ESIGN State Laws Arizona
Arizona adopted UETA in 2000 with the Arizona Electronic Transactions Act (AETA) and entered it into Chapter 26 Article 1
41-121 THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE - DUTIES
41-121 was amended by several Bills to give the
Secretary of State the ability to "Accept, and approve for use,
electronic and digital signatures"The current Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 41-121 is available at the Arizona State Legislature website and is quoted below:
13. Accept, and approve for use, electronic and digital
signatures that comply with section 41-132, for documents filed with
and by all state agencies, boards and commissions. In consultation with
the government information technology agency, the department of
administration and the state treasurer, the secretary of state shall
adopt rules pursuant to chapter 6 of this title establishing policies
and procedures for the use of electronic and digital signatures by all
state agencies, boards and commissions for documents filed with and by
all state agencies, boards and commissions.
1998 ARIZONA HOUSE BILL 2518- Amending 41-121 (online here)
13. IN CONSULTATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGENCY, ESTABLISHED BY SECTION 41-3502, THE
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION AND THE STATE TREASURER ESTABLISH
STANDARDS FOR AND approve for use by all other state agencies, and
accept BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS OF ELECTRONIC AND digital signatures for
documents filed with the office of the secretary of state AND BY THE
STATE AGENCIES, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS . The secretary of state shall
adopt rules pursuant to chapter 6 of this title to implement this
paragraph AND MAY IDENTIFY AND COORDINATE DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS FOR
THE PURPOSE OF FACILITATING THE USE OF ELECTRONIC AND DIGITAL
SIGNATURES BY STATE GOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE ENTITIES .
1996 ARIZONA SESSION LAWS 213 - Amending 41-121 (online here )
13. APPROVE FOR USE BY ALL OTHER STATE AGENCIES,
AND ACCEPT DIGITAL SIGNATURES FOR DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE OFFICE OF
THE SECRETARY OF STATE. THE SECRETARY OF STATE SHALL ADOPT RULES
PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 6 OF THIS TITLE TO IMPLEMENT THIS PARAGRAPH.
41-132 THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE - ELECTRONIC AND DIGITAL SIGNATURES
A. Unless otherwise provided by law, an electronic
signature that complies with this section may be used to sign a writing
on a document that is filed with or by a state agency, board or
commission and the electronic signature has the same force and effect
as a written signature.
B. An electronic signature shall be unique to the person using
it, shall be capable of reliable verification and shall be linked to a
record in a manner so that if the record is changed the electronic
signature is invalidated.
C. A document that contains an electronic signature that is a digital signature shall comply with all of the following:
1. Contain a computer based certificate that
identifies the issuing entity and the subscriber, contain the
subscriber's public key and be digitally signed by the issuing entity.
A valid subscriber to a digitally signed document shall be listed in
the certificate, shall accept the certificate and lawfully holds the
private key that corresponds to the public key that is listed in that
certificate. A person who acquires a private key through theft, fraud,
deceit, eavesdropping or other unlawful means does not lawfully hold
the private key.2. Contain a key pair used for verifying a digital signature
that has a unique property so that the public key can verify the
digital signature that the private key creates.3. Be capable of verification by the person having the initial message and the signer's public key as follows:
(a) The person can accurately determine whether
the transformation of the message was created by using the private key
that corresponds to the signer's key.
(b) The person can accurately determine whether the initial message has been altered since the transformation was made.
D. The following records are not public records and are
exempt from public inspection and reproduction pursuant to title 39,
chapter 1, article 2:
1. Records containing information that would
disclose or may reasonably lead to the disclosure of any component in
the process used to execute or adopt an electronic or digital signature
if the disclosure would or may reasonably cause the loss of sole
control over the electronic or digital signature from the person using
it.2. Records that if disclosed would or may reasonably lead to
jeopardizing the security of a certificate issued in conjunction with a
digital signature.
E. In this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
4. "Electronic signature" means an electronic or
digital method of identification that is executed or adopted by a
person with the intent to be bound by or to authenticate a record.5. "Entity issuing a certificate" means a person who creates
and issues a certificate and notifies the subscriber listed in the
certificate of the contents of the certificate.8. "Private key" means the key of a key pair that is used to create a digital signature.
10. "Record" means information that is inscribed in a tangible
medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and that is
retrievable in a physically perceivable form. Record includes
electronic records and printed, typewritten and tangible records.