Thursday, May 3, 2012
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sacramento Convention Center
Sacramento, California
Mission Statement: The mission of the committee is to monitor and supervise the state implementation of C.A.R. public policy in legislation and regulation; and to evaluate policy recommendations that arise in C.A.R.'s four public policy committees: Transaction and Regulatory, Taxation and Government Finance, Land Use and Environmental, and Housing. The Legislative Committee reports to the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors.
Presiding:
Wendy Furth, Chair
Oronzo “Otto” Catrina, Vice Chair
Geoff McIntosh, Vice Chair
Liaisons:
Patricia Bouie-Hinds, Executive Committee
Mel Wilson, Executive Committee
Staff:
Alex Creel
Stan Wieg
I. Introduction and Welcome - Wendy Furth
II. Political and Legislative Update
A. Member mobilization and Legislative Day - DeAnn Kerr
B. Governor's proposed reorganization and State budget developments
C. Attorney General Anti-Foreclosure bill package
III. Sponsored Bill Update
A. AB 1590 (Campos) Assessment Appeals Boards
The Brown Act requires that local government meetings be properly noticed and prohibits those which have not been. A 1996 attorney general's opinion found that local assessment appeals boards are not required to comply with the Brown Act. C.A.R. is sponsoring AB 1590 to clarify that property tax assessment appeals boards are subject to the Brown Act. This legislation also includes provisions specifying that deliberations may be held in closed session.
Status: Assembly Local Government Committee.
B. AB 1711 (Galgiani) Burdensome Retrofit Standards
Existing law prohibits required energy efficiency retrofits from unreasonably or unnecessarily affecting the home purchase process. This bill will define "unreasonable or unnecessary effects" to include any additional upfront costs, time delays or retrofits where the cost of implementation cannot be recovered over the life of the retrofit.
Status: Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee
C. AB 1718 (Hill) Degree Brokers
Under current law an applicant for a brokers’ license must have either two years of active real estate experience or have graduated from a four-year college or university with a specialization in real estate. The Department of Real Estate (DRE) has interpreted the “degree” provisions to mean any four-year degree. C.A.R. is sponsoring AB 1718 to clarify the law to require "degree brokers" to have an undergraduate degree with either a major or a minor in real estate in order to claim the experience exemption.
Status: Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee
D. AB 1745 (Torres) Dual Tracking
Currently, the banks’ ability to simultaneously process a short sale and a foreclosure on a single property has resulted in the foreclosure sale of homes which have an approved short sale pending. C.A.R. is sponsoring AB 1745 to prohibit a mortgagee, trustee, beneficiary, or authorized agent from proceeding to a foreclosure sale against a property if that property has been approved for a short sale. This measure will still allow the mortgagee to withdraw its short sale approval due to a change in the conditions under which the approval was granted. The lien holder would be required to provide a written notice at least 3 days before the withdrawal of approval explaining the reason for the retraction.
Status: Assembly Banking and Finance Committee
E. AB 2225 (Perea) Debt Forgiveness Income Tax
The federal government enacted the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 that permitted 3 years of mortgage debt relief by not requiring borrowers to pay income tax on debt forgiven in a “short” sale. In late 2008 the federal government extended this relief through December 31, 2012. In 2008, California enacted and C.A.R. supported SB 1055 (Machado) which provided conformity with the federal statute for the 2007 and 2008 tax years and, in 2010, C.A.R. supported and California enacted SB 401 (Wolk) which extended the income tax debt forgiveness until December 31, 2012, conforming to the federal law. C.A.R.is sponsoring AB 2225, as a place holder to extend California’s existing mortgage income debt forgiveness sunset date to conform to federal law if the federal government extends their mortgage debt forgiveness sunset date.
Status: Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee
IV. Action item Qualified Ballot Measure:
A. Auto Insurance Continuous Coverage*
Under current law the Department of Insurance regulates auto insurance rates and determines eligibility for driver discounts. This measure would permit auto insurance providers to give discounts to drivers who can demonstrate that they have maintained some form of uninterrupted auto insurance and provides exemptions for lapses in coverage. These exemptions include lapses due to: active military service, unemployment (Up to 18 months), or any lapse under 90-days. If an auto insurance consumer cannot demonstrate continuous coverage, an insurer providing continuous coverage discounts shall give a reduced discount based on the number of years out of the immediately preceding five years that the consumer has been insured.
B. Senate Redistricting*
The Citizens Redistricting Commission recently completed their work and approved new district maps for the Assembly, Senate, BOE and Congress. According to the Secretary of State’s Office, if this proposition is approved by the voters, it will disapprove the commissions Senate district maps and return these to the Supreme Court for readjustment. The certified Senate district maps can be viewed at the Secretary of States website at http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/initiatives/pdfs/i968_resistricting_maps.pdf
VI. Reports of Standing Committees**
A. Housing – John Torres
B. Land Use and Environmental – Sheri Setser
C. Taxation and Government Finance – Ted Loring
D. Transactions and Regulatory – Greg Galli
VII. Other
VIII. Adjournment
[**Please see included agenda materials from policy committees for detailed materials]
