Meeting Notes

Federal Issues Committee
Sheraton Grand Hotel
Grand Nave Ballroom - Gardenia Room
Sacramento, CA
Thursday, June 7, 2007
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

*Please Note: Only the C.A.R. Board of Directors may take action on behalf of the California Association of REALTORS®; not individual committees. The Summary of Action Items for the Board of Directors may be found at: http://www.car.org/index.php?id=Mzc1MzU. The archive section for each committee, including meeting materials for each committee, may be found at: https://www.car.org/index.php?id=MjMy. Set out below is a summary of Federal Issues Committee activity, including the additional action onthose items (if any) by other C.A.R. bodies.

CALL TO ORDER

The Chair convened the meeting of the Federal Issues Committee at 3:00 PM.

ACTION ITEM - Net Neutrality

A motion was madeand seconded:

That C.A.R., in conjunction with NAR, support the following principles in any legislation to require broadband providers to adhere to net neutral practices:
a. Consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet contentof their choice;
b. Consumers are entitled to run applications and services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement;
c. Consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network;
d. Consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers;
e. Network providers should not discriminate among Internet data transmissions on the basis of the source of the transmission as theyregulate the flow of network content.

Federal Issues Committee: Approved
Executive Committee: Approved
Board of Directors: Approved

ACTION ITEM - Patent Reform

A motion was made, seconded and defeated:

That C.A.R., in conjunction with NAR, support greater transparency in the patent application process including (1) a mechanism to allow practitioners with the expertise and knowledge to review and comment on the appropriateness of a pent application prior to the issuance of the patent and (2) create a streamlined and more effective process for challenging a patent outside of the judicial system.

The following motion originating from the Taxation Committee was brought forward to the Federal Issue Committee:

Accommodators/Qualified Intermediaries

That C.A.R., in conjunction with NAR, look into the issue of accommodators/qualified intermediaries of 1031 exchanges (including but not limited to oversight and/or regulation) and how to safeguard exchanging taxpayers and our industry members vis-a-vis the practice of accommodators/qualified intermediaries. 

Taxation Committee:Approved
Federal Issues Committee: Approved
Executive Committee: Approved
Board of Directors: Approved 

The following motion originating from the Taxation Committee was brought forward to the Federal Issue Committee:

Tax Incentives
That C.A.R., in conjunction with NAR, support tax credits, deductions, or similar tax incentives designed to encourage owners to make improvements to real property in order to conserve energy, mitigate potential damage from natural disasters and/or satisfy environmental goals related to natural resources and wildlife. Support for tax legislation containing such incentives will be balanced against the competing pressures of real estate-related taxprovisions that could be created to “pay for” these incentives.

Taxation Committee: Approved
Federal Issues Committee: Approved
Executive Committee: Approved
Board of Directors: Approved 

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM