Capitol Connection – March 18, 2024
Legislative Advocacy This Week at the Capitol
Last Friday (3/15), the quarterly state revenue forecast was released, which allows legislators to finalize the state budget for 2024-25 and determine what funding, if any, is available for programs within 2024 legislation. This is the last revenue forecast of the 2024 legislative session and now legislators will begin hearing and evaluating bills in Appropriations Committees (House and Senate) in earnest. Very limited funding is available for dozens of bills after state budget and reserve obligations are met, which means some bills will be amended to slash their program costs or bills could die due to their fiscal notes. There are several bills we are monitoring or supporting in Appropriations Committees, including the following legislation.
Bill Updates
(Support) HB 1024 Extend Outreach Campaigns Wildfire Risk Mitigation
Sponsors: Rep. Story, Rep. Velasco, and Sen. Cutter
House Bill 1024 requires the Colorado state forest service to increase wildfire awareness and risk mitigation by residents in the wildland-urban interface. The bill appropriates $300,000 to the Healthy Forests and Vibrant Communities fund for ongoing campaigns and outreach efforts. CAR supports HB 1024 and state efforts to inform residents about wildfire risks and mitigation efforts.
(Support) HB 1125 Tax Credit Commercial Building Conversion
Sponsors: Rep. Valdez, Rep. Soper, Sen. Priola, and Sen. Bridges
House Bill 1125 creates a tax credit for the conversion of commercial buildings to residential units. The bill lays out requirements that the qualified applicant must follow as well as the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEDIT). The credit cannot exceed $3 million per qualified structure and the office cannot exceed $5 million of reserved credits per year. In other words, the office is limited to how much they can approve of qualified applicants on an annual basis. If the office does not use all the tax credits for one year, it can roll over to the next. CAR supports efforts to increase housing stock and maximize existing commercial property. HB 1125 provides an incentive to this effect.
(Support) HB 1091 Fire-Hardened Building Materials in Real Property
Sponsors: Rep. Brown, Rep. Titone, Sen. Cutter, and Sen. Jaquez Lewis
Back to wildfire legislation, House Bill 1091 is the first bill supported by CAR that has been signed by the Governor in 2024! This bill allows property owners to install, use, or maintain fire-hardened building materials in residential property by prohibiting covenants or any type of housing agreement from restricting the use of fire-hardened building materials. Unit owner associations can still adopt and enforce design and external appearance of these materials for fencing. Any rules and regulations prohibiting or restricting the use of these building materials will become void and unenforceable upon the bill’s passage. CAR supports this legislation because it provides more opportunity for property owners and common interest communities to protect themselves against wildfire damage and reduce the risk to real property, which may have positive effects on soaring property insurance costs.
RPMA
“Don’t Miss Out on the Action – Sign up for REALTOR® Party Mobile Alerts”
Text REALTORS to 30644
REALTOR® Party Mobile Alerts offers REALTOR® Associations and REALTORS® a way to stay connected directly from their cell phone or tablet. When a national or state legislative call for action is launched, subscribers get a short text message containing information to take action. Stay in the “know” as housing legislation heats up at the state capitol and nationally this year.
*If you sign up for RPMA and receive a Call For Action, taking action does NOT subscribe your information to a listserv.* RPMA and CFA are strictly to inform members of legislation that the National Association of REALTORS® or Colorado Association of REALTORS® needs grassroots engagement.
RPAC
RPAC Reception at Spring Summit – Join us on Tuesday, April 9th from 4:15pm – 6:15pm for a cocktail reception supporting RPAC! We will be having our annual LIVE auction, with great prizes. Purchase your reception ticket HERE
100% CAR Committee RPAC Participation Challenge
Jason Witt, 2024 CAR President, is encouraging all CAR Committee’s to reach 100% participation by investing in RPAC! This friendly competition encourages our committee members to invest the fair share amount of $25 to RPAC. Jason will announce which committees have reached 100% at Spring Summit Board meeting. RPAC is an important value used to help protect Colorado’s real estate industry. Not on a CAR committee? We invite you to still participate and invest $25 or more to help support our efforts, every little bit counts! CLICK HERE TO INVEST
Events
Join us from April 8-10, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency in the Denver Tech Center for the CAR Spring Summit, a conference designed for REALTORS® like you who are seeking to broaden your industry engagement. This summit combines networking, innovation, and professional development. https://coloradorealtors.com/car-spring-summit/
NAR / ICYMI
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) today announced an agreement that would end litigation of claims brought on behalf of home sellers related to broker commissions. The agreement would resolve claims against NAR, over one million NAR members, all state/territorial and local REALTOR® associations, all association-owned MLSs, and all brokerages with an NAR member as principal that had a residential transaction volume in 2022 of $2 billion or below.
NAR Thanks President Biden for Addressing Affordable Housing Supply in SOTU
The National Association of Realtors® thanked President Biden on Thursday for raising awareness of the affordable housing crisis during his State of the Union address.
White House Announcement on Housing
On Thursday, February 29, the White House announced its “New Actions to Boost Housing Supply and Lower Housing Costs,” aimed at creating more affordable homes and increasing transparency in rental housing. The administration will be bolstering existing programs, such as the HOME Investment Partnership Program grants, Federal Housing Administration and Federal Financing Bank risk-sharing, and the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program, to add to and protect the existing supply of affordable housing. It is also creating a new funding grant from HUD with $225 million to support manufactured housing communities, offering expanded financing option to preserve their affordability, and increasing the FHA Title 1 loan limits for manufactured housing.