is the "general effective date" -- 90 days after the end of the legislative session -- when legislation enacted takes effect, unless specified otherwise.

For example, legislation to allow the sale and use of sparklers and other "consumer grade" fireworks that shoot sparks but don't explode won't take effect until Dec. 1. And a new law changing Arizona's performance labels for public schools to letter grades won't take effect until August 2011.

Arizona is now the third state, behind Alaska and Vermont, to allow people to carry a concealed weapon without having to get a permit.

Arizona still issues permits, but eliminating the requirement for people 21 or older means they can forego background checks and classes.

Supporters argued the bill promotes constitutional rights and allows people to protect themselves from criminals, while critics said it will lead to more shootings as people with less training have fewer restrictions on carrying weapons.

The bill on alcohol sales will allow purchases as early as 6 a.m. on Sundays. State law had barred alcohol sales between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Sundays, but now the Sunday hours conform to those on other days of the week.

Lawmakers slipped that change into a bill that keeps the state liquor regulatory agency in existence, and Gov. Jan Brewer signed it into law.

Here are brief rundowns on some other new state laws taking effect Thursday:

-- There's now a general prohibition on promotion of third-graders who score far below grade level in reading. The change was to take effect only if voters approved a temporary sales tax increase, which they did on May 18.

-- Arizonans have new rights in home foreclosures. One new law requires mortgage lenders to try to work with homeowners to avoid foreclosures. It applies to homes purchased between January 2003 and December 2008.

-- The yellow lights on traffic signals must be on at least three seconds.

-- Parents have rights newly spelled out in state law in a wide array of matters involving their children, including genetic testing, AIDS-prevention instruction and school discipline.

-- There are new limits on local governments' ability to impose land-use restrictions on locations for churches. Churches can't be treated on less than equal terms than nonreligious entities, but there's an exemption from liquor licensing requirements for churches in a designated entertainment district.

-- High school students who want to leave early can now get a new type of diploma. The Grand Canyon Diploma is intended to allow students to leave high school as early as after 10th grade. Students pursuing a Grand Canyon Diploma would have to participate in a program of study and exams.

-- Wireless communications devices are now added to the list of contraband items that prisoners can't possess while incarcerated.

-- Reporting requirements for abortion providers are being strengthened. Previous requirements that were only in rules are now in law, and there are also are new requirements for court reports on how many times judges bypass parental consent requirements. Those reports would be confidential but the state would have to release an annual statistical report on abortions.

-- And, as in Louisiana, it's now against the law in Arizona to create "human-animal hybrids." Supporters told lawmakers that the legislation would prohibit human cloning and protect the dignity of human life.