Capitol Connection – March 25, 2024
Legislative Advocacy This Week at the Capitol
CAR is on day 76 of the 120-day state legislative session. The week of March 25th is officially the start of the legislature’s budget-setting bill, known as the ‘Long Bill’. The limited 2024-2025 fiscal year budget is projected to create existential hurdles for legislation with large state expenditures. The annual budget bill will be finalized by Friday, March 29th.
The politics at the Capitol are intensive. Bills continue to be in flux as amendments can be added at any stage in the legislative cycle. CAR is working to ensure secured changes to bills remain intact, providing education on bills harmful to Colorado’s housing supply, and keeping a close watch on activity impacting your industry. Thank you for reading these critical updates.
Bill Updates
(Monitor) HB-1098 Cause Required for Eviction of Residential Tenant
Sponsors: Rep. Mabrey, Rep. Duran, Sen. Gonzales, and Sen. Hinrichsen
HB 1098 is on second reading in the Senate floor today (3/25). CAR’s Legislative Policy Committee moved from a position of amend to monitor after advocating and securing multiple amendments significantly changing the bill. One of CAR’s most significant changes was the elimination of the requirement for housing providers to pay two or three months of relocation assistance, depending on the circumstances. Already included in the bill when it was first introduced in the 2024 session were changes CAR advocated for in 2023, including the withdrawal of a rental unit to the for-sale market as a no-fault eviction, ensuring exemptions for property owners from mandated relocation payments.
HB1098 would require a “just cause” in order to evict a tenant. This proposed legislation would restrict the housing provider to keep a tenant in the property unless the situation met a “no-fault eviction”. Landlords could still evict tenants with cause based on current law.
(Monitor) HB-1057 Prohibit Algorithmic Devices Used for Rent Setting
Sponsors: Rep. Woodrow, Rep. Mabrey, Sen. Gonzales, and Sen. Hinrichsen
HB 1057 as introduced, would have made using an algorithmic device to set rents as a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. In the introduced bill language, an algorithmic device would have included any device that uses one or more algorithms to perform data calculations. CAR believed this broad definition would have captured websites property owners use to determine comparable rent rates. CAR originally was in an amend position and worked with proponents of the bill to change the definition of algorithmic devices. CAR secured an amendment that would exclude the use of public data when determining rents, and CAR changed to a monitoring position.
RPAC
RPAC is how REALTORS® advocate for public policy at the local, state, and federal level to protect your business, the industry, and homeowners’ rights. Because of members like you, homeowners enjoy untrammeled private property rights and REALTORS® can support their clients. See 100 years of RPAC Wins.
Four Major Wins at the State Capitol in 2023
House Bill 1115: CAR defeated a bill that would have repealed the state’s prohibition 42-year ban on rent control, allowing local governments to enact a patchwork of rent control ordinances. These types of laws remove the incentive to add housing supply, it makes necessary maintenance and improvements virtually impossible, and adds housing pressures for adjacent communities as more people search for available housing. This bill would have worsened Colorado’s housing shortage.
Senate Bill 77: CAR successfully proposed legislation to prohibit recordable, multi-year, right-to-sell contracts that are hurting buyers, sellers, and the real estate profession. Thousands of homeowners are now protected from harmful schemes promising small cash assistance in exchange for listing agreements as far as 40 years into the future. It passed by large margins of support and was signed into law by the Governor.
Senate Bill 206: REALTORS® were mandated to ensure seller compliance of radon notification and disclosure requirements and could be open to legal action if the original bill passed. CAR removed real estate broker liability for new radon requirements saving REALTORS® thousands in legal costs. After being amended, the bill became law.
House Bill 1171: CAR successfully modified a bill to ensure property owners could transition rental properties to the for-sale market without being subjected to mandatory relocation assistance to a tenant. The lump sum would be in the amount of two months’ rent and possibly more. The bill died on the calendar in the final moments of the 2023 legislative session, but it will come back next session.
RPAC Live Auction at Spring Summit
Our annual RPAC Live Auction is BACK! Join us on Tuesday, April 9th from 4:15pm – 6:15pm for a cocktail reception! Don’t miss this opportunity to bid on some great trips, while supporting RPAC. Purchase your reception ticket HERE before it’s sold out!
RPAC wants to visit YOU!
Having an event at your local association or broker office? We would love the opportunity to come speak with you and your team about the impact RPAC has on your business. Reach out to Kerrianne, kbrenzel@coloradorealtors.com to schedule a time for RPAC to come speak!
RPAC Deadlines
To be recognized at the NAR Mid-Year meetings in May, be sure to have 30% of your major investment in by April 17th! For President’s Circle, you will need to have your first $500 ($2,000 total) to NAR no later than May 31st.
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.
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.
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/
On March 27th at 8-9 a.m. Colorado Politics and the Denver Gazette are hosting a virtual townhall related to construction defects and SB24-106. If you are interested in listening in you can register here: www.denvergazette.com/construction
NAR / ICYMI
NAR Economist to Congress: ‘First-time Buyers Are Struggling’
“First-time home buyers continue to struggle to enter the housing market, lacking the housing equity that boosts the purchasing power of repeat buyers,” Lautz told the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.
NAR Applauds White House Announcement Addressing Land Use Barriers and Housing Production
“NAR has long advocated for such approaches to promote and accelerate housing production. There is much to be done to resolve the severe underbuilding gap and lack of affordable housing that exists today, but we are encouraged by the administration’s attention to this issue.”
The Truth About the NAR Settlement Agreement
The national conversation around real estate commissions reached a crescendo in the last week since the National Association of REALTORS® announced a settlement agreement that would resolve litigation brought on behalf of home sellers related to broker commissions. Brokers and agents have their own questions about what comes next for their businesses, while at the same time trying to answer consumer inquiries. And many headlines aren’t separating fact from fiction, feeding misinformation to you and your clients.
Fannie Mae Revises Mortgage Rate Predictions for 2024
Nevertheless, Fannie Mae economists are predicting existing-home sales to trend upward this year. Its Home Purchase Sentiment Index recently showed 65% of homeowners say now is a “good time to sell,” a rising percentage.