Capitol Connection – February 9, 2018
Another Economic Summit and REALTOR® Day at the Capitol is in the books!
Thank you to all our members and colleagues who attended CAR’s Economic Summit and REALTOR® Day at the Capitol! We had a busy two-day event with over 250 REALTORS attending from across the state! The Economic Summit was highlighted by a panel discussion that focused on the newly enacted green roof ordinance in Denver and the proposed statewide limited growth ballot initiative. Please click here and here to read the Denver Post articles that followed CAR’s Economic Summit.
Thursday featured CAR’s Gubernatorial Forum, REALTOR Day at the Capitol Keynote Luncheon, and the afternoon program at the State Capitol. Thank you to each of the gubernatorial candidates that attended the forum and provided written responses to the questions:
Cary Kennedy
Cynthia Coffman
Donna Lynne
Noel Ginsburg
Doug Robinson
Mike Johnston
Victor Mitchell
Donna Lynne
Walker Stapleton (written response)
Kyle Malnati, Broker/Owner of Calibrate Real Estate in Denver, moderated the Gubernatorial panel and asked each candidate housing-related questions. With the primary election on June 26th, this was a great opportunity to hear the perspective of each candidate on growth, affordable housing, transportation and even what they love about Colorado. In response to the question about the proposed limited growth ballot initiative, all 8 candidates were opposed to this type of initiative. Ed Sealover, with the Denver Business Journal, wrote about the gubernatorial forum here.
We would also like to thank Scott Peterson and Detective Adam Hughes for providing the audience an interesting and insightful keynote address regarding Legal Marijuana in Real Estate. A special thank you to the legislators who joined us at the REALTOR® Day Luncheon:
Senator Neville
Senator Smallwood
Senator Sonnenberg
Senator Tate
Senator Todd
House Minority Leader Neville
Representative Arndt
Representative Herod
Representative Lawrence
Representative Liston
Representative Lontine
Representative Pabon
Representative Ransom
Representative Reyher
Representative Rosenthal
Representative Saine
Representative Wist
We are also very grateful to those elected officials who made time to join us in the Old Supreme Court Chambers:
Governor John Hickenlooper
Senate President Kevin Grantham
Senate Majority Leader Chris Holbert
Speaker of the House Crisanta Duran
House Majority Leader KC Becker
House Minority Leader Patrick Neville
Representative Dan Thurlow
Representative Matt Gray
Also, thank you to the legislators that joined us for the RPAC Reception on February 7th:
Senator Coram
Senator Hill
Senator Merrifield
Senator Todd
Representative Beckman
Representative Bridges
Representative Buck
Representative Lee
Representative Liston
Representative Sias
50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act
This week Governor John Hickenlooper issued a proclamation in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is commemorating 50 Years of the Fair Housing Act throughout 2018. We were thrilled to highlight Governor Hickenlooper’s proclamation at REALTOR® Day at the Capitol and participate in NAR’s celebrations. Check CAR’s website in the next week for a copy of the Governor’s proclamation. For more information on fair housing, please click here.
Senate Bill 18-006: Recording Fee to Fund Attainable Housing
CAR is happy to report that SB18-006, sponsored by Senator Zenzinger (D-Arvada) and Representative Winter (D-Westminster) died in the Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs committee on Monday February 5th. The bill would have given county clerks an option to collect document filing fees to be deposited in a newly created statewide attainable housing fund. CAR’s Legislative Policy Committee (LPC) was strongly opposed to this legislation because: document fees are likely unconstitutional under TABOR according to the Colorado Supreme Court and more importantly real estate recording fees are not a reliable funding source as they are tied to unpredictable market forces.
Although the Colorado Association of REALTORS® (CAR) understands the need for housing affordability in Colorado, one of our bedrock principles is that we cannot make housing more expensive to make it more affordable. CAR has supported a host of legislative initiatives designed to create more affordable housing options such as the creation and continuation of the state Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and legislation that allocated some of the state’s unclaimed property trust fund to support programs that provide rental assistance and promote construction and rehabilitation of rental housing for low-income households. In 2016, CAR helped pass legislation to create First Time Homebuyer Savings Accounts to help Coloradans save for the purchase of their first home.
Invest in RPAC
The purpose of RPAC is to support candidates that support REALTORS®. Our goal is to elect pro-REALTOR® candidates at the local, state, and federal levels – candidates that share our support for homeownership, protect property rights, and who will listen to our concerns. Investing in RPAC is one of the easiest things you can do to protect your business. Our goal in 2018 is to raise $630,000 to continue to support Colorado’s REALTOR® champions and ensure we achieve the policy outcomes necessary to protect property rights. Click here to invest today!
Sign up for REALTOR® Party Mobile Alerts
More than 50,000 REALTORS® from across the country have already signed up for REALTOR® Party Mobile Alerts – have you? Text CO REALTORS to 30644 to stay up to date on REALTOR® issues! You’ll be among the first to know about NAR Calls for Action and more! Click here for more information.
Colorado Project Wildfire
Developed by the Colorado Association of REALTORS®, Project Wildfire is designed to help reduce the destruction of land, property, and lives. Working in partnership with other like-minded fire prevention organizations across the state, local REALTOR® associations are bringing education and awareness, as well as access to resources, directly to residents in their local communities. To learn more about Colorado Project Wildfire, click here.