The Arizona state senate rejected a Bill that would require a person convicted of an identity crime to be jailed. The Bill covered crimes on account of identity theft, aggravated identity theft or trafficking in identity.

Amongst all states, Arizona leads in the number of identity theft cases and Republican Senator Marilyn Jarrett of Mesa had introduced the Bill to address this issue. The Bill failed on a 13-13 tie.

The senator who opposed the Bill said that it was too premature to introduce fresh legislation as a law on the same issue had taken effect in August last year and its impact needed to be assessed before the State could jump into a fresh legislation.

Laws and regulations relating to identity theft have come in the limelight as the crime is growing at an alarming pace. Victims of identity also have to undergo a harrowing experience and clearing their names can take up to two years in certain cases.

Click here to read more about the senator-tussle on the new legislation.

The state of Colorado, which is the fifth largest in terms of ID theft cases, is planning to introduce a legislation that will make identity theft a felony crime in the state. As of now the state does not have any specific law against the crime. 48 states have already enacted laws to tackle the issue. 4885 cases of identity theft were reported in Colorado last year.

Due to lack of legislation, identity fraudsters have made Colorado a hub for their activities. The proposed legislation Bill 1326 will make identity theft a class 4 felony with a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 to 6 years.

Credit card fraud was the most common form of identity fraud and the cities most affected in the state were Denver, Springs, Aurora, Littleton, and Pueblo. The state hopes that this legislation will act as a deterrent and help reduce identity theft cases.

To read more about this issue, click here.