Capitol Connection – March 2, 2023
Legislative Advocacy this Week at the State Capitol
After another eventful week at the State Capitol, housing legislation has continued to be a top priority with this General Assembly. A handful of Colorado Association of REALTORS® priority legislation made its way through the committee process this week; thank you to our members who testified and reached out to legislators on crucial legislation that would affect the real estate industry. Special thanks to Aaron Ravdin, Buna Ravdin, Glenda Johnson, Dave Kupernik, Lisa Nguyen, Muriel Williams, Mark Trenka, Zach Chicoine, Beth Radetsky, and Julie Jensen, who testified on legislation in support of CAR’s efforts. Recently, the Colorado Association of REALTORS® officially testified in committee on the following bills: HB23-1115 (opposed), HB23-1171(amend), HB23-1184 (support), SB23-077 (support- CAR’s initiated legislation), HB23-1190 (amend), HB23-1186 (neutral).
Bill Updates
(Oppose) HB23-1115 Repeal Prohibition of Local Residential Rent Control- Sponsored by Rep. Javier Mabrey (HD-01) and Rep. Elizabeth Velasco (HD-57), and Senator Robert Rodriguez (SD-32).
Colorado Association of REALTORS® opposes this bill for multiple reasons, it has adverse long term effects on housing, it will further reduce the housing supply, keep rents high and potentially opens REALTORS® up to rental application discrimination since housing providers will be prohibited to set their own rent based off of market rate. HB23-1115 bill passed out of the House on Monday, February 27th, with a vote of 40-Yes, 24-No, and 1-Other. Five Democrats broke with their party and voted against the bill: Rep. Alex Valdez(HD-05), Rep. Marc Snyder (HD-18), Rep. Barbara McLachlan (HD-59), Rep. Bob Marshall (HB-43), Rep. Shannon Bird (HD-29). Amendments were added to the bill to exempt buildings 15 years or newer, exempt nonprofit housing regulated by federal or state programs, allows local governments to apply rent control ordinances to mobile home parks, and creates a formula that limits the amount a housing provider can increase the rent. HB23-1115 will be heard in the Senate in the upcoming weeks. As always, CAR will keep members updated on the status of this bill.
(Amend) HB23-1171 Just Cause Requirement Eviction of Residential Tenant – Sponsored by Rep. Javier Mabrey (HD-01) and Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez (HD-4), and Senator Julie Gonzales (SD-34)
HB23-1171 will impact the ability of all rental property owners to end rental leases and force the renewal of those leases or require compensation to the tenant. While the title of the bill appears to only address evictions, the bill affects much more. If the bill were to pass, a rental property owner would only be able to end a rental contract or pursue an eviction (if necessary) for the following reasons:
- failure of rent payment after a notice from the housing provider,
- tenant committing a substantial violation and doesn’t remedy it in 10 days; (amended back to current law)
- the tenant refusing to allow the housing provider to enter the residential premises,
- the tenant refusing to sign a new rental agreement that is identical to the tenant’s current agreement.
Several CAR members testified on HB 1171 at the Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee hearing on March 1st. The bill is currently scheduled for a House floor vote on 2nd reading for March 3rd. Several amendments were adopted at the March 1st committee hearing but none significantly addressed our concerns with this bill.
CAR strongly encourages you to contact your State Representative for changes to HB 1171 that allow non-renewals or contracts with a natural end to be included as a just reason to end a rental lease.
Other reasons for ending a rental contract would be classified as “no-fault evictions”, even if they are not evictions at all. It would no longer be allowed to simply not renew a contract and new requirements would be put in place, including in some circumstances requiring rental property owners to provide tenants who are moving with two months of rental assistance or more, costing rental housing providers thousands of dollars.
(Amend) HB23-1190 – Affordable Housing Right of First Refusal – Sponsored by Rep. Andrew Boesenecker (HD-53) and Rep. Emily Sirota (HD-9) and Sen. Faith Winter (SD-25)
The bill creates a first right of refusal for local governments to purchase residential or mixed-use multifamily property as long as the local government is committed to utilizing its acquisition for long-term affordable housing. A political subdivision has 14 business days to secure its right of first refusal, an additional 90 days to make an offer, and must agree to close on a property within 180 business days of the execution of an agreement for the sale of the property.
CAR testified to amend HB 1190 at the Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee hearing on February 28th. Several amendments were adopted but failed to address significant concerns with the bill. The bill is currently scheduled for a House floor vote on 2nd reading for March 3rd.
CAR strongly encourages you to contact your State Representative for changes to HB 1190 to clarify what qualifies a property, increase the unit threshold for properties that must provide notice to local governments when selling, and more.
CAR will keep working to amend this bill to address our concerns.
(Support) SB23-077– Restrictions on Broker Engagement Contracts – Sponsored by Senator Nick Hinrichsen (SD-03) and Rep. Meg Froelich (HD-03)
Certain broker service agreements mandate a 40-year, exclusive right-to-list. This model is potentially harmful to consumers because the business practice focuses on supposedly providing quick financial assistance to homeowners with a cash payment between $300 to $5,000, based on home appraisal value, through a memorandum of understanding filed with the County Treasurer’s office. Sellers of property face stiff financial penalties including legal action if they violate the terms of the agreement. Senate bill 77 will prohibit contracts from including excessively long listing agreements that create recordable liens on property, limit a homeowners’ ability to access equity and ability to refinance, and leave real property owners vulnerable.
CAR member Zach Chicoine and General Counsel Scott Peterson testified in support of SB 77 on February 14th. The bill passed unanimously in its first committee and through the State Senate on the consent calendar, an indicator the bill is well-received by all. It is scheduled for the House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee on Tuesday, March 7th at 1:30pm. CAR thanks the bill sponsors, Senator Nick Hinrichsen and Rep. Meg Froelichfor helping solve this nationwide issue.
In Case You Missed It
NAR Supports Passage of SECURE Notarization Act
“NAR has strongly supported remote online notarization since 2018 and commends members of the House for passing the SECURE Notarization Act of 2023. Should the legislation become law, Americans will benefit greatly from this long-awaited technological advancement by allowing immediate, nationwide use of remote online notarization technology.”
RPAC Announcements
“We Like to Paddy”
Join us on March 15th at 4pm for a virtual cocktail class hosted by Nick Bokone and CAR’s Government Affairs team. Nick will be mixing up a couple St. Patrick’s Day cocktails, while we meet the new members of our Government Affair’s team, Lauren Cecil, Director of External Coalitions and Brian Tanner, Vice President of Public Policy. Click the link below to purchase your ticket! Cost to attend is $99 – once registered, you will receive a zoom link and grocery list for the drinks.