Arizona bill to make canceling subscriptions as easy as signing up passes House

So you signed up for a one-year gym membership and decided you really aren't using it? State lawmakers are moving to make sure that subscription isn't automatically renewed, leaving you stuck paying the bill for yet another year.

Ditto that magazine you subscribed to that you thought you'd read, that virus protection software you thought you needed for your computer, and even that fruit-of-the-month basket that you thought you'd enjoy.

Without dissent, the state House on Thursday approved legislation that would say that any contract offered to consumers with automatic renewal must also include an ability to cancel – and do so in the same way the person was asked to sign up.

The way HB 2951 is described by Rep. Janeen Connolly (D-Tempe) is that, if you got an offer in the mail, you'd have to get a similar notice a month ahead of when it would automatically renew. The same would be true of offers originally made by phone, emails or any other method.

Connolly’s proposal would bar businesses from making customers jump through additional hoops by adding requirements or steps to the cancellation process.

"HB 2951 helps our constituents who are trapped in subscriptions,'' she told colleagues. "From retirees to college kids, all who could use a little bump due to the cost of living right now, this bill can make a difference.”

Rep. Jeff Weninger, who chairs the House Commerce Committee, said he thinks the legislation draws the right balance between laws governing contracts and consumer protections.

"A contract's a contract, and I get that,” Weninger said.

The Chandler Republican also acknowledged there are some who abuse the system.

"You'll sign a five-year contract, ...and it has this crazy language in it where 90 days before the expiration of this contract you have to send a registered letter to this address,” he said.

While that’s legal, Weninger said, the behavior is "a way of tricking the consumer who doesn't set a tickler in their phone five years from now to make sure that they've looked at that contract.''

He said the legislation would ensure that individuals and business owners are notified – up front and close to when the contract would otherwise be renewed – about how they can keep that from happening.

Not everyone is pleased.

Michelle Ahlmer, executive director of the Arizona Retailers Association, said her members are unsure of exactly how they would comply. But Connolly has said she will work with her in an attempt to address those concerns when the bill now goes to the Senate.

Subscription laws in other states

Connecticut says customers have to be given notice between 14 and 60 days before a contract is renewed. That has to be by mail unless the consumer consents to being notified electronically. If the notice is not provided, any goods or services furnished after the expiration date are considered an unconditional gift.

Florida requires notice between 30 and 60 days telling customers that unless they act the contract will be automatically renewed. Illinois has a similar law, as does North Carolina, though with a different time window.

And some states have such requirements but only for certain services. For example, Tennessee law governs alarm services, and a Colorado statute deals with health club memberships.