Capitol Connection: May 9, 2014
Sine Die!
Wednesday, May 7, the final gavel came down on the second session of the 69th General Assembly. In total, 621 bills were introduced. CAR tracked 66 bills this year and took a position on 32 of them. As we are busy preparing for the 2014 elections, many are noting the bipartisan nature of a large majority of the bills signed by the Governor. For property owners, and REALTORS®, the 2014 session contained more positives than negatives.
CAR successfully passed our continuing education bill that reinstated the exemption for local associations to provide continuing education to non-members. This had been inadvertently upset through a bill last year. In addition, we monitored each bill that was released from the Wildfire Matters Review Committee, ensuring that legislation presented would not harm or further encumber private property rights.
The session did bring to light a few issues that were not completely addressed, and thereby we already know of a few issues we can expect to work on between now and the 2015 session. We did eventually see the Construction Defects legislation introduced, however it was killed in committee before making it to the floor. We look forward to continuing to work in the Homeownership Opportunity Alliance (HOA) to bring this back next session. We are pleased that HB 14-1001 passed, establishing a state reimbursement to county treasurers for property taxes foregone due to proration of assessed value after a property has been destroyed by a natural disaster. We saw this as an important piece of legislation after our state suffered from both catastrophic flooding and destructive wildfires. Unfortunately, in this same vein, we are disappointed that HB 14-1009 was lost in second reading in the Senate, and would have changed the Wildfire Income Tax Deduction to a tax credit. We believe the legislature missed a great opportunity to provide property owners with further financial resources/assistance to undertake appropriate risk mitigation efforts, which can be very expensive. Please see this article in the Denver Post that details the conclusion of session. Finally, we would like to thank Chair Mark Trenka, Vice Chair Janene Johnson and our 36 dedicated LPC members this year; your efforts and expertise, once again, bolstered our advocacy efforts to the benefit of all CAR members and Colorado property owners – Thank you!
REALTOR® Party Convention and Trade Expo NEXT WEEK
NAR’s Midyear Meetings have been renamed the “REALTOR® Party Convention and Trade Expo”. Registration—which is free for members—is now open for the REALTOR® Party Convention & Trade Expo May 12-17, 2014, in Washington, D.C. For registration or more details, click here.
GRAB THE APP! Download the REALTOR® Action Center Mobile App
The REALTOR® Action Center mobile app is now available for download for the iPhone and DROID. Simply search for NAR Action Center in your respective app markets. This app is designed to help members Vote, Act and Invest on the go. It will help you increase your state and local Federal Call for Action participation rates, allow members a quick and efficient way to invest in RPAC, and provide you a way to track your REALTOR® Party activities and so much more.
