3-2-1 Capitol Connection – January 30, 2025
3 Things to Know
Deja Vous. Similar to recent years, there is another wave of landlord/tenant legislation in 2025 with more bills on the horizon. There are bills related to pricing coordination between landlords (HB 1004) and one that would allow the receivership of residential housing by local governments (SB 20). The Colorado Association of REALTORS® (CAR) is actively working on protecting property rights and reducing harm to property owners, especially property owners that may only have a few rental units, on all these bills.
Fines for Vegetation. CAR is amending a bill (HB 1009) on Vegetative Fuel Mitigation because it allows fire protection and metropolitan districts to fine property owners or occupants up to $300 each time they fail to remove dry or dead plant material. The bill has short notification time frames to property owners, has no monetary support to remove dry vegetation, and unintended consequences that jeopardize private property ownership. We are advocating for a series of amendments to reduce its scope and impact on property owners.
New CAR Team Member. Please join us in welcoming Carla Blanc to the Government Affairs team! Carla brings a wealth of experience spanning nonprofit leadership, the private sector, and government affairs. She gained invaluable insight into policymaking and advocacy through her work with the current Senate President during his time as President Pro Tem and as a state lobbyist in the executive branch – and she is excited to draw from this rich background as a part of the CAR team. We are equally excited to have Carla on board and look forward to the work ahead!
2 Things to Share
Protecting Your Privacy. CAR is leading the charge to prevent an invasion of privacy by fighting for changes to a bill (SB 011) allowing wildfire-detection cameras across the state. Good intent to catch wildfires early but these 360-degree cameras can zoom 20 times, covering up to 10 miles, and view private property structures (i.e. houses). We are actively working to permanently remove private structures from view, notify property owners that cameras can view their property, and make sure users of these cameras know they are subject to penalty for any unintended use.
Wildfire Code Board. The Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code Board (WRCB) will adopt minimum codes and standards for hardening structures and reducing fire risk in space around structures by this July. These new codes and standards would supersede local ordinances. The WRCB is meeting on Friday, 2/21 at 9:00am to solicit stakeholder feedback on the draft statewide wildfire resiliency code and the draft state fire hazard map for the code. Townhalls will be 90-minute virtual sessions hosted on zoom (see link to meeting). The public is invited to join. Those interested in providing comments at a townhall are asked to rsvp via the stakeholder and public feedback form. Written comment may also be submitted to the WRCB at [email protected].
1 Thing to Do
Get to Know the New Faces. Did you know that 34 new members have joined the Colorado General Assembly this year (out of 100 total)? Among them, seven are familiar faces making the leap from the House to the Senate! It’s a fresh batch of lawmakers with new perspectives, and now’s the perfect time to get to know who’s representing you. Take a minute to find out who your House and Senate reps are!
RPAC
Show your Colorado pride in making a Colorado Share investment of $38! We became the 38th (and best) state back on August 1, 1876, so invest in the political work REALTORS® do to make Colorado great – or better – on real estate, homeownership, and property rights issues. Also, anyone who invests $300 before March 31st as part of their pledge to become a Major Investor, and complete their $1000 total investment by December, will not only receive their Major Investor pin from NAR but also a custom CO RPAC Major Investor lanyard to show off at all your meetings, conferences, or events.
NAR
Colorado Federal Political Coordinators (FPCs) traveled to Washington D.C. on January 22nd for a two-day REALTOR® Party Training. The Colorado FPC team is a group of member volunteers committed to advocating for legislation to unlock housing supply, affordability, and ensuring REALTORS® are at the forefront of complex legislative proposals that support homeownership. New and returning FPCs engaged in boot-camp style training tailored for them to learn how to best engage with their assigned member of Congress.
John Lucero, FPC for Senator Michael Bennet stated, “Being an FPC is a privilege and has been the most rewarding volunteer position I have held in over 30 years as a REALTOR®. No other association has a program that comes close to NAR’s FPC program, and the legislators know we are the envy of every other association in Washington D.C. We are citizen advocates and are effective in advancing and defending federal policy and funding.” See this video for coverage of Advocacy Week.